The Odyssey
Literary Terms: Please copy
those that are NOT labeled
review.
Alliteration (Review)
 Repetition

of initial consonant sounds
Example: “Where shall a man find
sweetness to surpass?”
Allusion (Review)
A
figure of speech that refers to a wellknown story, event, person, or object in
order to make a comparison in the
readers' minds.
Archetype
A
character, symbol, or behavioral
pattern that is basically a universal
template for a character that is copied
throughout all forms of storytelling.



Example: The Hero
Example: The Mother Figure
Example: The Wise Old Man
Assonance (Review)
 Repetition
of vowel sounds

Example: “before/ Odysseus’ door, the
threshold to his court”

Example: Grab Bag
Caesura (Review)
A
pause or sudden break in a line of
poetry
Catalogs/Genealogies
 Verse
that presents a list; usually of
people, objects, or abstract qualities.

Example: Character list at the beginning of
an epic poem
Consonance (Review)
 Repetition
of consonant sounds NOT
limited to the beginning of words.

Example: River and Ever
Elegy/ Elegiac Mood
A
mournful, melancholic or plaintive
poem, especially a funeral song or a
lament for the dead.
End Rhyme (Review)
 Rhyming
words that appear at the ends
of two or more lines of poetry
Example:
“Nor till the ground, though grain . . .”
Ripen in heaven’s rain . . .”

Enjambment (Review)
 Running
over of a sentence or a thought
from one line to another
Epic Hero
 The
main character in an epic poem-typically one who embodies the values of
his or her culture.
Epic Poem

A long, narrative poem that is usually
about heroic deeds and events that are
significant to the culture of the poet.
Epic Simile
 Also
called Homeric simile, an
extended simile often running to several
lines, used typically in epic poetry to
intensify the heroic stature of the subject
and to serve as decoration.
Epithet
A
byname, or a descriptive term ,
accompanying or occurring in place of a
name and having entered common
usage. It can be described as a glorified
nickname.


Example: “Alexander the Great”
Example: “Slayer of Argos”
Hyperbole (Review)
 Exaggerations
effect.

to create emphasis or
Example: I tried 1,000 times
Imagery (Review)
 The
use of vivid language that appeals to
the senses

“The Cyclops’ rams were handsome, fat,
with heavy fleeces, a dark violet”
In Medias Res
 Latin:
in the middle of the narrative.
 *Many
epics start this way.
Invocation
 The
act of invoking or calling upon some
agent for assistance
 A prayer asking God for help
 An appeal for inspiration and guidance
from a Muse or deity at the
beginning of a poem
Internal Rhyme (Review)
 Rhyme
between a word within a line and
another either at the end of the same line
or within another line.
Myth
A
traditional story, especially one
concerning the early history of a people
or explaining some natural or social
phenomenon, and typically involving
supernatural beings or events.
Onomatopoeia
 Words

for sounds.
Example: hiss
Oral Tradition
 Information
passed down through the
generations by word of mouth that is not
written down.
 This includes historical and
cultural traditions, literature and law.
Personification (Review)
A
figure of speech in which an animal,
object, force of nature, or idea is given
human characteristics
 Example:
“Death sat there”
Point of View (Review)
 Vantage

point from which the story is told
Example: Some of the Odyssey is 1st person
point of view, from the perspective of
Odysseus
Rhapsodes/Bards
 Refers
to a classic Greek performer of
epic poetry.
 Associated with the oral tradition
Rhyme (Review)
 Repetition
of identical sounds
Rhyming Couplet (Review)
 Two
consecutive lines that rhyme
Slant Rhyme (Review)
 Sounds

that are similar but not identical
Example: again/them
Speaker (Review)
 The
voice in a piece of writing that is
assumed by the writer.
Syllable
A
unit of pronunciation.
Theme (Review)
 The
main idea or lesson in a literary work.
 *Should
be a phrase or sentence– NOT
ONE WORD!
Tone (Review)
 Attitude
of a writer toward a subject or an
audience.
* Tone is sometimes confused with mood.
T he author’s feelings
O
N
E
M y feelings
O
O
D