Home › Glossary › Letter E

epic listing

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Enumeration used in epics to detail warriors, places, or genealogies.

Detailed Definition
Epic listing is a rhetorical device in narrative poetry where lengthy catalogs of names, places, or deeds establish scope, honor tradition, or convey overwhelming scale; derived from Homeric and biblical models, it imbues the poem with historical weight and communal memory through accumulative detail.
Example
Example in poetry:
Epic listing: In Homer’s “Iliad,” long lists of warriors and ships; Virgil’s “Aeneid” detailing enemies and allies; T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” with scattered cultural and literary references; Walt Whitman’s expansive enumeration of America’s people and landscapes.
Additional Notes
The use of a long, often extensive list (catalogue) within an epic poem to detail armies, ships, heroes, or significant geographical features; a traditional and functional device of the genre.
Also Known As
Epic catalogue Heroic register Poetic inventory Bardic catalog
Skip to main content