The Hero and the King: An Epic Theme

160 Pages·1982·6.7 MB·English

by  William T. H. Jackson

HE HERO
AND THE KING
AN EPIC THEME
W. T. H. JACKSON
All major Western epics—from those of
Homer to those from the end of the medieval
period—tell of some form of confrontation
between an established ruler and a younger
hero. The ruler often shows weakness—either
in character or in his handling of a particular
situation; he is therefore in danger of being
supplanted by the self-centered hero whose
exclusive concern is with his own glory.
In The Hero and the King, W. T. H.
Jackson examines this conflict between the
unstable ruler and the challenging hero, a
conflict which arose from the social condi­
tions in which the epics were born. Epic poets
developed the convention of expressing peri­
ods of turmoil and breakdown of social organ­
izations in terms of the struggle between king
and hero. Each epic hero, in his own way,
Jackson explains, follows a set path of forces
in and around the ruler. However, the epic
simultaneously addresses a larger question—
how the demands of freedom and order, of
individuality and law, of youth and age, and of
the search for a new world and a settled
convention are balanced.
Examining the Iliad, the Odyssey, the
Aeneid, Beowulf\ the Waltharius, the Chanson

THE HERO AND THE KING
AN EPIC THEME

W. T. H. JACKSON
HE HERO AND THE KING
CAW/'D AN EPIC THEME
NEW YORK C O L U M B I A U N 1 V E R S I T Y P R E S S 1982
Clothbound editions of Columbia University Press books are Smyth-sewn
and printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Jackson, W. T. H. (William Thomas Hobdell).
1915-
The hero and the king.
Bibliography: p.
1. Epic poetry, European—History and
criticism. 2. Heroes in literature. 3. Kings
and rulers in literature. I. Title.
PN1303.J3 809.Γ3 81-12205
ISBN 0-231-05354-1 AACR2
Columbia University Press
New York Guildford, Surrey
Copyright © 1982 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments vii
one: The Conflict Between Hero and King 1
two: The Conflict and the Nature of Epic 111
Bibliographical Note 139