The texts are epic, which belong to the literary genre of the epic, and, moreover, elements which appear in other genres but which are actually characteristic of the epic: there are, therefore, narrative elements in such a text, as in the poem form of the ballad , which is distinguished by lyrical and dramatic, but also epic features. In terms of colloquial terms, the term also means that a situation is shown very extensively and no individual is omitted. In the language of the youth, the term sometimes means cool, unbelievable or super, and comes from the gamers’ scene, which coined the epic epic for the adjectives and passed it through epic to german (jargon, jargon).
term
The term epic, from which epic derives, was originally a designation for the art of the epic. According to Aristotle, the epic differs from other genres, ie, drama and lyricism, in that it is narrated and does not, like the drama, imitate an act on the stage. Originally, however, these epics were distinguished by a design in verses (usually hexameters) and were thus subjected to certain metrical and rhythmic characteristics.
For a long time, this separation was regarded as unproblematic, but it has to be taken with caution since the differentiation of epic poetry in the eighteenth century and the development of prose. Consequently, the notion of epic was expanded and meant not only the art of the epic but all the works of the narrative literature. This narrative is that the notion of drama and lyricism delimited.
If a text is epic, then it tells and tells the reader in detail about an action which is mostly in the past. He does not distinguish himself by means of rhythmic or metrical features, although he is not bound to rhymes or verses and thus appears as an unbound speech (cf. prose). There are also epic texts in a narrative (see narrative perspectives).
The Brockhaus from 1837 summarizes the concept as well. The following passage is particularly important: the epic is aptly taken from the epic: “According to Greek, that is the one of the main forms of poetry, whose distinctive character is a narrative portrayal. The poet does not put his words into the mouth, as in the drama, but in the most peaceful way imagines what his imagination is giving him over the historically substantiated or invented events, which he presents as something past in the poetical garb. ” From epic to epic to verbosity
Interaction language: epic
In addition to the obvious meaning that the adjective epic points to the fact that a work is part of the genre of the epic, the word is used in a general sense in the usage of the language, and is also a part of the language of the youth and in particular the gamers’ scene.
In general, the word means that a state of affairs is described in detail, and the adjective also points to the fact that a thing takes on a large scale. One example of this would be the epic battles, which basically have nothing to do with the fact that such a battle combines the characteristics of the epic, but that it continues for a very long time and assumes a great extent.
In addition, the term is found in the jargon of the gamers’ scene. It was originally the English word epic. This was formerly translated with the noun epic or used in conjunction with the narrative. Meanwhile, however, it is also used for horny, incredible, super or powerful. Another synonym would be monumental (see translation: de.pons.com).
epic and epic fail
The English adjective epic was also used for the increase. If a thing was epic, it was extraordinary. This resulted in the combination epic fail, which stands for total failure and literally means the colossal / epic / monumental failure.
Very frequently, with this word sequence hashtags are formed in the popular social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc.) – for example, #epicfail – to bundle entries or videos, which illustrate a particularly drastic, humorous or serious failure. A search query on the video platform Youtube provides many results that document the use (see: YouTube search).
Short overview: The most important part of the term at a glance
Epics are used to refer to texts belonging to the literary genre of the epic, and to elements which appear in other genres but which are actually characteristic of the genre of the epic. The prosperity or the ballad, for example, combine the characteristics of different genres.
In the widest sense and in the general language usage, the term also means that a state of affairs is presented very extensively, that is, in an epic range, and thus on a large scale. As an epic breadth, the depiction is described in drawing-out descriptions, in which a detailed narrative is given and all details are named.
In addition, the adjective of the 21st century experienced a change in meaning and was used in the gamers’ scene synonymous for the terms monumental, horny, incredible or super. This also resulted in the English combination epic fail, which can be translated as roughly as the colossal / epic / monumental failure.
Note: In addition, the word is sometimes combined with other terms and is intended to refer to a narrative attitude and, therefore, to the fact that something is “posing” to the addressee and tells it something like the epic theater.