English Literature Macbeth Vocabulary

Peripeteia

A change or reversal circumstance that usually is not positive and the character is often unaware of this circumstance (EG. Macbeth committing regicide, marking his peripeteia as this orders chaos to ensue within the play)

Anagnorisis

When the hero recognise their downfall or when another main character recognises another character’s true identity (EG. Macbeth’s anagnorisis happens when Macduff reveals he was not born from a woman - instantly Macbeth realises how his ambitions has blinded him to the deceitful prophecies )

Catharsis

Release of emotions, usually fear (EG. Macbeth's death leads to catharsis for the audience, as they experience relief and emotional cleansing after the tragic events. )

Tyrannical

Exercising power in a cruel or arbitrary way.

Metamorphosis

A profound change in form or nature, often used to describe a character's transformation in literature (EG. "Shakespeare portrays Macbeth's metamorphosis from valiant warrior to a tyrannical ruler through…”

Hubristic

Showing excessive pride leading to downfall (EG. "Macbeth's hubristic belief that he is 'invincible' after hearing the second set of prophecies blinds him to their true meaning, directly contributing to his downfall. This excessive pride prevents him from recognizing the witches' equivocation.")

Vacillating

To waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive (EG.“Macbeth's vacillating psychological state is structurally emphasized through his soliloquies, which function as dramatic pressure points where his internal conflicts surface. The deliberate metrical irregularities in 'If it were done when 'tis done' reflect his unstable reasoning—a technical choice by Shakespeare that allows audiences to witness his moral disintegration through poetic form itself.”)

Megalomaniacal

Exhibiting a strong craving for power or wealth (EG. "Shakespeare juxtaposes Macbeth's megalomaniacal behavior against Scotland's deteriorating condition, establishing a microcosm-macrocosm relationship typical of Jacobean drama. When Ross describes a country that 'cannot be called our mother, but our grave,' this national decay directly correlates to Macbeth's psychological collapse, demonstrating Shakespeare's sophisticated use of parallel plotting.”)

Aberrant

Departing from an accepted standard. (Eg. "When Lady Macbeth calls upon spirits to 'unsex me here' and remove her feminine qualities of compassion, she embraces an aberrant gender identity that defies Jacobean expectations of womanhood, shocking Elizabethan audiences while enabling her deadly ambition.")

Primordial

Existing at or from the beginning of time ("The witches embody primordial forces that exist outside Scotland's Christian framework, their ancient power suggested through their command of elemental imagery ('Thunder and lightning') and archaic speech patterns. Shakespeare positions them at the boundary between civilized order and chaos, their very existence challenging the Renaissance cosmological hierarchy. Their invocation of primal energies through ritualistic language ('Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air') establishes a supernatural dimension that transcends the play's immediate political conflicts, suggesting that human ambition intersects with more ancient, ungovernable forces."

Insidious

Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effect. (EG. "The witches' insidious influence operates through linguistic corruption rather than direct action—their prophecies functioning as verbal infections that exploit Macbeth's pre-existing moral vulnerabilities. Their deliberately equivocal language ('fair is foul, and foul is fair') introduces an ethical ambiguity that gradually contaminates Macbeth's own speech, demonstrating Shakespeare's sophisticated understanding of how language itself can become a vehicle for moral degradation. This verbal subversion would resonate particularly with post-Reformation audiences attuned to debates about deceptive rhetoric.")

Munificent

Characterised by or displaying great generosity. (EG. "Duncan's munificent nature is displayed when he rewards Macbeth with the title of Thane of Cawdor and visits his castle bearing gifts, ironically intensifying the tragedy of his murder at the hands of his seemingly loyal subject.")

Venerable

Accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character. (EG. "The murder of the venerable King Duncan in his sleep represents not just regicide but the violation of multiple sacred bonds—guest to host, subject to king, kinsman to kinsman—making Macbeth's crime particularly heinous to a Jacobean audience.")

Harmartia

A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine. (EG. "Macbeth's hamartia is his 'vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself'; this fatal flaw transforms his heroic qualities into the instruments of his destruction.”)

Mercurial

Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind. ("Shakespeare employs mercurial characterization throughout Macbeth to explore how psychological instability manifests under extreme moral pressure. These swift, unpredictable shifts—visible in both language patterns and dramatic behavior—reveal characters struggling with the consequences of their choices.)

Antithetical

Directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible. (EG. "Banquo serves as an antithetical character to Macbeth; both receive prophecies, yet while Macbeth actively murders to fulfil his, Banquo remains loyal to the king, providing a moral counterpoint that emphasises Macbeth's increasing depravity.")

Dictorial

Having or showing an autocratic manner: tyrannical

Despotic

Tyrannical

Oppressive

Inflicting harsh and authoritarian treatment.

Avarice

Extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

Voracity/Voracious

Engaging in an activity with great eagerness or enthusiasm.

Rapacity

Aggressive greed.

Contrition

The state of feeling remorseful and penitent.