Glossary of Literary Terms

Epithet

An Epithet is a glorified nickname. Traditionally, it replaces the name of a person and often describes them in some way.

Eponym

An eponym refers to a person or thing after which something else is named. A person or thing’s name can come to be associated with the name of another character, person, product, object, activity, or even a discovery.

Equivocation

Commonly known as “doublespeak,” equivocation is the use of vague language to hide one’s meaning or to avoid committing to a point of view.

Essay

An essay is a form of writing in paragraph form that uses informal language, although it can be written formally. Essays may be written in first-person point of view (I, ours, mine), but third-person (people, he, she) is preferable in most academic essays.

Etymology

Etymology is the investigation of word histories. Every word in every language has a unique origin and history; words can be born in many ways, and often their histories are quite adventurous and informative. Etymology investigates and documents the lives (mainly the origins) of words.

Euphemism

A euphemism is a polite, mild phrase that we substitute for a harsher, blunter way of saying something uncomfortable.

Excursus

An excursus is a moment where a text moves away from its main topic – it’s roughly similar to “digression.”

Exemplum

Exemplum is just Latin for “example.” And that’s all it is. It’s an example, story, or anecdote used to demonstrate a point.

Exposition

The exposition of a story is the first paragraph or paragraphs in which the characters, setting (time and place), and basic information is introduced.