1. aphorism

a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life. Examples: "Early bird gets the worm." "What goes around, comes around.." "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

2. allusion

a reference to another work of literature, person, or event

3. neoclassism

distinct movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, music, and theater that draw upon Western classical art and culture

4. epigraph

a quotation at the beginning of some piece of writing

5. zeitgeist

the spirit of the time

6. sublime

elevated; noble; exalted; uplifting

7. aesthetics

(art) the branch of philosophy dealing with beauty and taste (emphasizing the evaluative criteria that are applied to art)

8. metaphysical conceit

a metaphor which relies on a comparison between two startling different things

9. gaia theory

theory that says that the earth and its organisms adjust to the environment to keep it habitable