I was reading today about someone complaining about overuse of the phrase "epic fail".
What bothers me, more than the overuse, is the fact that it's almost always a misuse of the word "epic". To be "epic", whatever it is really needs to be about a hero and his trials - that's what the word means.
Beowulf. The Illiad. The Hobbit. The Dark Knight.
If there's no hero involved, it's not an "epic" anything.
Here's my favourite epic tale of all time - The Point, the story of the hero Oblio (by the immortal Harry Nilsson). If you've only seen the TV version, narrated by Ringo Starr - well, this is way better. These are audio-only links.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
So, what's your favourite epic?