Mock epic poetry is a satirical heroic style that contrasts grandiose narrative style with a subject that doesn’t deserve it. It draws on classical literature and can be about people, events, or concepts. The classics are often referenced for meaning, and some poems include the words “parody” or “satire” in their titles.
A mock epic is a piece written in an epic style on a subject that would not ordinarily deserve such grandiose treatment. Mock epic poetry is a subsection of the larger satirical heroic style, which can be used for everything from novels to comic books. In essence, the mechanism that makes this type of poetry entertaining is the contrast between the narrative style and the subject of the poem. In some cases it is possible to write a mock epic about people, events, or even concepts. Some examples of this type of poetry may lose their satirical significance to future readers if the original references are lost, resulting in stories that can be read as mere absurdist tales.
The form of mock epic varies according to genre, but most poems of this type draw on the stylistic conventions associated with classical literature. Rhyming poems are common, but are almost always modeled after older poems. While some poems are written to recall images from Greek classics, others mimic traditional English poetry. The same concept could also be applied to non-Western poetic traditions, although this is much less common.
The subjects addressed in a mock epic vary widely, but it is especially common to write this type of poem about a person. Lord Byron’s Don Juan and John Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe are two examples of this strategy. It is also possible to write this type of poem about an event, as is the case with Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock. Many such poems directly follow the trajectory of a Greek classic, mirroring actual events in those epics.
One of the most interesting features of the mock epic is that it depends in part on the classics for meaning. A reader familiar with Virgil’s Aeneid, for example, is better equipped to understand Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe in all of his nuanced references than him. This is not because the poems themselves are incomprehensible without these references, but rather because the comparison is not directly indicated. Satire by comparison depends on knowing the elements being compared to be understood as humorous, and the reference in these cases is hidden in the style and form of the poem.
Sometimes, a mock epic actually includes the word “parody” or “satire” in its title. In other cases, it is up to the reader to determine how the poem is to be taken. Many years of study on this subject have identified poems written in a satirical manner, but most authors have been candid about the mocking nature of their poems.
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