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