Pan-national epic


A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy. National epics frequently recount the origin of a nation, a part of its history, or a crucial event in the development of national identity such as other national symbols.

Supranational Epics

For languages spread across various nations, earlier national epics of the older nation work as language epics. For example, national epics of England, such as The Canterbury Tales, or the works of Shakespeare are used as language epics across the English-speaking world, and the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran is used as a language epic by other Persian-speaking communities, in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. See national epics for more examples.
Religious texts such as The King James Bible, Luther Bible, Quran, and Tanakh have similar impact within a specific language, while the Bible itself is instead a supranational epic of Western civilization.