Lascelles Abercrombie

An epic is not made by piecing together a set of heroic lays, adjusting their discrepancies and making them into read more

An epic is not made by piecing together a set of heroic lays, adjusting their discrepancies and making them into a continuous narrative.

Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production read more

Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production of an individual mind.

Epic poetry exhibits life in some great symbolic attitude. It cannot strictly be said to symbolize life itself, but always read more

Epic poetry exhibits life in some great symbolic attitude. It cannot strictly be said to symbolize life itself, but always some manner of life.

But the development of human society does not go straight forward; and the epic process will therefore be a recurring read more

But the development of human society does not go straight forward; and the epic process will therefore be a recurring process, the series a recurring series - though not in exact repetition.

By the general process of epic poetry, I mean the way this form of art has constantly responded to the read more

By the general process of epic poetry, I mean the way this form of art has constantly responded to the profound needs of the society in which it was made.