mockepic

Mockepic, also called mock-heroic, is a satirical poetry genre that imitates the form and style of the classical epic for comic effect. It treats ordinary or trivial subject matter as if it were grand and momentous, using elevated diction and epic devices to lampoon the subject and perhaps the culture that venerates it.

Common techniques include invocation to a muse, epic similes that stretch the ordinary, lengthy catalogues, and dignified speeches delivered by a heroic narrator. The hero is often an unworthy or minor figure placed in an epic frame, while the stakes are deliberately exaggerated to absurd proportions. The verse form is frequently written in heroic couplets or formal blank verse, reinforcing the parody of epic grandeur.

Origins and development: The form emerged in late 17th-century England as a satirical reaction to contemporary epic pretensions. John Dryden and Samuel Butler are early practitioners; Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe (1682) launches the tradition by portraying a minor poet as a grand ancestor in a mock-heroic panorama. The most influential later example is Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1712), which parodies epic machinery to treat a social salon event. Pope’s The Dunciad and other works further developed the mock-epic technique, influencing later satirical verse.

Examples: Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe; Butler’s Hudibras (often described as mock-heroic); Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad; later poets and writers continued the tradition in various forms.

Legacy: Mockepic is recognized as a durable instrument of satire, enabling critique of literary culture, politics, and social mores by magnifying flaws through epic parody. The form has influenced later comic and satirical writing and remains a reference point in discussions of genre and parody.