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Transcript: Epithet in Literature: Definition & Examples

Come explore the 'wine-dark' sea and meet Alexander the Great in this lesson on epithets! Keep reading to get
familiar with the term and its many types, and get a chance to see these descriptors in action!

Definition of Epithet
Does your best friend or family have a nickname for you? If so, you know more about epithets than
you might think! They're sort of like nicknames, only in a literary context. Derived from the Greek
epitheton ('that which is added on, additional'), an epithet is a word or phrase used to express a
certain characteristic of a person or thing.

Epithets got their start in ancient storytelling traditions, such as those of the Homeric epics (Iliad and
Odyssey). Homer and other oral poets of old found epithets extremely useful for three main reasons:
first, epithets are consistent metrical patterns that can be easily inserted into larger lines of poetry;
second, the real or metaphorical relationship between epithet and what or whom it's referring to is
typically easily recognized due to repetitive use; and third, multiple epithets for one person or thing
provide a tremendous amount of variety in meter and vocabulary.

Types of Epithets
Let's take a look at some epithetical categories, along with a few quick Homeric and everyday
examples:
Origin/Nationality: Epithets of this type tell you where a person's from. For instance, Homer's 'Heliconian
Muses' lets you know that these goddesses traditionally resided on Mt. Helicon.
Family Ties: These identify familial relationships, particularly between father and offspring, as in the case of
Akhilles 'son of Peleus.' Epithets that link a person to his or her father are known as patronymics, or names
taken from one's paternal figure. Many Germanic (Thompson), Gaelic (O'Donnell), and Norse (Erikson)
surnames originally began as patronymic epithets.
Personal Attributes: These kinds of epithets are used when describing either physical characteristics or
personality traits. So, for physical characteristics, we have 'wine-dark sea' or Hephaistos 'the lame one'; and
for personality traits, we have Ivan 'the Terrible' or Richard 'the Lionheart.'
Achievement or Ability: These epithets remind people of another's accomplishments (Hermes, 'Slayer of
Argos') or unique talents (Zeus 'who gathers clouds'). The most common and recognizable of these types of
epithet is 'Great' (ex. Alexander the Great, Catherine the Great, etc.).
Occupation: This sort of epithet tells us what a person does on a regular basis or for a living. For example,
Artemis 'the Huntress' is frequently seen because this activity is characteristically associated with the
goddess. These epithets are another rich source of modern surnames (ex. Smith, Cooper, Miller, Tailor,
Fisher, etc.).

Although they use the same sorts of epithets as their Mediterranean comrade Homer, Anglo-Saxon
and Norse poets introduced an additional special kind of epithet. It's called a kenning and is a two-
word phrase used to describe a common noun metaphorically. One instance might be referring to the
sea as a 'whale-path,' which relies on the metaphor of a whale's charted course to succinctly conjure
the images of seafaring on the beast-ridden open ocean.

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Like the kenning, other types of epithets can also stand alone to represent whom or what they
describe. Since the term originally indicated a descriptor that was added onto a name, it's not
common to find epithets without their subjects; that is, unless the epithet is so closely associated with
the name that either could be used interchangeably to refer to the subject. For example, Greeks
would have recognized we were talking about Akhilles if we simply said Peleides ('son of Peleus'), or
Medieval Europeans would have known Aristotle as just 'The Philosopher.' When this happens, it's
known as antonomasia - a phenomenon involving the substitution of an epithet for someone or
something's actual name.

Examples of Epithets
To get a better idea of how these epithets work in literature today, let's examine a few examples.

Don Quixote de La Mancha

Identifying someone by his or her place of origin was common practice from ancient times throughout
the 19th century. Perhaps one of the most notable instances of this in literature is Miguel de
Cervantes' Don Quixote de La Mancha. The epithet has become so synonymous with Don Quixote
that antonomasia often occurs, with the valiant knight-errant known simply as the 'Man of La
Mancha.'

Gimli, Son of Glóin

J.R.R. Tolkien relied heavily on traditional influences from the ancient Mediterranean and British
Isles, including the use of epithets. One such instance appears in the Lord of the Rings trilogy when
the dwarf Gimli calls himself and is referred to as 'son of Glóin.' Patronymics of this sort and many
other types of epithets are used throughout Tolkien's works.

'Long' John Silver

We don't generally use the term 'long' to describe vertical distance, but it could be found that way in
the 19th century, especially as an epithet! Such is the way that Robert Louis Stevenson elected to
use it when he gave the epithet to the antagonist of Treasure Island: Long John Silver, a man of
exceptional height, even despite a missing leg.

Nate the Great

Epithets pop up everywhere in literature - not just in the more scholarly pieces. One great example is
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's long-running children's series based on the adventures of Nate the
Great, who has earned his epithet and the reputation that comes with it from the many cases he has
solved as a kid detective.

The Gamemaker

An interesting case of antonomasia occurs when Suzanne Collins uses just the term 'Gamemaker' to
refer to Seneca Crane in her young adult series, the Hunger Games trilogy. The epithet is used for
one other person in the trilogy (Plutarch Heavensbee), so the fear and anger the epithet represents
are transferred to him, as well.

'Petal-fall'

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Some poets over time have chosen to write entire poems full of kennings. One example that uses
them fairly extensively is Robert Frost's 'The Oven Bird', in which he uses the kenning 'petal-fall' as a
poetic way of talking about autumn. Here, Frost relies on the characteristic loss of foliage as a
metaphor for the entire season.

Lesson Summary
Epithets are literary nicknames of sorts, used by authors since antiquity to describe a person or thing
based on certain characteristics. Ancient oral poets like Homer used epithets as a way of adding
metrical and descriptive variety to their work that was still relatable to their audiences.

These literary devices can be used to describe a number of characteristics, including origin, family
ties (patronymics), physical or personality traits, achievements and abilities, or occupation. Norse and
Anglo-Saxon poets developed their own type of epithet known as the kenning, which is a two-word
phrase used to characterize everyday things by metaphor.

Seeing as how epithets typically indicate information additional to someone or something's name,
they don't often appear without the subject they're referring to. However, when they do the
phenomenon is known as antonomasia.

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