LITERARY Terms ( Poetry )

 BATHOS
Definition of Bathos

Bathos is a literary term derived from a Greek word meaning “depth.” Bathos is the act
of a writer or a poet falling into inconsequential and absurd metaphors, descriptions, or
ideas in an effort to be increasingly emotional or passionate.

Some confuse bathos with “pathos.” The term was used by Alexander Pope to explain
the blunders committed inadvertently by unskilled writers or poets. However, later on,
comic writers used it intentionally to create humorous effects. The most commonly used
bathos involves a sequence of items that descend from worthiness to silliness.

Function of Bathos

Bathos is a device which, if used skillfully, can really build up a nice comic scene.
Bathos brings a certain degree of wit to a scene by highlighting the contrast in tone.
Initially, it is used to create a serious and powerful dramatic situation. This might be
slightly hard to create for comedy writers. Thus, comedy writers must be very careful
when they insert jokes here and there in the middle of a serious scene. There is a great
danger that their jokes will break the tempo of a serious scene in a prose.

Example
Alexander Pope, critic who coined the term bathos, uses the device in his
poem The Rape of the Lock:

Not louder Shrieks to pitying Heav’n are cast,

When Husbands or when Lap-dogs breath their last.

Hilariously, Pope places lap-dogs and husbands on the same level for the
sadness they cause when they die.

 Blank Verse

Definition of Blank Verse

Blank verse is a literary device defined as un-rhyming verse written in

iambic pentameter. In poetry and prose, it has a consistent meter with 10 syllables in
each line (pentameter); where, unstressed syllables are followed by stressed ones, five
of which are stressed but do not rhyme. It is also known as “un-rhymed iambic
pentameter.”
Features of Blank Verse

 Blank verse poetry has no fixed number of lines.

 It has a conventional meter that is used for verse drama and long narrativepoems.
 It is often used in descriptive and reflective poems and dramatic monologues — the
poems in which a single character delivers his thoughts in the form of a speech.
 Blank verse can be composed in any kind of meter, such as iamb, trochee, spondee,
and dactyl.

Example

Hamlet (By William Shakespeare)

But, woe is me, you are so sick of late,

So far from cheer and from your former state,
That I distrust you. Yet, though I distrust,
Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must. …

Hamlet gives us a perfect example of a typical blank verse, written in iambic

pentameter. Shakespeare employed the deliberate effort to use the syllables in a
particular way. He brought variation by using caesuras (pause) in the middle of the line,
as in the third line. Shakespeare has other literary pieces that are also good sources of
blank verse examples.

 Carpe Diem

The origin of this phrase is traced to a Latin poem from the book of Horace, Odes Book-
I. Later, many writers used it as a quote in their works. For instance, Lord Byron
included it in his work Letters. Horace uses it in his poems. According to Horace, our
future is unpredicted, so we should do whatever we can do today, and do not count on
chances and opportunities that might come in the future.

Meaning

The exact meaning of this phrase is to “seize the day.” It is a proverb, which means that
one should act today, and not wait for the future. More precisely, it refers to the plucking
of the fruits. Thus, the full meaning of this line is to pluck your day, trust in the future as
little as possible. In simple words, it means to enjoy today and the moment, without
wasting time, because no one knows what may happen in the future.

Literary Analysis

From a literary point of view, this phrase is very important, as it sheds a light on the
whole philosophy. It lies at the heart of Epicurus’ philosophy of Epicureanism, which
asserts that pleasure is the greatest good, and in order to attain pleasure, a person
needs to live an enjoyable and luxurious life, without paying any attention to any other
thing. Its literary advantage is that instead of giving explanations, it just sums upon the
luxurious lifestyle or invitation to a luxurious lifestyle in just two words. However, it is
understood clearly in the context of Horace’s Epicurean background, which means do
not trust your future, as it may never come at all. The right time to take action is today,
not tomorrow.

The use of this is very common. We can use it in a similar way to other proverbs in
English, which tell us that we should make the most of the time we have, as we have a
short time on the earth. This phrase also serves as a central theme in the book “Dead
Poet Society”. Other familiar English proverbs with similar meanings include, “the early
bird catches the worm” and “strike while the iron is hot.”

 Heroic Couplet

A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used in epic and
narrative poetry, and consisting of a rhyming pair of lines in iambic pentameter. Use of
the heroic couplet was pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Legend of Good Women
and the Canterbury Tales, and generally considered to have been perfected by John
Dryden and Alexander Pope in the Restoration Age and early 18th century respectively.

A heroic couplet is fairly similar to the elegiac couplet in that it is generally closed and
self-contained, and thus has meaning on its own. Heroic couplets came into popularity
in the mid-14th century in English epic and narrative poetry. The meter of heroic
couplets is usually iambic pentameter, though some poets took liberties with changing
the meter at times to provide a sort of closure as such in-

Example

“There was a time in my demented youth

When somehow I suspected that the truth

About survival after death was known

170 To every human being: I alone

Knew nothing, and a great conspiracy

Of books and people hid the truth from me.”

(“Canto Two” from Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov)

This is an interesting example of heroic couplets from Vladimir Nabokov’s meta-novel

Pale Fire. Part of the novel includes a 999-line poem that Nabokov himself wrote, yet
attributes to a character in the novel. This long poem is written in a series of heroic
couplets, as we can see in the above excerpt. Each set of two lines rhymes and
contains a certain intrinsic unity.
  Epic

Definition of Epic

The word epic is derived from the Ancient Greek adjective, “epikos”, which means a
poetic story. In literature, an epic is a long narrative poem, which is usually related to
heroic deeds of a person of an unusual courage and unparalleled bravery. In order to
depict this bravery and courage, the epic uses grandiose style.

The hero is usually the representative of the values of a certain culture, race, nation or a
religious group on whose victor of failure the destiny of the whole nation or group
depends. Therefore, certain supernatural forces, deus ex machina, help the hero, who
comes out victor at the end. An epic usually starts with an invocation to muse, but then
picks up the threads of the story from the middle and moves on to the end.

Difference Between an Epic and a Ballad

A ballad and an epic both are poems, which narrate stories. However, a ballad is
shorter in length than an epic, while it is composed to be sung on some occasions, and
not narrated. They are also known as folk ballads as well as popular ballads. Most of
the ballads have unknown origin and source and usually pass on orally from
generations to generations. On the other hand, an epic poem tells a story, but about the
heroic ideals of a specific society. The actual difference between the two is the length
and the fact that one is usually meant to be sung, while the other is to be narrated. Both
differ in style where a ballad is composed in a simple language, while an epic
demonstrates mastery in style such as Paradise Lost.

Example

The Iliad (800 BCE)

Iliad is another example of an epic. It was written by the popular Greek poet, Homer. It
relates the story of the Trojan wars, involving themes of courage, boldness, love for
one’s country and nostalgia of family. However, it describes many legends related to the
siege of Troy, the events took place before the siege, the gathering of the warriors prior
to the siege and the causes of the war. Later, the epic foretold the looming death of
Achilles and the destruction of Troy. The style of narration is grand, and suits an epic
poem — the reason that it is still one the most celebrated work of antiquity.
  Imagery

Definition of Imagery

Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in
such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.

Usually it is thought that imagery makes use of particular words that create visual
representation of ideas in our minds. The word “imagery” is associated with mental
pictures. However, this idea is but partially correct. Imagery, to be realistic, turns out to
be more complex than just a picture. Read the following examples of imagery carefully:

 It was dark and dim in the forest.

The words “dark” and “dim” are visual images.

 The children were screaming and shouting in the fields.

“Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our sense of hearing, or auditory sense.

 He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee.

“Whiff” and “aroma” evoke our sense of smell, or olfactory sense.

 The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric.

The idea of “soft” in this example appeals to our sense of touch, or tactile sense.

 The fresh and juicy orange is very cold and sweet.

“Juicy” and “sweet” – when associated with oranges – have an effect on our sense
of taste, or gustatory sense.

Imagery needs the aid of figures of speech like simile, metaphor, personification, and
onomatopoeia, in order to appeal to the bodily senses. Let us analyze how famous
poets and writers use imagery in literature.

Example : Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)

Imagery of light and darkness is repeated many times in Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet. Consider an example from Act I, Scene V:
“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear …”

Romeo praises Juliet by saying that she appears more radiant than the brightly lit
torches in the hall. He says that at night her face glows like a bright jewel shining
against the dark skin of an African. Through the contrasting images of light and dark,
Romeo portrays Juliet’s beauty.

 Mock-epic

Definition

Mock-heroic is a term used to describe poems which use a very grand and formal style
to describe a common or trivial subject for which this style is not appropriate. This leads
to a comic effect since the style of the poem is mismatched with the subject.

For example:

 A poem with a hero who does battle with monsters (such as Beowulf) is heroic,
and can also be epic if it is sufficiently long
 A poem in which the central character is not brave or does not have genuine
adventures, such as some parts of Byron's Don Juan (1819-24), is mock-heroic.

Style

The style of the mock-heroic poem follows that of the epic closely, particularly in its use
of embellished, formal language and elevated vocabulary. However, the mock-heroic
poem will exaggerate to the point of bathos, and is likely to produce a comic effect.

Examples

 Alexander Pope's long poem The Rape of the Lock (1712-14) is a mock-epic
which is also mock-heroic. The poem tells of the pilfering of a lock of hair and
parodies the kidnapping of Helen of Troy in The Iliad. The poem also mocks the
gods, making them seem petty and quarrelsome
 Pope's epic The Dunciad (1729) is mock-heroic in style, describing the goddess
Dulness and her take-over of England. The poem opens with an epic invocation
and mocks the tediousness that Pope sees developing in Britain
 Lord Byron's poem Don Juan is also mock-epic and mock-heroic. Based on the
legends of the womaniser Don Juan, Byron's version depicts a weak-willed man
who is an antihero, and whose adventures are amorous rather than dangerous.
  Ode

Definition of Ode

An ode is a form of poetry such as sonnet or elegy. Ode is a literary technique that is
lyrical in nature, but not very lengthy. You have often read odes in which poets praise
people, natural scenes, and abstract ideas. Ode is derived from a Greek word aeidein,
which means to chant or sing. It is highly solemn and serious in its tone and subject
matter, and usually is used with elaborate patterns of stanzas. However, the tone is
often formal. A salient feature of ode is its uniform metrical feet, but poets generally do
not strictly follow this rule though use highly elevated theme.

Types of Ode

Odes are of three types, including (1) Pindar ode, (2) Horatian ode, and (3) irregular
ode.

Pindar Ode

This ode was named after an ancient Greek poet, Pindar, who began writing choral
poems that were meant to be sung at public events. It contains three triads; strophe,
antistrophe, and final stanza as epode, with irregular rhyme patterns and lengths of
lines.

Horatian Ode

The name of this ode was taken from the Latin poet, Horace. Unlike heroic odes of
Pindar, Horatian ode is informal, meditative and intimate. These odes dwelled upon
interesting subject matters that were simple and were pleasing to the senses. Since
Horatian odes are informal in tone, they are devoid of any strict rules.

Irregular Ode

This type of ode is without any formal rhyme scheme, and structure such as the
Pindaric ode. Hence, the poet has great freedom and flexibility to try any types of
concepts and moods. William Wordsworth and John Keats were such poets who
extensively wrote irregular odes, taking advantage of this form.

Examples

Example #1: Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early

Childhood (By William Wordsworth)

This is a perfect example of an English Pindaric ode. Just observe the use of different
types of meters in each stanza, which have made it easier to read, and made flexible
with simple rhyme scheme of ababac.
“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,

The earth, and every common sight

To me did seem

Apparelled in celestial light,

The glory and the freshness of a dream.

It is not now as it hath been of yore; —”

Example #2: Ode to the Confederate Dead (By Allen Tate)

“Row after row with strict impunity

The headstones yield their names to the element,

The wind whirrs without recollection;

In the riven troughs the splayed leaves

Pile up, of nature the casual sacramen

To the seasonal eternity of death …”

This is an example of Horatian ode, which presents a consistent rhyme scheme. It has
no division into triads like Pindar ode, but is less ceremonious, less formal, more
tranquil, and better suited for reading. The purpose of using this type of ode is to give
vent to pent-up feelings.
  Pastoral Elegy

An elegy is a meditative lyric poem that has a very mournful and melancholy tone. It is
usually written to mourn the death of a close friend or loved one, but also occasionally
mourns humanity as a whole. Although this form of poetry reflects on the notion of
death, it is not to be confused with a “eulogy,” which is a speech that gives tribute to a
person, usually after the person has died.

The pastoral elegy is a poem about both death and idyllic rural life. Often, the pastoral
elegy features shepherds. The genre is actually a subgroup of pastoral poetry, as the
elegy takes the pastoral elements and relates them to expressing grief at a loss. This
form of poetry has several key features, including the invocation of the Muse,
expression of the shepherd's, or poet's, grief, praise of the deceased, a tirade against
death, a detailing of the effects of this specific death upon nature, and eventually, the
poet's simultaneous acceptance of death's inevitability and hope for immortality.
Additional features sometimes found within pastoral elegies include a procession of
mourners, satirical digressions about different topics stemming from the death, and
symbolism through flowers, refrains, and rhetorical questions. The pastoral elegy is
typically incredibly moving and in its most classic form, it concerns itself with simple,
country figures. In ordinary pastoral poems, the shepherd is the poem's main character.
In pastoral elegies, the deceased is often recast as a shepherd, despite what his role
may have been in life. Further, after being recast as a shepherd, the deceased is often
surrounded by classical mythology figures, such as nymphs, fauns, etc. Pastoral elegy
is one of the forms of poems in Elizabethan poetry.

Example

“Lycidas”

Written by John Milton, "Lycidas" is a pastoral elegy that first appeared in a 1638
collection of elegies in English and Latin entitled Justa Edouardo King Naufrago.
Lycidas serves as Milton's commemoration of his Cambridge college mate, Edward
King, who drowned when his ship sank off the coast of Wales in August 1637.
  Refrain

Definition of Refrain

Refrain is a verse, a line, a set, or a group of lines that appears at the end of stanza, or
appears where a poem divides into different sections. It originated in France, where it is
popular as, refraindre, which means “to repeat.” Refrain is a poetic device that repeats,
at regular intervals, in different stanzas. However, sometimes, this repetition may
involve only minor changes in its wording. It also contributes to the rhyme of a poem
and emphasizes an idea through repetition.

Difference Between Refrain, Repetition and Villanelle

Refrain is a type of repetition, but it is somewhat different from repetition. Refrain is

repetition of usually a line, a phrase, two or three lines, or even words in a poem.
Repetition, on the other hand, involves repetition of words, phrases, syllables, or even
sounds in a full piece. Another difference is that a refrain in a poem may appear at the
end of a stanza; however, this recurrence of words and phrases in repetition may occur
in any line of stanza. Villanelle, on the contrary, is a poetic form consisting of nineteen
lines that uses refrain in its first and third lines.

Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening (By Robert Frost)

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.”

Frost has used refrain in only the last stanza that he repeats twice as “And miles to go
before I sleep.” It gives rhythm to the poem and lay emphasis on this idea of doing
many things before dying.
  Rhyme

Definition of Rhyme

Rhyme is a popular literary device in which the repetition of the same or similar sounds
occurs in two or more words, usually at the end of lines in poems or songs. In a rhyme
in English, the vowel sounds in the stressed syllables are matching, while the preceding
consonant sound does not match. The consonants after the stressed syllables must
match as well. For example, the words “gaining” and “straining” are rhyming words in
English because they start with different consonant sounds, but the first stressed vowel
is identical, as is the rest of the word.

Types of Rhyme

There are many different ways to classify rhyme. Many people recognize “perfect
rhymes” as the only real type of rhyme. For example, “mind” and “kind” are perfect
rhymes, whereas “mind” and “line” are an imperfect match in sounds. Even within the
classification of “perfect” rhymes, there are a few different types:

 Single: This is a rhyme in which the stress is on the final syllable of the
words (“mind” and “behind”).
 Double: This perfect rhyme has the stress on the penultimate, or second-
to-last, syllable (“toasting” and “roasting”).
 Dactylic: This rhyme, relatively uncommon in English, has the stress on
the antepenultimate, or third-from-last, syllable (“terrible” and “wearable”).

Here are some other types of general rhymes that are not perfect:

 Imperfect or near rhyme: In this type of rhyme, the same sounds occur in two
words but in unstressed syllables (“thing” and “missing”).
 Identical rhymes: Homonyms in English don’t satisfy the rules of perfect rhymes
because while the vowels are matching, the preceding consonants also match
and therefore the rhyme is considered inferior. For example, “way,” “weigh,” and
“whey” are identical rhymes and are not considered to be good rhymes.
However, in French, this type of rhyming is actually quite popular and has its own
classification, rime riche.
 Eye rhyme: This is common in English because so many of our words are
spelled in the same way, yet have different pronunciations. For example, “good”
and food” look like they should rhyme, but their vowel sounds are different.
Satire

Satire is a genre of literature that uses wit for the purpose of social criticism. Satire
ridicules problems in society, government, businesses, and individuals in order to bring
attention to certain follies, vices, and abuses, as well as to lead to improvements. Irony
and sarcasm are often an important aspect of satire. Satirists also often use
juxtaposition, analogy, parody, and double entendre to highlight their points.

Different Classifications of Satire

Within the general definition of satire, there are three main classifications of different
types of satire. The first two of these are named after ancient Roman satirists—Horace
(first century BCE) and Juvenal (late first century BCE to early second century AD)—
while the third is named after the ancient Greek parodist Menippus (third century BCE).

Horatian: Horace playfully mocked the societal norms of his day, and the satire named
after him is clever, yet gentle. Rather than attacking evils, Horatian satire ridicules
universal human folly so that the reader might identify with what is being critiqued and
laugh at him/herself as well as at society.

Juvenalian: Unlike Horace, Juvenal attacked public officials and governmental

organizations through his satires. He regarded their opinions not just as wrong, but
instead as evil. Juvenalian satire thus is more contemptuous and abrasive, and uses
strong irony and sarcasm. Polarized political satire is often of this nature, and aims to
provoke change. Juvenalian satire is not often as humorous.

Menippean: Menippean satire criticizes mental attitudes rather than societal norms or
specific individuals. This type of satire often ridicules single-minded people, such as
bigots, misers, braggarts, and so on.

Example

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift, one of the leading satirists of his day, wrote Gulliver’s Travels as a
satire of human nature and especially an anti-Whig satire. Lemuel Gulliver travels to
several different lands, including the famous encounter with the Lilliputians, a society of
people only a few inches tall. One example of satire in the book is that some Lilliputian
men wear high heels and others wear low heels. The men who wear low heels are in
power and will only appoint other men to government who wear low heels. Clearly,
government appointments have nothing to do with ability—this is a direct attack on the
separation of Whigs and Tories in English culture.
Symbolism

Definition of Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic
meanings that are different from their literal sense.

Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another, to

give an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Sometimes,
however, an action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic
value. For instance, “smile” is a symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action of someone
smiling at you may stand as a symbol of the feeling of affection which that person has
for you.

Symbols do shift their meanings depending on the context they are used in. “A chain,”
for example, may stand for “union” as well as “imprisonment”. Thus, symbolic meaning
of an object or an action is understood by when, where, and how it is used. It also
depends on who reads the work.

When used as a literary device, symbolism means to imbue objects with a certain meaning that
is different from their original meaning or function. Other literary devices, such
as metaphor, allegory, and allusion, aid in the development of symbolism. Authors use
symbolism to tie certain things that may initially seem unimportant to more universal themes.
The symbols then represent these grander ideas or qualities. For instance, an author may use a
particular color that on its own is nothing more than a color, but hints at a deeper meaning.
One notable example is in Joseph Conrad’s aptly titled Heart of Darkness, where the “darkness”
of the African continent in his work is supposed to symbolize its backwardness and the
possibility of evil there.

Example

We find symbolic value in Shakespeare’s famous monologue in his play As you Like It:

“All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;
they have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,”

These lines are symbolic of the fact that men and women, in the course of their lives,
perform different roles. “A stage” here symbolizes the world, and “players” is a symbol
for human beings.
Caesura

A caesura (mid 16th century: from Latin, from caes- ‘cut, hewn’, from the verb caedere .)is a
pause in a line of poetry that is formed by the rhythms of natural speech rather than by
metrics. It often occurs in the middle of a line, or sometimes at the beginning and the
end. At times, it occurs with punctuation; at other times it does not. Poets indicate such
a pause with a parallel symbol thus: ||. Caesura can be medial (occurring in the middle
of line), initial (occurring at the beginning of poetic line), or terminal (occurring at the end
of a poetic line).

Types of Caesura

Caesural breaks, or caesura, are of two types in poetry:

Feminine Caesura

A feminine caesural pause occurs after a non-stressed and short syllable in a poetic
line. This is softer and less abrupt than the masculine version. For instance:

“I hear lake water lapping || with low sounds by the shore…”

(The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats)

It has two subdivisions:

 Epic Caesura
 Lyric Caesura

Masculine Caesura

Masculine pause occurs after a long or accented syllable in a line. It creates a staccato
effect in the poem, such as:

“of reeds and stalk-crickets, || fiddling the dank air,

lacing his boots with vines, || steering glazed beetles”

(The Bounty by Derek Walcott)

Function of Caesura

A caesural break creates various effects, depending upon the way it is used.
Sometimes it breaks the monotonous rhythm of a line and forces readers to focus on
the meaning of the phrase preceding the caesura. In some other cases, it might create
a dramatic or ominous effect. Normally, it happens in the middle of a sentence, or
phrase in poetry. It also adds an emotional and theatrical touch to a line, and helps
convey depth of the sentiments.
Conceit

Conceit is a figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together
with the help of similes or metaphors.

Conceit develops a comparison which is exceedingly unlikely but is, nonetheless,

intellectually imaginative. A comparison turns into a conceit when the writer tries to
make us admit a similarity between two things of whose unlikeness we are strongly
conscious. For this reason, conceits are often surprising.

For example, it will not surprise us to hear someone saying, “You are a snail,” or “You
are as slow as a snail,” as we understand that the similarity is drawn on a common
quality of slowness. However, we will definitely be surprised to hear someone
comparing “two lovers with the legs of a draftsman’s compass.” Thus, conceit examples
have a surprising or shocking effect on the readers because they
are novel comparisons, unlike the conventional comparisons made in similes and
metaphors

Function of Conceit

Because conceits make unusual and unlikely comparisons between two things, they
allow readers to look at things in a new way. Similes and metaphors may explain things
vibrantly, but they tend to become boring at times because of their predictable nature.
Conceits, on the other hand, surprise and shock readers by making farfetched
comparisons. Hence, conceit is used as a tool in literature to develop interest in
readers.

Example : The Flea (By John Donne)

We find another striking example of conceit in John Donne’s poem, The Flea:

“Oh stay! three lives in one flea spare

Where we almost, yea more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage-bed and marriage-temple is…”

In the above lines, the poet tells his darling that she has no reason to deny him sexually,
as the flea has sucked blood from both of them, and their blood has mingled in its gut,
so the flea has become their “marriage bed,” though they are not married yet.