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E legy
   A poem of mourning over the dead or the dying. It may also be the lament over the death of nature or beauty. An elegy is a type of lyric poem, usually formal in structure and sad in its tone.

  (ex. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam")

Emblematic Image

   A "verbal picture" or figure with strong traditional or religious meaning to it.

  (ex. George Herbert's poem "Easter Wings" makes the shape of wings.)

Epic

   A long narrative poem with a heroic theme. Many epics were of oral tradition and spent many years not written down.

   (ex. Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey", Dante's "Divine Comedy", and John Milton's "Paradise Lost:)

Epigram

   A short, witty statement with thought and ingenious behind it. An epigram is often in the form of a poem.

   (ex. Alexander Pope's "Essay on Criticism" :

   "Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
   Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. [II, 135-136] )

Epigraph

   A quotation at the beginning of book, chapter, or poem that is entended to invoke the theme or atmosphere of the work.

  (ex. T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" refers to Guy Fawkes Day when English children carry stuffed effigies [images or something of the likeness] of Fawkes. This refers to Eliot's generation of "stuffed men")

Epilogue

   A short conclusion or addition at the end of a piece of work. An epilogue oftentimes explains what happens to characters after the ending of a story.

Epiphany

   From Greek: "a showing forth", an epiphany reveals moments of signifigance. It is usually at the end of a piece of work.

   (ex. James Joyce's "Araby" has its epiphany when the narrator realizes that his dream of visiting the great bazaar has only created frustration and nothing more. It was his moment of clarity.)

Epitath

   Originally, an epitath was just an inscription on a tombstone about the dead. Now, epitaths are seen in poetry and are often witty and humorous and in the form of epigrams.

   (ex.James Gay's "My Own Epitath":

   "Life is a jest, and all things show it.
   I thought so once; but now I know it." )

Epithet

   A term (usually an adjective or phrase) used to characterize a person or thing.

   (ex. "America the Beautiful" and "Catherine the Great" )

Epode

   See Ode

Essay

   A short composition (usually in prose) about a subject and a particular point of view. An essay can be either formal or informal in writing and content.

Exemplum

   A story, usually inserted into a sermon, that illustrates a moral point.

   (ex.Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" holds a moral that "Greed is the root of all evil" )

Exposition

   The part of a play or narrative that explains background information to the audience.

   (ex.At the beginning of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and "Othello" there is an exposition.)

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