Curated OER
1900 America: Primary Sources and Epic Poetry
Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and sounds of life...
Curated OER
An Introduction to the Odyssey
Epics, like the Odyssey, were told over the span of several days and drew quite a crowd. Before starting the famous work with your class, review this presentation to gain some insight into the structure and history of epic poems.
Curated OER
Odyssey List 2 Vocab Worksheet
One of two epic poems attributed to Homer, The Odyssey is full of unfamiliar language. With this two-page activity, your class will study new words like victuals, forlorn, and pine. Unfortunately, the specific section these words come...
KIPP 3D Academy
Epic Poetry Unit
The Odyssey is the core text in this unit study of the hero's journey motif. Along the way, kids research Greek and Roman history, mythology, art, and epic poetry. The 104-page packet is perfect for homeschool or classroom situations and...
Curated OER
Louisiana's Tragic Hero - "Evangeline"
"Ye who believe...List to a Tale of Love in Acadie." Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline," launches a study of tragic heroines, epic poetry, the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada, and their subsequent migration to Louisiana. The...
Curated OER
The Epic Poem in History
Teachers can help students understand the connection between epic poetry and modern stories and songs.
Curated OER
Ballad Blast
Students write epic poems, songs, or ballads to describe adventures of their own. They discover that storytellers often told stories as epic poems, songs, or ballads. They share and discuss some of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad.
Curated OER
Beowulf
Students read the epic, Beowulf and examine the nature of good and evil. They compile a list of questions about loyalty tests and take turns asking and answering them. they create Beowulf comic strips and research other epic tales.
Curated OER
Epic Improvisation
Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....
Curated OER
Those Wacky Greek and Roman Gods: A Quick Cheat-Sheet
Here's a handy two-page reference that briefly identifies major Greek and Roman mythological figures.
Curated OER
Epic Poetry: Literary Terms for Story Analysis
What do Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Odyssey have in common? Why, they are all epics, of course, and are presented here as examples of the literary term. If you are beginning a study of epics, consider previewing the terms included...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Story of Epic Proportions: What Makes a Poem an Epic?
Learners analyze the epic poem form and its roots in oral tradition. For this epic poetry lesson, young scholars research the epic hero cycle and recognize the pattern of events and elements. Learners analyze the patterns embedded in the...
Curated OER
Ancient Greece
In this ancient Greece worksheet, students read a factual story giving the basic history of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. Students answer 8 questions.
Steven Kreis, PhD
The History Guide: Homer and the Greek Renaissance
Presents a clear, readable summary of ancient Greek history from the Archaic period through the Renaissance which included Homer's epic poems. Explains major historical events and cultural trends as background for those reading Homeric...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Authors: Homer
This site features the author Homer including the full text of the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey written in prose.
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Literary Term: Epics
The University of Victoria's English department gives a comprehensive definition of the "epic" poetic form. Short examples included.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Excerpt From "The Odyssey: The Sirens" by Homer
"The Odyssey" is an epic poem about a Greek hero named Odysseus, also known as Ulysses in Roman myths, and his 10-year journey home after the fall of Troy. In this excerpt, Ulysses encounters the Sirens while at sea. A specific purpose...
Luminarium
Luminarium: The Works of Milton
This site contains links to Milton's poems, sonnets, and prose, as well as complete text to his epic poems "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained."
McGraw Hill
Glencoe Literature Library: "Beowulf" Study Guide [Pdf]
Introduce yourself to Anglo-Saxon literature by reading "Beowulf" and exploring its plot, themes, and characters with the help of this study guide. Check out a helpful "family tree" of the epic poem's characters, study new vocabulary...
PBS
Pbs: The Story of India: Ramayana
Brief description of the Ramayana, one of two great epic poems of ancient India.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
This is the full text of the nine-book epic novel/poem Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning; it is a first-person account by the title character Aurora Leigh.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg: The Iliad by Homer
Resource presents multiple digital formats of this literary work. Edward, Earl of Derby did this translation of Homer's epic.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Aeneid by Virgil
This is the full text of the Latin epic poem Aeneid by Virgil that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Prose Version) by Anonymous
This is the full text of a prose version of the Medieval British Literature epic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, author unknown. It also provides prefaces for the first and second editions and notes about the work.