What is the difference between ballad and epic poem

Difference Between Ballad and Epic Nathan Holland. Yet No Comments. Difference Between Shrimp and Prawn Shrimp. Silvester Welch. Difference Between Discipline and Punishment Discipline. Leo Bond. Difference Between Ethanol and Methanol Ethanol. Charles Sullivan. Though the epic is not a frequently used literary device today, its lasting influence on poetry is unmistakable.

Traditionally, epic poetry shares certain characteristics that identify it as both a literary device and poetic form. Here are some typical characteristics of an epic:. Epic poems can be traced back to some of the earliest civilizations in human history, in Europe and Asia, and are therefore some of the earliest works of literature as well.

Literary epics reflect heroic deeds and events that reveal significance to the culture of the poet. In addition, epic poetry allowed ancient writers to relay stories of great adventures and heroic actions. The effect of epics was to commemorate the struggles and adventures of the hero to elevate their status and inspire the audience.

Here are some famous examples of literary epics:. Both epic and ballad works date back to ancient history and were passed down from one generation to another through oral poetry. However, these literary devices feature significant differences. An epic is an extended narrative poem composed with elevated and dignified language that celebrates the acts of a legendary or traditional hero.

A ballad is also a narrative poem that is adapted for people to sing or recite and intended to convey sentimental or romantic themes in short stanzas, usually quatrains with repeating rhyme scheme. Ballads typically feature common, colloquial language to represent day-to-day life, and they are designed to have universal appeal to humanity as a group.

Epic works, however, focus on a certain culture, race, nation, or religious group whose victory or failure determines the fate of an entirety of a nation or larger group but not all of humanity. This is also believed to be originated from France, and the oldest surviving ballads are dated back to the 14 th century. By 17 th and 18 th centuries, English writers popularized ballads with the use of printing press.

During this time of literature, single ballads were published as broadsides, which were large sheets of paper that featured a single poem. Ballads which were originally considered a low form of art was eventually raised to a better status by writers like Oscar Wilde and Samuel Coleridge. Epic can be divided into two categories known as folk or traditional epic and literary or art Epic.

Folk Epic is originally transmitted from one generation to another orally. We cannot trace the origin of the ownership, yet later literary figures found out that these folk epics were written by well-known personalities. Folk epic is generally based on a particular mythology of the locality.

In folk epic, we see the poet inventing the story. An example for a folk epic is Beowulf. Literary or art epic generally imitates conventions of epic. This epic form is more polished and coherent.

Art epic also compact in structure and style. An example for a folk epic is Paradise Lost. The word Epic is derived from the ancient Greek adjective epikos, which means poetic story. The earliest complete surviving Epic is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is known to be composed between the 13 th and 10 th centuries B. This piece of literature mainly deals with myth and fulfills a pseudo-historical, religious purpose for the culture, in which it was originated.

Just like a Ballad, epic is also a narrative poem which deals with heroic deeds of a person with unusual courage and bravery with the use of grandiose style.