Studied by 10 peoplesoliloquy
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
Note
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