Glossary

a : b : c : d : e : f : g : h : i : j : k : l : m : n : o : p : q : r : s : t : u : v : w : x : y : z

echo
a verbal reference that recalls a word, phrase, or sound in another text.

elegy
in classical times, any poem on any subject written in "elegiac" meter; since the Renaissance, usually a formal lament on the death of a particular person.

English sonnet
see Shakespearean sonnet.

enjambment
running over from one line of poetry to the next without stop, as in the following lines by Wordsworth: "My heart leaps up when I behold / A rainbow in the sky."

epic
a poem that celebrates, in a continuous narrative, the achievements of mighty heroes and heroines, usually in founding a nation or developing a culture, and uses elevated language and a grand, high style.

epigram
originally any poem carved in stone (on tombstones, buildings, gates, and so forth), but in modern usage a very short, usually witty verse with a quick turn at the end.

expectation
the anticipation of what is to happen next (see curiosity and suspense), what a character is like or how he or she will develop, what the theme or meaning of the story will prove to be, and so on.

exposition
that part of the structure that sets the scene, introduces and identifies characters, and establishes the situation at the beginning of a story or play. Additional exposition is often scattered throughout the work.

extended metaphor
a detailed and complex metaphor that stretches through a long section of a work.