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Literature Glossary

Don’t be an oxymoron. Know your literary terms.

Over 200 literary terms, Shmooped to perfection.

Epithet

Definition:

Listen up, you ravenous, tickle-brained ruffians.

An epithet is an adjective or adjective phrase that's used to characterize someone or something. When Shakespeare refers to Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers," for example, that's an epithet because their crazy-intense romance is one of their most defining qualities.

Sometimes, an epithet is so commonly used that it unofficially becomes part of a person's name. Take the "the great" part of Alexander the Great or Catherine the Great or Shmoop the Great.