Shakespeare's Macbeth Literary Terms Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering literary terms and devices found in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

aside

speech by a character that others can't hear.

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

conflict

the struggle between opposing forces, which drives the plot and creates tension.

internal conflict

a struggle within a character's mind.

external conflict

a struggle with an outside force.

couplet

two rhymed lines.

equivocation

the deliberate use of ambiguous, vague, or double-meaning language to mislead, evade, or conceal the truth, often appearing as a logical fallacy.

foreshadowing

to suggest something is going to happen.

hamartia

a character flaw that causes the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy.

hubris

excessive pride or self-confidence that leads to a character's downfall; hubris is a specific type of hamartia.

imagery

language that appeals to the senses.

incantation

ritual chanting or use of "magic" words.

invective

a vivid expression of anger, often involving name calling.

inverted syntax

a sentence that reverses the usual order of words.

irony

a situation where there is a contrast between reality and expectations; when events or words are the opposite of what is expected, creating a sense of surprise, humor, or deeper meaning in literature, rhetoric, and everyday situations.

verbal irony

irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.

situational irony

irony involving a situation in which the outcome is contrary to what was expected.

dramatic irony

irony in which the audience is privy to information that one or more characters in the story are not. This can include secrets, future events, or the true nature of a situation.

mood

the emotional atmosphere of a piece (related to how the text makes the readers feel).

monologue

a long speech spoken by a character in the presence of others.

pathetic fallacy

a literary device in which the weather in a text mirrors the actions/mindset of the character(s).

prose

ordinary syntax, as opposed to poetic verse.

royal we

the use of "we" instead of "I" by an individual person, as traditionally used by a sovereign.

soliloquy

a speech in which one character, who is alone on stage (or at least cannot be heard by other characters on stage) thinks aloud.

suspension of disbelief

the willingness of the audience to sacrifice realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.

tone

a speaker's attitude toward his subject.

verse

writing that is structured into lines, often with a specific meter and/or rhyme scheme. It's a way to organize language in a way that is more musical and expressive than prose.