The female epic is a concept in
literary criticism that seeks to expand generic boundaries by identifying ways in which women authors have adapted the masculine
epic tradition to express their own
heroic visions.
Historically,
epic literature has been considered an exclusively male domain, to the extent that "epic and masculinity appear to be almost coterminous."[1] From
Homer's
Iliad to
Milton's Paradise Lost, the epic canon has been defined by works authored by men, and the characteristic subject matter and diction of the epic have carried connotations of
masculinity. Recently, however,
feminist literary critics have identified a number of texts written by women which, they argue, deserve to be considered epics, as they have many of the required qualities: emphasis on
heroism,
nation building, religious authority, a strong
quest motif, and significant length.[2] Because these texts post-date Milton's Paradise Lost – conventionally considered to be the last authentic epic in the Western tradition –[3] they are by default "modern epics".
However, argue these critics, this is by no means a contradiction. The epic remains an authentic and vital literary genre, and one to which women have made valuable contributions.[4]
Poetry Epics by Women
Faltonia Betitia Proba's A Virgilian Cento Concerning the Glory of Christ or
Cento was written in fourth century AD. The
epic poem uses verses by
Virgil in a re-ordered form to recount the life of
Jesus.[5]
Sirat Dhat al-Himma, a classic of
Arabic epic poetry. It narrates the tale of
Delhemma, a Muslim warrior-woman on the
Byzantine frontier. Dhelhemma's story is dominated by the strife between her clan, the
Banu Tayy, and their longtime rivals, the
Banu Sulaym; and is set within the larger struggles between the
Byzantines and Arabs, and the
Umayyads and Abbasids. The story itself is medieval in origin, though its exact dating is disputed; it dates back to at least the mid-12th century CE, as it was popular among Muslims during the
Crusades, but many scholars believe it was written c.1000 CE, around the time of the
Seljuk conquests.
H.D.'s Helen of Egypt (1961) is an American epic poem that reinvents the myths surrounding
Helen,
Paris,
Achilles,
Theseus, and other ancient Greek characters, fusing storylines with the mysteries of Egyptian hermeticism.[8][9][10]
Sylvie Kandé, a Franco-Senegalese author, published an epic poem in three
cantos that imagines the fate of
Mansa Aboubakar II of
Mali. One the scenes imagines that a Mali imperial expedition reaches the Americas before Columbus.[15]
Alice Notley's
The Descent of Alette (1996) is a feminist poetry epic which critiques the epic poem itself. It explores a heroine's (Alette) journey through the underworld, re-imagined as an underground subway station, of which she and others are destined to spend eternity at the hands of the Tyrant, a patriarchal figure who controls the world.[16]
References
^Schweizer, Bernard (2006). Approaches to the Anglo and American Female Epic, 1621-1982. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 1.
ISBN0-7546-5486-9.
^Schweizer, Bernard (2002). Rebecca West: Heroism, Rebellion, and the Female Epic. Westport: Greenwood Press. p. 3.
ISBN0-313-32360-7.
^Fowler, Alastair (1985). Kinds of Literature: An Introduction to the Theory of Genres and Modes. Harvard University Press. p. 167.
^Linkin, Harriet Kramer (2017-01-11), Haekel, Ralf (ed.), "22. Mary Tighe, Psyche (1805)", Handbook of British Romanticism, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 409–424,
doi:
10.1515/9783110376692-023,
ISBN978-3-11-037669-2
^Aldama, Frederick Luis (2020). Poets, philosophers, lovers : on the Writings of Giannina Braschi. Stavans, Ilan; O'Dwyer, Tess. Pittsburgh, Pa.: U Pittsburgh. pp. 5–15.
ISBN978-0-8229-4618-2.
OCLC1143649021.
^Carrion, Maria Mercedes. "Geography, (M)Other Tongues and the Role of Translation in Giannina Braschi's El imperio de los sueños". Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature. 20 (1).