Transcript King Lear

Note-taking Directions
 All of the following literary techniques may appear on
your upcoming King Lear Pre-AP tests, so take
thorough notes.
 In your notebook, write down the term, definition and
example.
 You may or may not choose to write down repeated
techniques that you have already in your notebook.
 Annotate for these techniques while reading the play.
Euphemism
 a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead
of one that is unpleasant or offensive
 Ex: using “eliminate” as a euphemism for “kill”
Paradox
 a statement or situation that appears to be false or
self-contradictory, but that proves to be true upon
reflection
 Ex: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Aphorism
 a short pithy saying expressing a general truth; maxim
 Ex: “Art is long, life is short.”
Anecdote
 a short account of an interesting or humorous incident
Tautology
 needless repetition of the same sense in different
words; redundancy
 Ex: Either it will rain tomorrow or it will not rain
tomorrow.
Chiasmus
 a reversal in the order of words in two parallel phrases
 Ex: He went in, out went she.
 Flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike” (Coleridge).
Metonymy
 a figure of speech in
which one word or
phrase is substituted
for another with
which it is closely
associated
 Ex: the use of
Washington for the
United States
government or of
the sword for
military power.
Ellipsis
 the omission of a word or phrase necessary for a
complete syntactical construction but not necessary for
understanding
 Ex: “Begin when ready” for “Begin when you are
ready”
Apostrophe
 the direct address of an absent or imaginary person or
of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression
in the course of a speech or composition
 Ex: Carlyle's “O Liberty, what things are done in thy
name!”
Allegory
 the representation of
abstract ideas or
principles by characters,
figures, or events in
narrative, dramatic, or
pictorial form
 Ex: The blindfolded
figure with scales is an
allegory of justice
Rhetoric
 The composition of words to achieve a desired result.
 Authors/speakers use the following to create their desired affect:
 Repetition (of sounds, words or phrases, or structure)
 Omission (of words or phrases; or in the form of an understatement)
 Addition (of grammatically superfluous words or phrases; in the form of
an overstatement or exaggeration; or of description, elaboration, or
correction)
 Direction (in the form of inversion or rearrangement; by arranging a
series, building, or diminishing; by arranging contrast; or by redirecting
the focus or object of speech)
 Substitution (of parts of words, full words, phrases, or structure; or
conceptually-based)
 Remember the acronym R.O.A.D.S to Rhetoric