How to use epithet in your prose

Epithets have been of significant use to writers since time immemorial, providing their works with additional texture and helping shape the imagination of readers.

For starters, an epithet is a literary device used to describe a person, place, or object with a descriptive word or phrase. For example, Alexander the Great. It’s one way of helping you familiarize with a character. Below, you will find some useful tips for using this literary tool in your prose.

Paint a picture

The most common mistake when using an epithet is describing an emotion instead of a person. One of the best examples of this is William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, where “star-cross’d lovers” is used to describe the main characters. This evokes associations to the two doomed lovers. Shakespeare coined this epithet solely for Romeo and Juliet.

Easy to remember

Choose an epithet that is easy to recall. Many epithets in recent literature come in the form of adjectives that can be hard to remember sometimes. For example, “wine-dark sea” in Homer’s Odyssey. It should, instead, be easy to replace your character or place with something that requires little recollection. George R. R. Martin’s Kingslayer in his famous novel A Song of Ice and Fire is easy to remember for having slain King Aerys Targaryen.

When used properly, an epithet can create an association in your readers’ minds that will always stick with them.