Why does Shakespeare use such hard personification in the description of the idea of Commodity or of the personified figure of Death? This King John Literary Devices Quiz examines the metaphors and rhetorical flourishes that elevate the political discourse of the play. Read more about the Bard’s language here.
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King John Literary Devices Quiz Questions
- What literary device is used when King John declares himself “supreme head of England under heaven”?
- When Arthur calls himself “a lamb entangled in a net,” Shakespeare employs what device?
- What literary device is seen when the Bastard mocks the concept of “commodity”?
- When Constance compares her grief to “a tempest in my heart,” she uses which device?
- Which device dominates the Bastard’s speech about “mad world, mad kings, mad composition”?
- When Eleanor calls Arthur “the shadow of great kings,” she uses what literary technique?
- What device is used when Austria’s lion-skin symbolizes false courage?
- When King John says “The thunder of my cannon shall awake these sleepers,” what device appears?
- What is the literary term for the Bastard’s cynical commentary throughout the play?
- When King John defies the Pope’s authority, Shakespeare uses what device to show political tension?
- When Constance laments, “Grief fills the room up of my absent child,” she uses what device?
- When Hubert says “Heat me these irons hot,” the repetition of the “h” sound is an example of what?
- What device is found when King John refers to Arthur as “the little serpent of the crown”?
- The contrast between Arthur’s innocence and King John’s cruelty is an example of what?
- When the Bastard says “New-made honour doth forget men’s names,” he uses what device?
- Which literary device is seen when the citizens of Angers stand between two armies and demand proof of victory?
- When Shakespeare presents the Pope’s legate as a divine messenger, he employs what device?
- When King John accuses others of “painting devils fair,” what device is used?
- Which device underlies Constance’s repeated laments about motherhood and loss?
- When the Bastard describes politics as “a trade of damn’d upholding,” Shakespeare employs what?
- What device does Shakespeare use when Lewis continues the war despite peace orders?
- When King John’s death is caused by poison from a monk, what device reinforces poetic justice?
- When Arthur prays for forgiveness before his fall, what device heightens the tragedy?
- What device is evident in the Bastard’s line “Sweet poison for the age’s tooth”?
- When the Bastard’s speeches reveal truths unknown to other characters, what device is used?
- When the Bastard says “Hell is murky,” echoing other Shakespearean themes, what device appears?
- When Constance calls herself “Not mad, but mad with sorrow,” what is this an example of?
- When King John refers to himself as “a sceptred wretch,” which device does this illustrate?
- What device is used when Shakespeare gives abstract ideas human traits, such as “Treason sleeping”?
- When the Bastard concludes that “England never did nor never shall lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,” Shakespeare employs what?