EPIPHANY Definition: Christian thinkers used this term to signify a manifestation of God's presence in the world.

It has since become in modern fiction and poetry the standard term for the sudden flare into revelation of an ordinary object or scene. In particular, the epiphany is a revelation of such power and insight that it alters the entire world-view of the thinker who experiences it. (In this sense, it is similar to what a scientist might call a "paradigm shift.") Example: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night takes place on the Feast of the Epiphany, and the theme of revelation is prevalent in the work. James Joyce used the term epiphany to describe personal revelations such as that of Gabriel Conroy in the short story "The Dead" in Dubliners. EPISODE Definition: A scene involving the actors' dialogue and action rather than the chorus's singing, or sections of such scenes in a Classical Greek tragedy

EPITAPH Definition: An epitaph refers literally to an inscription carved on a gravestone. In a more general sense, an epitaph is the final statement spoken by a character before his death. Example: In many of Shakespeare's plays, it is common for the last words a character speaks to come true, especially if he utters a curse. Other famous epitaphs include John Keats' grave inscription: "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." ETHOS Definition: Sociology . the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions of a people or period: In the Greek ethos the individual was highly valued. ELEGY Definition: Elegy came to mean any poem dealing with the subject-matter common to the early Greco-Roman elegies--complaints about love, sustained formal lamentation, or somber meditations. Typically, elegies are marked by several conventions of genre: (1) The elegy, much like the classical epic, typically begins with an invocation of the muse, and then continues with allusions to classical mythology. (2) The poem usually contains a poetic speaker who uses the first person. (3) The speaker raises questions about justice, fate, or providence.

(4) The poet digresses about the conditions of his own time or his own situation. (5) The digression allows the speaker to move beyond his original emotion or thinking to a higher level of understanding. (6) The conclusion of the poem provides consolation or insight into the speaker's situation. In Christian elegies, the lyric reversal often moves from despair and grief to joy when the speaker realizes that death or misfortune is but a temporary barrier separating one from the bliss of eternity. (7) The poem tends to be longer than a lyric but not as long as an epic. (8) The poem is not plot-driven. Example: Famous elegies include Milton's "Lycidas," Shelley's "Adonais," and Arnold's "Thyrsis." Closely related to the pastoral elegy. The term monody refers to any dirge or elegy presented as the utterance of a single speaker. DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE Definition: A poem in which a poetic speaker addresses either the reader or an internal listener at length. Example: Two famous examples are Browning's "My Last Duchess" and "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister." EKPHRASIS Definition: A rhetorical and poetic figure in which a visual object- could deal with persons, events, times, places, etc (often a work of art) is vividly described in words.. Example: One well-known example of ekphrasis in literature is John Keats's poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn." EPIC POETRY Definition: Poetry celebrating the deeds of some hero Example: