The OdysseyLiterary Terms

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Ex: “Where shall a man find sweetness to surpass”

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Ex: “befORe / Odysseus' dOOR, the threshold to his cOURt”

Caesura

A pause or sudden break in a line of poetry

“Sing, o goddess, the rage || of Achilles, the son of Peleus.”

Catalogs/Genealogies

Narrative often includes inventories of characters or important histories or important people or artifacts to provide relevance and authority

Ex: Character list at beginning of epic poem

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds NOT limited to the beginning of words

Ex: “The sacred flag of truth unfurled”

Elegy/Elegiac Mood

Writing that mourns the loss of something

Ex: “No more seafaring homeward for these, no sweet day of return”

End Rhyme

Rhyming words that appear at the ends of two or more lines of poetry

Ex: “Nor till the ground, though grain…

Ripen in heaven’s rain…”

Enjambment

Running over of a sentence or thought from one line to another

Ex: “ The crew were on their feet briskly, to furl the sail…”

Epic Hero

A person of high social status who embodies the ideals of his/her people

Ex: Odysseus’ goal is to save his nation/people during time of crisis

Epic Simile

Long, elaborate comparison that continues for several lines

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…”

Imagery

The use of vivid language that appeals to the senses

Ex: "The Cyclops' rams were handsome, fat, with heavy fleeces, a dark violet”

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme within a line of poetry

Ex: “Until we drew away…now when I cupped my hands I heard the crew in low voices protesting.”

Invocation

A request by the poet to a higher power for guidance; an introduction to the upcoming action

Ex: Odyssey begins with an invocation

Onomatopoeia

The use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning

Ex: “Bashed by this hand and bashed on this rock wall…”

Other Ex: Clang, buzz, pop

Personification

Figure of speech in which an animal, object, force of nature, or idea is given human characteristics

Ex: ”Death sat there huge; how could we slip away?”

Point of View

Vantage point from which the story is told

Ex: Third person omniscient (mostly) with some first person (Odysseus)

Rhyme

Repetition of identical sounds

Ex: “Nor till the ground, though grain…Ripen in heaven’s rain…”

Rhyming Couplet

2 consecutive lines that rhyme

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.”

Slant Rhyme

Sounds that are similar but not identical

Ex: “Lift the great song again…Begin when all the rest who left behind them”

Syllable

One of the parts into which a word is divided when pronounced

Ex: O-dys-se-us