The UVic Writer's Guide


Epithet


An epithet is an adjective or adjectival phrase describing a characteristic quality of a person or thing.

For instance, in Homer's Odyssey (eighth century B.C.) the hero is typically referred to by the epithets "enduring," "resourceful," or "sacker of cities"; and the sea is always "wine-dark."

An epithet is also an identifying phrase which substitutes for a noun, such as Pope's reference to scissors as "the fatal engine" in his mock-epic "The Rape of the Lock" (1714).


Literary Terms (By Category)
Literary Terms (Alphabetized)
Table of Contents
Start Over
Index

Copyright, The Department of English, University of Victoria, 1995
This page updated September 23, 1995