Literary Terms
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Repetition of initial consonant sounds
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Ex: “Where shall a man find sweetness to
surpass”
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Repetition of vowel sounds
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Ex: “befORe / Odysseus' dOOR, the threshold
to his cOURt”
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A pause or sudden break in a line of poetry
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“Sing, o goddess, the rage || of Achilles, the
son of Peleus.”
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Narrative often includes inventories of
characters or important histories or
important people or artifacts to provide
relevance and authority
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Ex: Character list at beginning of epic poem
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Repetition of consonant sounds NOT limited
to the beginning of words
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Ex: “The sacred flag of truth unfurled”
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Writing that mourns the loss of something
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Ex: “No more seafaring homeward for these,
no sweet day of return”
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Rhyming words that appear at the ends of
two or more lines of poetry
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Ex: “Nor till the ground, though grain…
Ripen in heaven’s rain…”
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Running over of a sentence or thought from
one line to another
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Ex: “ The crew were on their feet
briskly, to furl the sail…”
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A person of high social status who embodies
the ideals of his/her people
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Ex: Odysseus’ goal is to save his
nation/people during time of crisis
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Long, elaborate comparison that continues
for several lines
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Ex: The Cyclops caught two men “like
squirming puppies to beat their brains out,
spattering the floor. Then he made his
meal…crunching like a mountain lion…”
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The use of vivid language that appeals to the
senses
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Ex: "The Cyclops' rams were handsome, fat,
with heavy fleeces, a dark violet”
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Rhyme within a line of poetry
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Ex: “Until we drew away…now when I cupped
my hands I heard the crew in low voices
protesting.”
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A request by the poet to a higher power for
guidance; an introduction to the upcoming
action
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Ex: Odyssey begins with an invocation
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The use of a word whose sound suggests its
meaning
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Ex: “Bashed by this hand and bashed on this
rock wall…”
Other Ex: Clang, buzz, pop
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Figure of speech in which an animal, object,
force of nature, or idea is given human
characteristics
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Ex: ”Death sat there huge; how could we slip
away?”
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Vantage point from which the story is told
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Ex: Third person omniscient (mostly) with
some first person (Odysseus)
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Repetition of identical sounds
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Ex: “Nor till the ground, though grain…Ripen
in heaven’s rain…”
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2 consecutive lines that rhyme
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Ex: (None in Odyssey…Here’s one from R&J!)
 “For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
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Sounds that are similar but not identical
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Ex: “Lift the great song again…Begin when
all the rest who left behind them”
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One of the parts into which a word is divided
when pronounced
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Ex: O-dys-se-us