Favorite Epic: Divine Comedy, The Odyssey or Paradise Lost?

[thrilla11]

Hey everyone, I am currently reading Paradise Lost by Milton for my English class. I've been meaning to read this epic for awhile but I just haven't been able to. The only reason I took this English class was because Paradise Lost was part of the curriculum. I've read The Odyssey many times and I finished the Divine Comedy in my freshman year of college. The Odyssey still remains my favorite epic though with the Divine Comedy my second favorite. So I was wondering, IWC, what is your favorite epic of all time?

The Odyssey (Greek: Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon. Indeed it is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature. It was probably composed near the end of the eighth century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek-speaking coastal region of what is now Turkey.

The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as he was known in Roman myths) and his long journey home following the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres (Greek: Μνηστῆρε&#962 or Proci, competing for Penelope's hand in marriage.

It continues to be read in the Homeric Greek and translated into modern languages around the world. The original poem was composed in an oral tradition by an aoidos (epic poet/singer), perhaps a rhapsode (professional performer), and was intended more to be sung than read. The details of the ancient oral performance, and the story's conversion to a written work inspire continual debate among scholars. The Odyssey was written in a regionless poetic dialect of Greek and comprises 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter.

Among the most impressive elements of the text are its strikingly modern non-linear plot, and that events seem to depend as much on the choices made by women and serfs as on the actions of fighting men. In the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage.

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The Divine Comedy (Italian: La Divina Commedia) is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.

The poem's imaginative and allegorical vision of the Christian afterlife is a culmination of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church. It helped establish the Tuscan dialect in which it is written as the Italian standard. It is divided into three parts, the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

On the surface the poem describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; but at a deeper level it represents allegorically the soul's journey towards God. At this deeper level, Dante draws on medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially the teachings of Thomas Aquinas. At the surface level, the poem is understood to be fictional.

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Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, redivided into twelve books (in the manner of the division of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification; the majority of the poem was written while Milton was blind, and was transcribed for him.

The poem concerns the Christian story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is to "justify the ways of God to men" and elucidate the conflict between God's eternal foresight and free will.
Milton incorporates Paganism, classical Greek references, and Christianity within the poem. It deals with diverse topics from marriage, politics (Milton was politically active during the time of the English Civil War), and monarchy, and grapples with many difficult theological issues, including fate, predestination, the Trinity, and the introduction of sin and death into the world, as well as angels, fallen angels, Satan, and the war in heaven.

Milton draws on his knowledge of languages, and diverse sources — primarily Genesis, much of the New Testament, the deuterocanonical Book of Enoch, and other parts of the Old Testament. Milton's epic is generally considered one of the greatest literary works in the English language.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

I'd say "The Divine Comedy". Partly because I played the entire music piece in high school.

 

[The Doctor]

Divine Comedy is disgusting.

I love it.

 

[Razor]

Oh geez.

One of the first great Greek works, the first ever rhyming free verse epic, or the first application of blank verse in the English language?

I'll go with the Blank Verse, because I hate rhyming and having to write in Iambic Pentameter.

Paradise Lost it is. Besides, that story of the fall of Eden is great. So many underlying threads.

 

[thrilla11]

Have you guys actually read all three canticas? Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise)? Shit is great.

Paradise Lost is amazing too. Lucifer is the true protagonist in this epic and I love it. You feel sympathy for him and you are left in awe by his skills as a leader and manipulator.

 

[thrilla11]

Why is Divine Comedy disgusting Doc?

My favorite part of hell is Jedecca:

Round 4 is named Judecca, after Judas Iscariot, Biblical betrayer of Christ. Here are the traitors to their lords and benefactors. All of the sinners punished within are completely encapsulated in ice, distorted in all conceivable positions. With no one to talk to here, Dante and Virgil quickly move on to the centre of Hell (Canto XXXIV).


Satan is trapped in the frozen central zone in the Ninth Circle of Hell, Canto 34.
In the very centre of Hell, condemned for committing the ultimate sin (personal treachery against God), is Satan (Lucifer). Satan is described as a giant, terrifying beast with three faces, one red, one black, and one a pale yellow:

he had three faces: one in front bloodred;
and then another two that, just above
the midpoint of each shoulder, joined the first;
and at the crown, all three were reattached;
the right looked somewhat yellow, somewhat white;
the left in its appearance was like those
who come from where the Nile, descending, flows.

Satan is waist deep in ice, weeping tears from his six eyes, and beating his six wings as if trying to escape, although the icy wind that emanates only further ensures his imprisonment (as well as that of the others in the ring). Each face has a mouth that chews on a prominent traitor, with Brutus and Cassius feet-first in the left and right mouths respectively. These men were involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar—an act which, to Dante, represented the destruction of a unified Italy and the killing of the man who was divinely appointed to govern the world. In the central, most vicious mouth is Judas Iscariot—the namesake of Judecca and the betrayer of Jesus. Judas is being administered the most horrifying torture of the three traitors, his head gnawed by Satan's mouth, and his back being forever skinned by Satan's claws. What is seen here is a perverted trinity: Satan is impotent, ignorant, and full of hate, in contrast to the all-powerful, all-knowing, and loving nature of God.

 

[Razor]

Yeah, but it's still murky enough to keep you hating him. He's too arrogant and willing to blame others for his mistakes. He's also openly willing to undermine Adam and Eve to get back at God.

The way he worked Adam and Eve was brilliant though. Eve was shown as the stupid bitch she's shown as in Genesis, but Milton uses archetypes to illustrate the fall of Man as mostly Adam's fault also.

It's a goldmine from a Lit major's perspective.

 

[thrilla11]

That's true. He was thrown out of Hell for having too much pride and he shows it throughout the epic. Lucifer actually tried to overthrow the being that made him. The one thing that I love about him is that he fought for what he believed in. He didn't think that the angels should be under the control of God and that they should be able to do whatever they want. He then got 1/3 of heaven on his side and rebelled against his brothers. Paradise Lost is truly a classic piece of literature that everyone should read.

Razor, tell me if this is weird:
I can really connect to Lucifer because he is more human than God. All of us have pride and we all have lied. But God is all knowing and powerful and everything that he does is right. It's really easy to sympathize for the devil and I believe that is what Milton was trying to do.

Paradise Lost is a great fucking epic and to think that Milton did it while he was old and blind. Amazing.

 

[The Doctor]

Why is Divine Comedy disgusting Doc?

That's the one where Dante goes to hell, right? Dude, it's about eternal torture in gruesome detail. It's disgusting, and I love it.

 

[thrilla11]

Yes it is good sir and I'm glad that you love it. Not many people your age have read any of these classic pieces of literature and it's a shame. If you need a refresher course go on wikipedia. The levels of Hell are just awesome. Horrible people get what they deserve.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

What about Gilgamesh?

 

[thrilla11]

Ah Gilgamesh, the very first epic. I read that in freshman year of high school. Great read as well but not as important to modern literature as the other three, at least not to John Milton. When he made Paradise Lost, he wanted to write an English epic that matched and would ultimately surpass the Greek "Odyssey" and the Latin "Divine Comedy".

Was Gilgamesh discovered when Milton was alive? I don't believe so. Perhaps that is why he didn't put it with the "Big Two". If it was discovered before or during his time, I believe that he would have added it to the list of epics that he wanted to surpass. But right now, I'm just concerned with only The Odyssey, Paradise Lost and the Divine Comedy. Gilgamesh can sit this one out for now.