Epics
Eirik the Red's Saga
In this saga, the events that led to Eirik the Red's banishment to Greenland are chronicled, as well as Leif Eirikson's discovery of Vinland…
Orlando Furioso
Charlemagne's nephew Orlando (AKA Roland) is driven insane by the infidelity of his beloved Angelica. Angelica's relationship with him and o…
The Ramayan
The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon (smṛti). …
Jerusalem
The epic poem Jerusalem was in Blake's own opinion his masterpiece. It is the last of the great prophetic books. Originally produced as an e…
Don Juan
Don Juan is a long narrative poem by Byron, based very loosely on the legend of the evil seducer, Don Juan. The first and second of (eventua…
Peer Gynt
Peer is a dreamer, liar, excellent storyteller and an irresponsible person who avoids all problems. He uses and discards women and looks tow…
Milton
Milton: a Poem is an epic poem by William Blake, written and illustrated between 1804 and 1810. Its hero is John Milton, who returns from he…
The Lusiads
The Lusiads (Os Lusíadas) is a Portuguese epic poem, written in the 16th century by Luis Vaz de Camões. The poem tells the tal…
Beowulf
The most famous piece of Old English literature, Beowulf was written by an unknown poet at least 1000 years ago and tells how the eponymous …
Don Juan
These are the last four Cantos of his mock epic that Byron completed in the year before his death at the age of 36 in Messolonghi, Greece, w…
Balder Dead
The poem begins with the beloved god Balder, thought to be invulnerable, dead at the hands of the inoffensive blind god Hoder, in a game. L…
Jerusalem Delivered
The First Crusade provides the backdrop for a rich tapestry of political machinations, military conflicts, martial rivalries, and love stori…
Balder Dead
"Balder Dead" is a beautiful epic poem by Matthew Arnold. It draws from Norse mythology to retell the story of the the death of Od…
Drake
Alfred Noyes, in the blank-verse epic "Drake", fictionalizes the historical Francis Drake, who, during the reign of Elizabeth I of…
Sohrab and Rustum
A young soldier born among Tartars but sired by the mighty Persian lord Rustum, serves in the Tartar army, seeking his great father. To this…
The Giaour
The Giaour is a narrative poem that transports listeners to the exotic landscapes of the East, where passion, betrayal, and vengeance intert…
Hermann and Dorothea
There are few modern poems of any country so perfect in their kind as the "Hermann and Dorothea" of Goethe. In clearness of charac…
The Ballad of the White Horse
This epic poem is about Alfred the Great's defense of Christian England against the pagan Viking invaders. The decisive battle is fought in…
Georgics
Virgil's Georgics are the second of the three major poetic works ascribed to the poet. It was published probably around 29 BC and, as the na…
Pharsalia
Lucan's only surviving work, De Bello Civili, more generally known as the Pharsalia, is an epic poem about the civil war between Julius Caes…