Poetry for Students

316 Poetry for Students

written as the soliloquy of a shepherd. In later cen-

turies, “eclogue” came to refer to any poem that

was in the pastoral tradition or that had a dialogue

or monologue structure.

Edwardian:Describes cultural conventions iden-

tified with the period of the reign of Edward VII

of England (1901–1910). Writers of the Edwardian

Age typically displayed a strong reaction against

the propriety and conservatism of the Victorian

Age. Their work often exhibits distrust of author-

ity in religion, politics, and art and expresses

strong doubts about the soundness of conventional

values.

Edwardian Age:SeeEdwardian

Electra Complex:A daughter’s amorous obses-

sion with her father.

Elegy:A lyric poem that laments the death of a

person or the eventual death of all people. In a con-

ventional elegy, set in a classical world, the poet

and subject are spoken of as shepherds. In modern

criticism, the word elegy is often used to refer to a

poem that is melancholy or mournfully contem-

plative.

Elizabethan Age:A period of great economic

growth, religious controversy, and nationalism

closely associated with the reign of Elizabeth I of

England (1558–1603). The Elizabethan Age is con-

sidered a part of the general renaissance—that is,

the flowering of arts and literature—that took place

in Europe during the fourteenth through sixteenth

centuries. The era is considered the golden age of

English literature. The most important dramas in

English and a great deal of lyric poetry were pro-

duced during this period, and modern English crit-

icism began around this time.

Empathy:A sense of shared experience, including

emotional and physical feelings, with someone or

something other than oneself. Empathy is often

used to describe the response of a reader to a liter-

ary character.

English Sonnet:SeeSonnet

Enjambment:The running over of the sense and

structure of a line of verse or a couplet into the fol-

lowing verse or couplet.

Enlightenment, The:An eighteenth-century phil-

osophical movement. It began in France but had a

wide impact throughout Europe and America.

Thinkers of the Enlightenment valued reason and

believed that both the individual and society could

achieve a state of perfection. Corresponding to this

essentially humanist vision was a resistance to re-

ligious authority.

Epic:A long narrative poem about the adventures

of a hero of great historic or legendary importance.

The setting is vast and the action is often given cos-

mic significance through the intervention of super-

natural forces such as gods, angels, or demons.

Epics are typically written in a classical style of

grand simplicity with elaborate metaphors and al-

lusions that enhance the symbolic importance of a

hero’s adventures.

Epic Simile:SeeHomeric Simile

Epigram:A saying that makes the speaker’s point

quickly and concisely.

Epilogue:A concluding statement or section of a

literary work. In dramas, particularly those of the

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the epilogue

is a closing speech, often in verse, delivered by an

actor at the end of a play and spoken directly to the

audience.

Epiphany:A sudden revelation of truth inspired

by a seemingly trivial incident.

Epitaph:An inscription on a tomb or tombstone,

or a verse written on the occasion of a person’s

death. Epitaphs may be serious or humorous.

Epithalamion:A song or poem written to honor

and commemorate a marriage ceremony.

Epithalamium:SeeEpithalamion

Epithet:A word or phrase, often disparaging or

abusive, that expresses a character trait of someone

or something.

Erziehungsroman:SeeBildungsroman

Essay:A prose composition with a focused sub-

ject of discussion. The term was coined by Michel

de Montaigne to describe his 1580 collection of

brief, informal reflections on himself and on vari-

ous topics relating to human nature. An essay can

also be a long, systematic discourse.

Existentialism: A predominantly twentieth-

century philosophy concerned with the nature and

perception of human existence. There are two ma-

jor strains of existentialist thought: atheistic and

Christian. Followers of atheistic existentialism be-

lieve that the individual is alone in a godless uni-

verse and that the basic human condition is one of

suffering and loneliness. Nevertheless, because

there are no fixed values, individuals can create

their own characters—indeed, they can shape them-

selves—through the exercise of free will. The athe-

istic strain culminates in and is popularly associated

with the works of Jean-Paul Sartre. The Christian

existentialists, on the other hand, believe that only

in God may people find freedom from life’s an-

Glossary of Literary Terms

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