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Kyriolexis

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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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

The deliberate use of plain, denotative language instead of figurative or metaphorical expression for clarity or emphasis.

Detailed Definition
Kyriolexis is the use of standard, conventional, or “lordly” (kyrios) diction—clear, elevated, and widely accepted—rather than idiosyncratic or experimental language; in poetry, it ensures accessibility and rhetorical authority, as in Pope’s heroic couplets, where shared linguistic norms facilitate moral argument and social commentary, positioning the poet as public voice rather than private innovator.
Example
Example in poetry:
Kyriolexis in liturgical poetry: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23); Biblical diction in Milton’s “Paradise Lost” exemplifies kyriolexis; Donne’s sermons use kyriolexis: “No man is an island”; Contemporary sacred poetry retains kyriolexis: “Thy will be done”; Kyriolexis appears in African American spirituals: “Go down, Moses”
Additional Notes
Use of a word's most literal or proper meaning. Greek kyrios means authoritative. Opposite of metaphorical usage. In poetry criticism, identifies when words mean exactly what they say. Related to denotation.
Also Known As
Literal expression direct language
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