| Allusion | an expression tgat refers to a person, place, poem, book, event, etc. the author expects the reader will recognize (noun)example: references to the King James Bible; biblical imagery, (Golgatha – Christ’s crucifixion) |
| Comic Relief | comic episodes that provide relief from drama or tragedy; breaks up the mood (noun)example: descriptions of witches with beards |
| Dialogue | speaking; conversation between characters (noun)example: “A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come!” |
| Foil | a character whose qualities or actions serve to emphasize the actions of another character; contrast. example: Banquo vs Macbeth. When they meet the witches, they have different interpretations of the prophecies. Banquo-> Witches are no good, vs. Macbeth -> witches are good. |
| Foreshadowing | Something that is hinted to happen laterexample: act one -> witches’ prophecies -> they tell something is going to happen |
| Heroic Quatrain | a poetic stanza consisting of four lines with a rhyme scheme of A/B/A/B or A/A/B/B.example: page 96, Act 3, scene 2, lines 6-9 |
| Iambic Pentameter | a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.example: “Who was it that this cried? Why, worthy thane,/You do unbend your noble strength to think/So brainsickly of things. Go get some water,/And wash this filthy witness from your hand./Why did you bring these daggers from the place?/They must lie there. Go carry them and smear/The sleepy grooms with blood.” |
| Inference | conclusion reached based on evidence and reason; the author does not state directlyexample: “Malcolm is now the prince of Cumberland! To be come king myself, I’m either going to have to step over him or give up, because he’s in my way.” |
| Irony | expressing through humorous language or inconsistent language that usually means the opposite of the general meaning.example: “All hail, Macbeth!” |
| Metaphor | a phrase used to compare one thing to another that are usually not similar without using like or as. example: Act 5, scene 7 |
| Metonymy | the use of a related item that’s used to represent something bigger that’s being discussed. example: Act 3, scene 4 |
| Motif | a recurring situation, incident, idea, or image that is repeated through literary workexample: light and dark-blood-ghosts |
| setting | -the time and place where a story, play, novel, etcex. Act IV, scene 1 pg 130setting = a cavern, Scotland, 11th century |
| simile | a figure of speech involving a comparison of one thing to another using the words like or asex. Act I, scene 2, pg 6, line 43 |
| soliloquy | the act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud, character reveals thought to audience but not to other peopleex. act 2, scene 1, pg 50-5Macbeth: “Is this a dagger…” |
| theme | – the subject of a story; the central or dominant idea; a universal statement about humanityex. courage, ambition, abuse of power, guilt and paranoia, false appearance |
| plot | the main events in a literary work; what happens in a storyex. Act V -> Lady Macbeth is struggling with guilt, etc |
| symbol | a person, place, or thing that represents something else, usually a larger idea or conceptex. dark and light -> good and evilblood -> murder, guiltthe bell -> impending doom |
| tone | the general attitude or atmosphere the author puts in a literary workex. Act V, page 180, line 30, sinister tone |
| tragic hero | a character in a tragedy who is destined for downfall due to a tragic fall. ex. Act V, scene 8, page 216, [enter Macduff with Macbeth’s head], Macbeth’s downfall and eventual death were due to his ambition and other tragic flaws. |
Macbeth Literary Terms
December 8, 2019