Epic Simile:
An open comparison between two dissimilar objects of which one is fairly elaborated. It is called epic simile because the epic poets introduced the tradition of this kind of simile. For example, in the following example Hector has been compared to a boar and a lion:
He was like a wild-boar or a lion when he turns this way and that among the hounds and huntsmen to defy them in his
strength.
(Homer: The Iliad, Book-XII)
In this simile the qualities of a boar and a lion are elaborated to suggest Hector's strength and bravery. Similarly, in the following epic simile from Virgil's Aeneid, Book IV, Dido has been compared to a wounded deer:
Sick with desire, and seeking him she loves,
From street to street the raving Dido roves.
So when the watchful shepherd, from the blind,
Wounds with a random shaft the careless hind,
Distracted with her pain she flies the woods,
Bounds o'er the lawn, and seeks the silent floods,
With fruitless care; for still the fatal dart
Sticks in her side, and rankles in her heart.
The restless wandering of the wounded deer has been elaborated in detail to suggest the agony of love-sick Dido.
Milton uses the following epic simile to suggest the huge number of the fallen angels assembled at Pandemonium:
Thick swarm'd both on the ground and in the air,
Brush'd with the hiss of rustling wings. As bees
In spring time, when the sun with Taurus rides,
Pour forth their populous youth about the hive
In clusters; they among fresh dews' and flowers
Fly to and fro, or on the smoothed plank,
The suburb of their straw-built citadel,
New rubb'd with balm, expatiate, and confer Their state affairs: So thick the aery crowd
Swarm'd and were straiten'd; till the signal given,
(Milton: Paradise Lost, Book I)
Main features of an epic simile:
1) It is elaborated in considerable detail. It is complete in itself.
2) It is mainly drawn from nature and the primary qualities of the physical nature are suggested by it. In some exceptional cases, however, history or mythology is used for its source.
3) It is functional and integrated with the narrative.
4) It is mainly used in epics.
Epigram:
A brief and witty statement which is apparently self-contradictory Examples:
"Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought."
(Shelley: "To a Skylark")
Here "sweetest" and "saddest" oppose each other but as we go beneath the surface level, we find that the sadder the song the deeper the impression it makes.
So all my best is dressing old words new,
Spending again what is already spent;
For as the sun is daily new and old,
So is my love still telling what is told.
(Shakespeare: "Sonnet LXXVI")
"The rising unto place is laborious; and by pains men come to greater pains;" (Bacon: "Of Great Place")
Epigrams lead readers or listeners to think and discover the meaning of the paradox in the statement, and thus, provide the intended pleasure. They sometimes offer humour, attack the target subject and create lasting impression on the readers.
Note: It is difficult to distinguish an epigram from an aphorism because both of them are witty and concise. However, an epigram is a paradoxical statement while an aphorism is a statement of a principle and truth. An aphorism is didactic but an epigram is often ironic. [see Aphorism]
Epigram also means a kind of short, witty poem.
Epiphany:
A moment of sudden revelation or awareness that changes the course of life of the major character of a novel or short story. James Joyce defined epiphany as the moment when the "soul of the commonest object . . . seems to us radiant".
Example:
Stephen, the hero of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, once saw a young wading girl on the shore of the sea. The girl looked like a seabird: "She seemed like one whom magic had changed into the likeness of a strange and beautiful seabird." (Chapter 4) The image of the wading girl manifested to him as a hawk like seabird soaring high. In a flash, the sight created in him awareness of imaginationâ the real vocation of an artist. An artist's imagination soaring higher and higher also reflects absolute freedom. So, later in the novel (Chapter 5) Stephen rejects all that dominated him so farâ his
family, homeland and religionâin order to be an artist. The wading girl is an epiphany that finally changes the course of Stephen's life.
An epiphany signals a turning point in the plot. Sometimes it is used to change the opinion of one character about other characters, events and places after a sudden awareness of the situation. It may also be a sign of a conclusion in the story.
Episode:
A part of a longer story or a larger sequence.
For example, in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the part that narrates Lydia's elopement and its impacts on the Bennet family is an episode. in Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, the part that describes Bluntschli's visit to Petkoff's house to return the coat is an episode. In Aeneid, the part which deals with the love of Dido for Aeneas is an episode. TV serials are divided into episodes which are shown in succession. Though an episode appears complete in itself, it leaves behind some clues on which the next episode is developed. An episode contributes to the total design of the story.
