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World's Greatest Epics
This is a list of the greatest epics from around the world. It includes both ancient and contemporary works.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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The Iliad / The Odyssey
by
4.07 avg rating — 82,553 ratings
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| 2 |
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The Lord of the Rings
by
4.54 avg rating — 720,208 ratings
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| 3 |
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Beowulf
by
3.50 avg rating — 340,001 ratings
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| 4 |
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The Odyssey
by
3.83 avg rating — 1,165,447 ratings
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| 5 |
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The Epic of Gilgamesh
by
3.75 avg rating — 115,148 ratings
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| 6 |
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The Aeneid
by
3.87 avg rating — 140,810 ratings
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| 7 |
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The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso
by
4.08 avg rating — 168,569 ratings
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| 8 |
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War and Peace
by
4.17 avg rating — 359,195 ratings
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| 9 |
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Paradise Lost
by
3.85 avg rating — 178,999 ratings
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| 10 |
|
Mahabharata
by
4.32 avg rating — 12,020 ratings
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| 11 |
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The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic
by
4.07 avg rating — 13,071 ratings
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| 12 |
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Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings
by
4.52 avg rating — 5,563 ratings
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| 13 |
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The Nibelungenlied
by
3.82 avg rating — 8,758 ratings
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| 14 |
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The Iliad
by
3.93 avg rating — 498,642 ratings
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| 15 |
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The Canterbury Tales
by
3.52 avg rating — 235,473 ratings
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| 16 |
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Don Quixote
by
3.91 avg rating — 299,334 ratings
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| 17 |
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Hamlet
by
4.03 avg rating — 1,026,975 ratings
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| 18 |
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The Song of Roland
by
3.50 avg rating — 18,845 ratings
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| 19 |
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Shōgun (Asian Saga, #1)
by
4.41 avg rating — 208,355 ratings
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| 20 |
|
The Kalevala
by
Elias Lönnrot (Editor)
4.05 avg rating — 5,973 ratings
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| 21 |
|
Les Misérables
by
4.21 avg rating — 834,068 ratings
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| 22 |
|
Moby-Dick or, The Whale
by
3.56 avg rating — 606,333 ratings
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| 23 |
|
Three Kingdoms (4-Volume Boxed Set)
by
4.38 avg rating — 6,387 ratings
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| 24 |
|
The Saga of the Volsungs
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6,891 ratings
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| 25 |
|
Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table
by
3.92 avg rating — 39,117 ratings
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| 26 |
|
Metamorphoses
by
4.10 avg rating — 76,877 ratings
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| 27 |
|
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by
3.76 avg rating — 75,664 ratings
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| 28 |
|
All Quiet on the Western Front
by
4.10 avg rating — 509,117 ratings
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| 29 |
|
The Bhagavad Gita
by
4.19 avg rating — 79,933 ratings
score: 827,
and
9 people voted
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| 30 |
|
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
by
4.30 avg rating — 4,374,085 ratings
score: 803,
and
9 people voted
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| 31 |
|
Forty-Ninth
by
Boris Pronsky (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 128 ratings
score: 798,
and
8 people voted
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| 32 |
|
The Brothers Karamazov
by
4.39 avg rating — 374,156 ratings
score: 725,
and
9 people voted
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| 33 |
|
Orlando Furioso
by
4.04 avg rating — 4,057 ratings
score: 699,
and
8 people voted
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| 34 |
|
The Arabian Nights
by
4.03 avg rating — 80,634 ratings
score: 692,
and
8 people voted
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| 35 |
|
Jason and the Golden Fleece
by
3.83 avg rating — 11,124 ratings
score: 683,
and
8 people voted
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| 36 |
|
Njal's Saga
by
3.94 avg rating — 5,397 ratings
score: 671,
and
8 people voted
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| 37 |
|
Idylls of the King
by
3.97 avg rating — 10,369 ratings
score: 623,
and
8 people voted
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| 38 |
|
The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes
by
4.26 avg rating — 11,775 ratings
score: 622,
and
7 people voted
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| 39 |
|
East of Eden
by
4.43 avg rating — 611,628 ratings
score: 606,
and
7 people voted
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| 40 |
|
The Faerie Queene
by
3.58 avg rating — 17,185 ratings
score: 598,
and
7 people voted
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| 41 |
|
The Silmarillion
by
4.03 avg rating — 327,783 ratings
score: 593,
and
7 people voted
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| 42 |
|
The Count of Monte Cristo
by
4.32 avg rating — 1,000,207 ratings
score: 575,
and
7 people voted
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| 43 |
|
The Chronicles of Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia, #1-7)
by
4.28 avg rating — 697,715 ratings
score: 509,
and
6 people voted
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| 44 |
|
The Mabinogion
by
3.93 avg rating — 8,475 ratings
score: 491,
and
6 people voted
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| 45 |
|
The Poem of the Cid: Dual Language Edition
by
3.45 avg rating — 15,453 ratings
score: 485,
and
6 people voted
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| 46 |
|
The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology
by
4.16 avg rating — 15,479 ratings
score: 479,
and
6 people voted
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| 47 |
|
A Tale of Two Cities
by
3.88 avg rating — 1,000,681 ratings
score: 477,
and
6 people voted
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| 48 |
|
Don Juan
by
3.78 avg rating — 8,846 ratings
score: 473,
and
6 people voted
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| 49 |
|
The Rape of the Lock
by
3.54 avg rating — 16,983 ratings
score: 464,
and
6 people voted
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| 50 |
|
Hawaii
by
4.22 avg rating — 81,072 ratings
score: 462,
and
5 people voted
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| 51 |
|
The Book of Dede Korkut
by
3.91 avg rating — 1,541 ratings
score: 447,
and
5 people voted
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| 52 |
|
The Tain
by
3.95 avg rating — 4,920 ratings
score: 437,
and
5 people voted
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| 52 |
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)
by
4.62 avg rating — 4,035,269 ratings
score: 437,
and
5 people voted
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| 54 |
|
Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1)
by
4.57 avg rating — 226,700 ratings
score: 431,
and
5 people voted
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| 54 |
|
The Stand
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 819,559 ratings
score: 431,
and
5 people voted
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| 56 |
|
Theogony / Works and Days
by
3.76 avg rating — 16,013 ratings
score: 396,
and
5 people voted
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| 57 |
|
The Lady of the Lake
by
3.86 avg rating — 1,541 ratings
score: 373,
and
5 people voted
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| 58 |
|
Aniara
by
3.85 avg rating — 3,047 ratings
score: 367,
and
4 people voted
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| 59 |
|
The Three Musketeers
by
4.10 avg rating — 346,381 ratings
score: 346,
and
4 people voted
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| 59 |
|
The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)
by
4.38 avg rating — 335,662 ratings
score: 346,
and
4 people voted
|
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| 61 |
|
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by
3.97 avg rating — 62,034 ratings
score: 332,
and
4 people voted
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| 62 |
|
Jerusalem Delivered
by
3.96 avg rating — 1,781 ratings
score: 317,
and
4 people voted
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| 63 |
|
Troilus and Criseyde
by
3.75 avg rating — 7,083 ratings
score: 313,
and
4 people voted
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| 63 |
|
Ivanhoe
by
3.76 avg rating — 98,265 ratings
score: 313,
and
4 people voted
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| 65 |
|
Candide
by
3.76 avg rating — 296,415 ratings
score: 286,
and
4 people voted
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| 66 |
|
The Lusiads
by
3.99 avg rating — 9,305 ratings
score: 285,
and
3 people voted
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| 67 |
|
The Thebaid: Seven Against Thebes
by
3.94 avg rating — 269 ratings
score: 254,
and
3 people voted
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| 67 |
|
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult
by
3.52 avg rating — 14,475 ratings
score: 254,
and
3 people voted
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| 69 |
|
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)
by
4.50 avg rating — 3,717,952 ratings
score: 246,
and
3 people voted
|
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| 70 |
|
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 653,616 ratings
score: 244,
and
3 people voted
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| 71 |
|
Parzival
by
3.74 avg rating — 3,855 ratings
score: 234,
and
3 people voted
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| 72 |
|
Homeric Hymns. Homeric Apocrypha. Lives of Homer
by
4.39 avg rating — 67 ratings
score: 226,
and
3 people voted
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| 73 |
|
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Cleanness, Patience
by
4.08 avg rating — 5,751 ratings
score: 225,
and
3 people voted
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| 74 |
|
The Fall of Troy
by
3.98 avg rating — 651 ratings
score: 206,
and
3 people voted
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| 75 |
|
German Epic Poetry
by
Francis G. Gentry (Editor)
4.07 avg rating — 44 ratings
score: 197,
and
3 people voted
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| 76 |
|
The Aeneid, Volume 1: Introduction, Books I - VIII
by
4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings
score: 196,
and
2 people voted
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| 77 |
|
The Gododdin: the oldest Scottish poem
by
4.22 avg rating — 378 ratings
score: 179,
and
2 people voted
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| 77 |
|
London
by
Edward Rutherfurd (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 33,795 ratings
score: 179,
and
2 people voted
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| 79 |
|
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
by
4.44 avg rating — 136,764 ratings
score: 177,
and
2 people voted
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| 80 |
|
The Sagas of Icelanders
by
4.31 avg rating — 4,186 ratings
score: 175,
and
2 people voted
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| 81 |
|
The Fionavar Tapestry (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1-3)
by
Guy Gavriel Kay (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 7,782 ratings
score: 172,
and
2 people voted
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| 82 |
|
The Knight in the Panther's Skin
by
4.66 avg rating — 3,078 ratings
score: 169,
and
2 people voted
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| 83 |
|
Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion
by
Jenny Rowland (Editor and Translator)
4.17 avg rating — 12 ratings
score: 167,
and
2 people voted
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| 83 |
|
The Saga of the People of Laxardal / Bolli Bollason's Tale
by
3.92 avg rating — 357 ratings
score: 167,
and
2 people voted
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| 85 |
|
The Killer Angels (The Civil War Trilogy, #2)
by
4.33 avg rating — 90,855 ratings
score: 166,
and
2 people voted
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| 86 |
|
King Harald's Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway: From Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,208 ratings
score: 165,
and
2 people voted
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| 87 |
|
The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides
by
4.02 avg rating — 45,885 ratings
score: 163,
and
2 people voted
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| 88 |
|
Iliad, Books 1–12 (Loeb Classical Library, #170)
by
4.50 avg rating — 1,264 ratings
score: 161,
and
2 people voted
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| 89 |
|
The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7)
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 186,496 ratings
score: 160,
and
2 people voted
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| 90 |
|
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
by
4.57 avg rating — 4,100,312 ratings
score: 155,
and
2 people voted
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| 91 |
|
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
by
4.58 avg rating — 3,587,743 ratings
score: 153,
and
2 people voted
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| 92 |
|
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
by
3.50 avg rating — 14,348 ratings
score: 152,
and
2 people voted
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| 93 |
|
Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works African Authors Series) (English and Zulu Edition)
by
4.14 avg rating — 42 ratings
score: 149,
and
2 people voted
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| 94 |
|
The Children of Húrin
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4.05 avg rating — 91,555 ratings
score: 148,
and
2 people voted
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| 95 |
|
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
by
4.58 avg rating — 4,717,936 ratings
score: 146,
and
2 people voted
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| 96 |
|
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)
by
4.47 avg rating — 11,148,298 ratings
score: 144,
and
2 people voted
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| 97 |
|
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)
by
4.43 avg rating — 4,384,150 ratings
score: 141,
and
2 people voted
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| 98 |
|
Tales of the Elders of Ireland
by
3.73 avg rating — 266 ratings
score: 126,
and
2 people voted
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| 99 |
|
Finn and Hengest: The Fragment and the Episode
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 384 ratings
score: 123,
and
2 people voted
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| 100 |
|
Eclogues. Georgics. Aeneid, Books 1–6
by
4.27 avg rating — 594 ratings
score: 119,
and
2 people voted
|
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Comments Showing 1-4 of 4 (4 new)
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message 1:
by
Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large)
(new)
Nov 30, 2012 09:48AM
All Quiet on the Western Front is a great book, but how is it an epic? It's not even 300 pages long ...
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|
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Themis-Athena, I opened this list for general comment and additions, so someone must have added it based on its theme, rather than its adherence to the traditional genre. While it is a great book, I agree with you.
John wrote: "Themis-Athena, I opened this list for general comment and additions, so someone must have added it based on its theme, rather than its adherence to the traditional genre. While it is a great book, ..."Do you want a librarian to remove it?
"Epic" is a hard genre to get precise agreement about. The one that stood out to me as not belonging was "Hamlet." I voted for some that were marginal in terms of structure-- Lord of the Rings is mostly prose, Sir Gawain is quite short, Dante's Divine Comedy doesn't have the typical epic plot, etc. Thanks for starting this list. I am looking forward to hearing people's thoughts!
Anyone can add books to this list.
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