250 Poetry for Students
ature. The New Critics saw little merit in histori-
cal and biographical analysis. Rather, they aimed
to examine the text alone, free from the question
of how external events—biographical or other-
wise—may have helped shape it.
New Journalism:A type of writing in which the
journalist presents factual information in a form
usually used in fiction. New journalism emphasizes
description, narration, and character development
to bring readers closer to the human element of the
story, and is often used in personality profiles and
in-depth feature articles. It is not compatible with
“straight” or “hard” newswriting, which is gener-
ally composed in a brief, fact-based style.
New Journalists:See New Journalism
New Negro Movement:See Harlem Renaissance
Noble Savage:The idea that primitive man is no-
ble and good but becomes evil and corrupted as he
becomes civilized. The concept of the noble sav-
age originated in the Renaissance period but is
more closely identified with such later writers as
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Aphra Behn.O
Objective Correlative:An outward set of objects,
a situation, or a chain of events corresponding to
an inward experience and evoking this experience
in the reader. The term frequently appears in mod-
ern criticism in discussions of authors’ intended ef-
fects on the emotional responses of readers.
Objectivity:A quality in writing characterized by
the absence of the author’s opinion or feeling about
the subject matter. Objectivity is an important fac-
tor in criticism.
Occasional Verse:Poetry written on the occasion
of a significant historical or personal event. Vers
de societeis sometimes called occasional verse al-
though it is of a less serious nature.
Octave:A poem or stanza composed of eight lines.
The term octave most often represents the first eight
lines of a Petrarchan sonnet.
Ode:Name given to an extended lyric poem char-
acterized by exalted emotion and dignified style.
An ode usually concerns a single, serious theme.
Most odes, but not all, are addressed to an object
or individual. Odes are distinguished from other
lyric poetic forms by their complex rhythmic and
stanzaic patterns.
Oedipus Complex:A son’s amorous obsession
with his mother. The phrase is derived from the
story of the ancient Theban hero Oedipus, who un-knowingly killed his father and married his
mother.
Omniscience:See Point of View
Onomatopoeia:The use of words whose sounds
express or suggest their meaning. In its simplest
sense, onomatopoeia may be represented by words
that mimic the sounds they denote such as “hiss”
or “meow.” At a more subtle level, the pattern and
rhythm of sounds and rhymes of a line or poem
may be onomatopoeic.
Oral Tradition:See Oral Transmission
Oral Transmission:A process by which songs,
ballads, folklore, and other material are transmit-
ted by word of mouth. The tradition of oral trans-
mission predates the written record systems of
literate society. Oral transmission preserves mate-
rial sometimes over generations, although often
with variations. Memory plays a large part in the
recitation and preservation of orally transmitted
material.
Ottava Rima:An eight-line stanza of poetry com-
posed in iambic pentameter (a five-foot line in
which each foot consists of an unaccented syllable
followed by an accented syllable), following the
abababccrhyme scheme.
Oxymoron:A phrase combining two contradictory
terms. Oxymorons may be intentional or uninten-
tional.P
Pantheism:The idea that all things are both a man-
ifestation or revelation of God and a part of God
at the same time. Pantheism was a common atti-
tude in the early societies of Egypt, India, and
Greece—the term derives from the Greek pan
meaning “all” and theosmeaning “deity.” It later
became a significant part of the Christian faith.
Parable:A story intended to teach a moral lesson
or answer an ethical question.
Paradox:A statement that appears illogical or con-
tradictory at first, but may actually point to an un-
derlying truth.
Parallelism:A method of comparison of two ideas
in which each is developed in the same grammat-
ical structure.
Parnassianism:A mid nineteenth-century move-
ment in French literature. Followers of the move-
ment stressed adherence to well-defined artistic
forms as a reaction against the often chaotic ex-
pression of the artist’s ego that dominated the work
of the Romantics. The Parnassians also rejected theGlossary of Literary Terms