Macbeth: Technical terminology

act

larger division of a play

antithesis

a figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting or opposing ideas

aside

dramatic device that gives important insights into a character's thoughts and feelings

bathos

the sudden descent from the sublime to the absurd

blank verse

poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter

catalexis

a metrically incomplete line of verse, lacking a syllable at the end or ending with an incomplete foot

chiasmus

a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order; for example "fair is foul and foul is fair"

dramatic irony

a literary technique by which the full significance of a character's words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character

euphemism

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

iambic pentameter

a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short syllable followed by one long syllable; for example "For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name"

motif

an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature

pronoun

a closed class of words, including he, I and you, which can generally stand in for a noun phrase

prose

written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure

rhyming couplets

two successive lines that rhyme

scene

smaller division of an act; combined help develop the narrative of the act

semantic field

a group of words linked by meaning and connotation

shared lines

verse shared or split between two or more speakers

soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play

stichomythia

a technique in verse drama in which sequences of single alternating lines, are given to alternating characters

trochaic tetrameter

a line of verse with four metrical feet, each consisting of one long syllable followed by one short syllable; for example, "When shall we three meet again?"

vocatives

a word or phrase used to address a reader or listener directly, usually in the form of a personal name, title, or term of endearment