What is an epithet? One can define epithet as a word or group of words used as shorthand to describe a person, place, or thing. A good epithet captures essential characteristics of what it is describing. Epithets can indicate positive characteristics but are often designed to communicate some perceived negative trait for the purpose of belittling, denigrating, discrediting, or even disgracing its subject.
What is an epithet in literature? The epithet literary definition is a common literary device. Famous examples come from Homer, the ancient Greek poet, who uses epithets throughout his epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. For example, he describes the Mediterranean Sea as the wine-dark sea and Athena, goddess of wisdom, as grey-eyed. Grey-eyed Athena captures Athena's essential quality of seeing through falsehood, as any wise person or goddess would do. Wine-dark sea captures not only the color and texture of the surface of the sea but also the contrast between nature and civilized society, which is just one of Homer's important themes. The best epithets work on many levels, enhancing and deepening the dimensions of the subject, whereas the worst epithets usually reduce the subject to just one dimension in a negative manner.
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Grammatically, epithets can be adjectives, such as grey-eyed or wine-dark, or nouns, such as sail-road, which describes the sea in Beowulf, an Old English epic poem from the Middle Ages. Some linguists suggest that epithets should be considered pronouns because they are used in place of nouns.
The use of epithets in literature is important for readers beyond deep comprehension and enjoyment of a text because well-known authors have used them throughout literary history, and many epithets have taken on a common cultural meaning. They are alluded to again and again throughout the cultural lexicon of a society from the literary cannon to mass media. Nearly everyone knows what is meant by star-crossed lovers from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and that The King of Rock and Roll refers to Elvis Presley. These are the kinds of epithets that allow people from a common cultural background to communicate more creatively and efficiently.
What does epithet mean? The etymology of the term comes from the ancient Greek word epitithenai, meaning to put on or to add. Thus, the meaning of the epithet is added to a subject much like an adjective adds to the basic meaning of a noun. Elvis Presley was a pioneer of American rock and roll, but the epithet The King adds a dimension that communicates his importance not only musically but also culturally. However, epithets can carry negative connotations, such as when racial epithets are unfortunately used to describe an individual of a particular race or even an entire race itself. A modern example from young adult literature is the use of the term muggle in a derogatory manner to describe non-magical folks in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.
A kenning is a type of epithet first introduced in Old English and Norse poetry and is a compound word, usually hyphenated, formed from two nouns. For example, swan-road describes the ocean, iron-shower describes spears launched in battle, and sea-horse describes a ship.
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Readers can identify an epithet by noticing when an author describes a subject in such a way as to enhance or reduce its meaning to essential qualities. In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the main character, Harry Potter, is described as The Chosen One because it is believed that he will save society from the evil Lord Voldemort. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Lord Voldemort uses the epithet Undesirable No. 1 to describe Harry because not only does Voldemort want to kill Harry, but he also fears Harry's power to destroy his sinister influence on society. These two examples show how epithets can be used positively or negatively.
In general, authors use epithets because they are a quick and efficient way to vividly describe essential qualities. Epithets remind readers quickly who or what is being discussed and which qualities are most important. Specifically, authors may use epithets for the following purposes.
An epithet used continually throughout a literary work is called a stock epithet. Examples from Homer include rosy-fingered dawn to describe the break of day, each day, every day throughout the 500+ page epic poem. Homer also uses the epithet Earth-shaker to describe the ancient Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. There are many different types of epithets. A few of these types are discussed in the following.
Some epithets describe what geographical region a person is from or their nationality. Richard of Bordeaux describes England's King Richard II. The Americanism Yankee denotes a citizen of the Northeastern United States. Don Quixote of La Mancha is one of the most famous epithets in literary history from the early 17th century novel by Cervantes.
Epithets may also be used to indicate genealogy, such as Homer using the epithet Agamemnon, Atreus's son to show the royal lineage of the Greek king. This is a special type of epithet called a patronymic, which indicates ancestral lineage through the father. The son of Zeus by Leto is an example from Homer. Jesus, son of David comes from the New Testament. Daughter of Zeus is yet another epithet for Athena.
Many epithets are created from a word or phrase that characterizes a person or thing. The Promised Land is a common description of Canaan, a region of the ancient Near East. The Dynamic Duo describes the comic book characters Batman and Robin. Catherine the Great describes Catherine II, ruler of Russia from 1762 to 1796.
Shakespeare is known as The Bard. Michael Jackson is known as The King of Pop. The Beatles are known as The Fab Four. These types of epithets describe achievements or abilities. Antonomasia is the use of an epithet as a proper noun to designate a member of a class or as a stand-alone title in place of a proper noun. Examples of antonomasia are using Casanova for lover and using The Man in Black for the American folk singer Johnny Cash.
Some epithets refer to a subject's job, such as That Man in the White House for President Franklin Roosevelt. The Piano Man refers to the American musician Billy Joel. The Philosopher describes Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher.
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Well-known examples of epithets from literature follow. One can recognize the epithets from the passages before reading the explanations.
Sophocles' King Oedipus:
''My lord and king: we are gathered here, as you see, young and old, from the tenderest chicks to the age-bent seniors; Priests - I of Zeus - and pick of our young manhood. More sit in the market-place, carrying boughs like these, and around the twin altars of Pallas and the sacred embers of divination, beside the river of Ismenus.''
This short passage from page six of the translation by E.F. Watling contains several epithets. The epithet My lord and king refers to King Oedipus himself. Tenderest chicks is an epithet describing young people, just as age-bent seniors describes older folks. Also, Pallas is yet another epithet for the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena.
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:
''Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men's love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes. Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine Hath washed thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!''
This famous speech by Friar Lawrence contains several epithets, beginning with Holy Saint Francis used as an exclamation. Jesu Maria is an epithet referring to Jesus and Mary. Finally, the epithet deal of brine refers to the tears Romeo sheds after his breakup with Rosaline.
Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace:
"Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetuated by that Antichrist—I really believe he is Antichrist—I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend, no longer my 'faithful slave,' as you call yourself! But how do you do? I see I have frightened you—sit down and tell me all the news.
It was in July, 1805, and the speaker was the well-known Anna Pavlovna Scherer, maid of honor and favorite of the Empress Marya Fedorovna. With these words she greeted Prince Vasili Kuragin, a man of high rank and importance, who was the first to arrive at her reception."
Tolstoy opens his famous novel with Anna Pavlovna Scherer's greeting to Prince Vasili, which contains several epithets. First, she characterizes Napoleon's conquering of the Italian city-state of Lucca and his annexing of Genoa, the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, with the epithet infamies and horrors and then both regions as family estates of the Buonapartes. She continues with the epithet Antichrist to characterize Napoleon himself. Finally, she uses the epithet faithful slave to playfully indicate the nature of her relationship with Prince Vasili. The epithets maid of honor and favorite of the Empress Marya Fedorovna and man of high rank and importance, as well as Prince and Empress, denote the rank and status of the characters.
Similar to epithets, but not to be confused with them, are the following.
What is an epithet? An epithet is a word or group of words that function grammatically as adjectives, nouns, or pronouns used as shorthand to describe a person, place, or thing. Epithets capture essential characteristics in a positive or negative way. Kennings are types of epithets, first introduced in Old English and Norse poetry, that are compound words formed from two nouns. Modern examples include couch potato and bookworm. An epithet in literature is a common literary device used by authors for the following purposes:
The word epithet derives from the ancient Greek word epitithenai, which means to put on or to add. Epithets used continually throughout a literary work are called stock epithets. The major types of epithets include epithets of origin/nationality, family ties, personal attributes, achievement or ability, and occupation. Some examples are The Bard describing Shakespeare, The Fab Four describing the Beatles, The Promised Land describing the biblical land of Canaan, and The Dark Knight describing Batman, the comic book character. A patronymic is a special kind of family ties epithet indicating ancestral lineage through the father. The use of epithets as stand-alone titles in places of proper nouns, such as The King of Pop for Michael Jackson, or as a proper noun to designate a member of a class, such as Einstein for an intelligent person, is called antonomasia. Similar to epithets, but not to be confused with them, are epigrams, epigraphs, and epitaphs.
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Epithets are used in many ways, such as for providing vivid description, highlighting a descriptive nickname, or filling out verse requirements in poetry. Epithets can refer to origin/nationality, family ties, personal attributes, achievement or ability, occupation, etc. They can be used positively, such as Peter the Great, or negatively, such as Ivan the Terrible.
We find examples of epithets in Homer's "Odyssey," translated by Robert Fagles: "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy." This first line of the epic poem contains the following epithets: man of twists and turns, hallowed heights of Troy.
Identify an epithet in literature by noticing how authors describe a subject. If authors use an adjective or group of words that captures some essential characteristic of that subject, then they have used an epithet.
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