Poetry for Students

322 Poetry for Students

literature. The New Critics saw little merit in his-

torical and biographical analysis. Rather, they

aimed to examine the text alone, free from the

question of how external events—biographical or

otherwise—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:SeeNew Journalism

New Negro Movement:SeeHarlem 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

unknowingly killed his father and married his

mother.

Omniscience:SeePoint 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:SeeOral 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 the

Glossary of Literary Terms

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