A narrative poem that retains the elevated style, heroic subject matter, and dignified tone of epic poetry while compressing the story into significantly fewer lines than traditional epics. This form maintains epic conventions such as grand themes, noble characters, and formal language, but condenses the action to make heroic narrative more accessible. Medieval poets often used this technique to adapt classical epics, while modern practitioners employ it to explore mythic material without requiring readers to commit to vast length.

Retains epic's elevated style and heroic subject but drastically reduces length. Medieval romances often condensed classical epics. Modern poets use technique to make epic accessible while maintaining dignity of subject.