Glossary

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occasional poem
a poem written about or for a specific occasion, public or private.

octameter
a line of poetry with eight feet: "Once u | pon a | midnight | dreary | while I | pondered, | weak and | weary" (Poe, "The Raven").

octave
the first eight lines of the Italian,or Petrarchan, sonnet. See also sestet.

ode
a lyric poem characterized by a serious topic and formal tone but no prescribed formal pattern. See Keats’s odes and Shelley’s "Ode to the West Wind."

oeuvre
the sum total of works verifiably written by an author. See canon.

omniscient point of view
also called unlimited point of view; a perspective that can be seen from one character’s view, then another’s, then another’s, or can be moved in or out of any character’s mind at any time. Organization in which the reader has access to the perceptions and thoughts of all the characters in the story.

onomatopoeia
a word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes; buzz is a good example.

orchestra
in classical Greek theater, a semicircular area used mostly for dancing by the chorus.

overplot
a main plot in fiction or drama.

overstatement
exaggerated language; also called hyperbole.

oxymoron
a figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements, as in wise fool (sophomore).