Is The Husband's Message An Epic Poem?

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Although some parts in the Husband’s Message demonstrate the similar features of an epic poem, I do not suppose that it is an epic story because it does not contain enough characteristics that are seen in epic stories in common. The poem is a quest story in which the speaker has traveled to his lord’s wife to deliver a message. The lord, or the husband of the wife, is away from his home because he was forced to leave during a feud, a cruel vendetta and he is now seeking her wife to travel to where he is and join him. It follows the trait of an epic hero that he faces some obstacles or difficulties. Also, the story is set in wartime as most epic stories are. However, although the famous epic stories, Beowulf and Gilgamesh, have a scene in which the hero bravely fights a monster to save his people, the Husband’s Message is about his life after the fight and his exile from the country. Therefore, there is no depiction that tells how he fought in the war with superhuman strength and demonstrated bravery through the fight. It means that there is no evidence to be an epic hero who he risks his life for the benefit of society and is glorified by the people he saves. It is a love poem rather than those epic stories with adventurous events occurring. It is a story about a husband waiting for his wife to come to him. Thus, I believe that the content is more personal and does not include a significant event with a large number of people whom he belongs

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