Literary Terms
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Ex: “Where shall a man find sweetness to
surpass”
Repetition of vowel sounds
Ex: “befORe / Odysseus' dOOR, the threshold
to his cOURt”
A pause or sudden break in a line of poetry
“Sing, o goddess, the rage || of Achilles, the
son of Peleus.”
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
Repetition of consonant sounds NOT limited
to the beginning of words
Ex: “The sacred flag of truth unfurled”
Writing that mourns the loss of something
Ex: “No more seafaring homeward for these,
no sweet day of return”
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…”
Running over of a sentence or thought from
one line to another
Ex: “ The crew were on their feet
briskly, to furl the sail…”
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
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…”
The use of vivid language that appeals to the
senses
Ex: "The Cyclops' rams were handsome, fat,
with heavy fleeces, a dark violet”
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.”
A request by the poet to a higher power for
guidance; an introduction to the upcoming
action
Ex: Odyssey begins with an invocation
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
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?”
Vantage point from which the story is told
Ex: Third person omniscient (mostly) with
some first person (Odysseus)
Repetition of identical sounds
Ex: “Nor till the ground, though grain…Ripen
in heaven’s rain…”
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.”
Sounds that are similar but not identical
Ex: “Lift the great song again…Begin when
all the rest who left behind them”
One of the parts into which a word is divided
when pronounced
Ex: O-dys-se-us
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