What are epic?

Bylins - this is truly the Russian name of thisgenre of literature as an epic. These works appeared in the distant past, and it is believed that they were preceded by laments and panegyrics, which glorified the heroism and courage of soldiers and heroes. Yes, the epics contain the color of the time, about which they are narrated, but their main theme is heroism. And initially they did not retell simply from one another, but were sung for any musical instruments. Therefore they can also be called epic songs.

The notion of "epic" was introduced by the folklorist I.Sakharov, which he took from the preface to the epic "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" (the author begins the song according to the "bylins of this time, and not to the plan of Boyana"). Thus, epic has one more feature - historical certainty. Of course, it is impossible to talk about absolute certainty, but the epics contain important historical facts and events, they tell about the life and condition of the people, the state, inter-tribal and other relations.

The very concept of "epic" has a root from "byl", i.e. what took place to be.

The structure of the epic has its own characteristics: The stanzas consist of eight lines, and a plot is constructed on epic formulas (billets and invariable combinations of words or even entire stanzas). Epic formulas in the Russian epic are often found: mother - cheese land, clear eyes, Moscow stone, etc. In the epic of other peoples: the white-bellied Hera, the winged speeches, the sun was barely rolling, and the darkness descended to the ground, and so on.

That's what epic, epic, epic song is.