epopee

American  

[ep-uh-pee, ep-uh-pee] / ˈɛp əˌpi, ˌɛp əˈpi /

Also epopoeia

noun

1. an epic.

2. epic poetry.

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epopee British  

/ ˈɛpəʊˌpiː, epɔpe, ˌɛpəˈpiːə /

noun

1. an epic poem

2. epic poetry in general

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Etymology

Origin of epopee

1690–1700; < French épopée < Greek epopoiía, equivalent to épo ( s ) epos + poi ( eîn ) to make + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

The poem is complete in itself, but it was designed as a fragment of that vast modern epopee, with humanity for the hero, of which La Chute d'un Ange was another fragment.

From A History of French Literature Short Histories of the Literatures of the World: II. by Gosse, Edmund

Fox was no literary oracle, and his opinion is here cited only as evidence that the superearthly is an acknowledged element in the epopee.

From Essays Æsthetical by Calvert, George H. (George Henry)

There likewise tragedy will be seen to borrow from the epopee; and that which borrows is always of less dignity, because it has not of its own.

From Discourses on Satire and on Epic Poetry by Dryden, John

The French epopee had its origin in the national songs of the Germanic invaders of Gaul, adopted from their conquerors by the Gallo-Romans.

From A History of French Literature Short Histories of the Literatures of the World: II. by Gosse, Edmund

In this view of the subject, every nation, if it would be worth any thing at all, must possess an epopee, to which the precise form of the epic poem is not necessary.

From Autobiography: Truth and Fiction Relating to My Life by Oxenford, John