Macbeth — Vocabulary Flashcards (Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, places, terms, and themes from the Macbeth notes.

Globe Theatre

The London theater where Shakespeare's company performed; Shakespeare was a part-owner of the Globe.

King's Men

Shakespeare's acting company after 1603, named by King James I who patronized them.

Holinshed's Chronicles

Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland; Shakespeare used it as a source for Macbeth and altered details for drama and politics.

Banquo

Nobleman and friend of Macbeth; prophesied that Banquo's descendants will be kings; murdered; his ghost haunts Macbeth; father of Fleance.

Fleance

Banquo's son; escapes Banquo's murder; foretold that Banquo's line will rule Scotland.

Duncan

King of Scotland; virtuous ruler; murdered by Macbeth; described in moral terms as a gardener of the realm.

Macbeth

Scottish nobleman who rises from Thane of Glamis to Thane of Cawdor and then king; his ambition turns him into a tyrant.

Lady Macbeth

Macbeth's wife; drives the murder plot; renounces femininity to pursue power; experiences guilt and sleep disturbances.

Weird Sisters

Three witches whose prophecies spur Macbeth and Banquo; symbolize supernatural influence on fate.

Birnam Wood

Forest that moves toward Dunsinane as prophesied; symbolizes fate and Macbeth's downfall.

Dunsinane

Castle where Macbeth makes a last stand against the English-Scottish army.

Inverness

Castle where Duncan stays in Macbeth; scene of the planned murder.

Thane

Noble title in Scotland; Macbeth holds Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor.

Thane of Glamis

Macbeth's original title before becoming Thane of Cawdor.

Thane of Cawdor

Title granted to Macbeth after his bravery; later associated with his kingship through murder.

Macduff

Scottish nobleman who opposes Macbeth; his family is murdered; he ultimately kills Macbeth.

Malcolm

Duncan's elder son; heir to the throne; grows from a frightened youth to a capable leader who defeats Macbeth.

Untimely ripped

Macduff’s birth by caesarean section; crucial to the prophecy that no man born of a woman shall harm Macbeth.

Banquo’s prophecy

Witches’ prediction that Banquo’s descendants will be kings, provoking Macbeth’s paranoia and actions.

Instruments of Darkness

Banquo’s phrase describing the witches: they tell truths to lure people into ruin.

Unsex me here

Lady Macbeth's plea to spirits to strip her of feminine weakness and grant cruelty.

Look like the innocent flower

Lady Macbeth's advice to appear harmless while concealing deadly intent.

Dagger vision

Macbeth's imagined floating dagger; a cue to murder and a sign of his conflicted mind.

Sleep

Symbol of innocence and peace; murder destroys sleep and signals guilt; sleepwalking shows consequences.

Blood

Symbol of violence and guilt; ‘blood will have blood’ illustrates the cycle of violence.

Out, out, brief candle

Macbeth's line on life's brevity and meaninglessness after his ascent to power.

Gardener metaphor

Duncan is likened to a gardener tending his realm; his murder destroys natural order.

Fate

The prophecy-driven question of whether events are destined or can be altered by action.

Ambition

Desire for power that drives Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to transgress moral boundaries.

Fair is foul

Opening paradox illustrating appearances vs. reality; a key theme about moral ambiguity.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical device with ABBA word order (as in ‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’) used to create paradox.