Question

Read the text and answer the following question. In ancient literature, the genre which most closely approximates the novel is the epic. Works such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey as well as Virgil’s Aeneid, though poetry, are long narratives centered around certain key events and characters with heroic or cowardly actions that determine, not only their own fates, but also those of the nations which they led. The novel carries this tradition on, but in a reduced scope. The novel is much more localized, centering on characters in local settings, whose actions affect themselves and perhaps a few members of their local community. What is the main idea in the text? a. Epic poetry is poetry; novels are prose. b. Epic poems are greater in scope than novels. c. Epic poetry was a precursor to the novel.

Answer 1

b. Epic poems are greater in scope than novels.

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage in the question compares and contrasts epic poems and novels. Stating that they are both the highest forms of literary work but epics, though poetry, are much more superior than the novels who seem to center around the local and modernized world. Epics tells of the heroic deeds of the characters while novels just concerns itself with the characters set in a more familiar settings, whether doing great deeds or not.

Though both are forms of the tradition of passing on stories, the novel seems to be a more localized version of the epics. Thus, the main idea of the text is that epic poems are greater in scope than their successor, novels.