Macbeth Acts 1-3 Test

soliloquy

long speech, usually made alone by a character on stage, revealing inner secrets, desires, or fears

the exposition

the events of act 1

stage directions

writing within a play or drama to help staff bring the play to life and to help the reader picture the action; written in italics and brackets

aside

private remark directed only to the audience or just some of the characters on stage

dramatic irony

type of irony that occurs when the audience knows more about what will happen than the characters

exposition

the introductory part of any literary work that describes the mood, introduces the reader to all elements of the setting, key characters, etc.

paradox

a statement that appears confusing or contradictory but that actually makes sense with some careful thought

main paradox in Macbeth

fair is foul and foul is fair

regicide

murder of a king or monarch

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter used to reflect natural speech patterns

comic relief

writing that provides a humorous break from a very tense mood

prose

non-poetic writing, or writing not divided into poetic lines, has no formal rhythm

the events of act 2

complication/rising action

what are the ten motifs

honor
blood
family lineage
three
appearance vs. reality
gender roles
bird imagery
sleep
night/darkness
vengeance

allusion

a reference to another work of literature, person, or event

anachronism

something that is appropriate to a period of time other than the time it is currently in

apostrophe

a dramatic form of address that begins with O

what does weird mean (as used in reference to the witches)?

clairvoyant/destiny serving

omen

dark, prophetic sign

tragic hero

person of high rank whose downfall is caused by his own behavior

tragic flaw

tremendous weakness that causes the hero's complete downfall/destruction

what is macbeth's tragic flaw?

his distorted ambition and greed for power

internal conflict

struggle within a character

external conflict

struggle between two characters

who does macbeth have external conflicts with

banquo and macduff

climax

highest point of tension in a story

verbal irony

statement in which a character says something but means something else

two examples of verbal irony in macbeth

lennox's speech to the lord, macbeth toasting to banquo at the feast

monologue

a dramatic speech given by an individual in the presence of others

inciting incident

event setting the central conflict into motion, propels the plot forward

another name for the inciting incident

exciting force

what is the inciting incident in act 1

macbeth agreeing to lady macbeth's plan to kill king duncan

when are rhyming couplets used

when something is important or at the end of a scene

iambic pentameter

a ten-syllable line in which the first is unaccented, the second accented, and so on

angus

a Scottish nobleman

banquo

macbeth's friend and an honorable nobleman whose children, according to the witches, will be kings.

donalbain

duncan's son and malcolm's younger brother

duncan

the king of scotland, murdered by macbeth

hecate

goddess of witchcraft, helps the three witches mess with macbeth

fleance

banquo's son

two guards

framed by macbeth and lady macbeth for the murder of duncan

lady macbeth

wife of macbeth

lennox

scottish nobleman

the lord

who lennox gives an ironic speech to about macbeth

macbeth

thane of glamis, thane of cawdor, king; murderer; overly ambitious

macdonwald

traitor who led a failed rebellion against scotland

macduff

thane of fife who finds macbeth suspicious

malcolm

son of duncan and heir to the scottish throne

murderers

3 murderers enlisted by macbeth to murder banquo and fleance

old man

spoke with ross about the unnatural events that occurred after duncan's death

porter

comic relief, drunkard

ross

scottish nobleman who tells macbeth he is the new thane of cawdor

three witches

clairvoyants who predict macbeth and banquo's futures

thane of cawdor

traitor to the scottish army who is executed and replaced by macbeth

thane of glamis

macbeth's original title