Humanities I
Mrs. Cave-Mattie
In addition to the terms that are
included in previous PowerPoint
presentations for this unit, as well as
the list of Literary Terms we
discussed in the beginning of the
school year, you will also be
responsible for knowing the
following terms. They will help you
better understand your reading of
The Iliad, and they will most likely
appear on the eventual exam.

Epic
› Long, narrative poem about
adventures of gods or a hero.
Serious in theme, presents an
encyclopedic portrait of the
culture which produced it.
› Folk or heroic epic: composed
orally and handed down from
storyteller by word of mouth
over generations (ex. Homer’s
Iliad)
› National epic: composed to
mimic heroic epics, but written
to represent a given culture (ex.
The Aenied)

Anthropomorphic
› Ascribing human form or attributes to
a being or thing not human, esp. to a
deity.

Foreshadowing
› Hinting at things to come

Foil
› A foil is a character whose
personality and attitude is opposite
the personality and attitude of
another character. Because these
characters contrast, each makes
the personality of the other stand
out.

Hubris
› excessive pride or self-confidence;
arrogance.

Femme Fetal
› A woman of great seductive charm who leads men into
compromising or dangerous situations.
› An alluring, mysterious woman.

Hamartia
› Tragic Flaw
› a flaw in character that brings about the downfall of the hero of
a tragedy

Catharsis
› A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity
and fear, described by
Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on
its audience.
› A release of emotional tension, as after an
overwhelming experience, that restores or
refreshes the spirit.

Anagnorisis
› The point in the plot especially
of a tragedy at which the
protagonist recognizes his or
her or some other character's
true identity or discovers the
true nature of his or her own
situation

Peripeteia
› a sudden or unexpected
reversal of circumstances or
situation especially in a literary
work