Macbeth Literature Notes

Setting of Macbeth

11th century Scotland

War between Scottish army and the invading Norwegian army

WHO was Macbeth?

King of Scotland during the 1000s.

WHAT was Macbeth?

(the play) is based on real history, BUT it’s not historically accurate. King James, I would have attended the play, and it’s thought that Shakespeare changed some of the events

Hubris

(Greek) a negative term implying arrogance, excessive, self-pride, and hamartia: a lack of some important insight due to pride in one’s abilities.

Thane

(governor, secret service, or general) a member of any of several aristocratic classes of men granted lands by the king or by lords for military service. In addition, their primary job was to protect their king. Like a governor

Noble

one who is distinguished by rank, title, or political status and is of the upper classes.

Tragedy

a serious story (in this case, a drama) that relates the fall of a person of high status. It celebrates the courage and dignity of a tragic hero who faces inevitable doom because of a tragic flaw.

Tragic Flaw

a personal weakness that begins about the fall of the tragic hero / a personality trait that leads to death

Pun

a play on words that relies on a word’s having more than one meaning or sounding like another word

Soliloquy

a character, alone onstage, utters his or her thoughts aloud. Playwrights use soliloquies as a convenient way to inform the audience about a character’s motivations and state of mind.

Aside

comments directed to the audience or another character that are “not audible” to the other characters onstage at the time.

Paradox

a seemingly contradictory statement

EX: In George Orwell’s Animal Farm the words “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” is a paradox

Motif

a recurring element that has significance beyond itself

EX: consistent roses = love, mention of step mother = evil

Juxtaposition

occurs in art, photography, T.V. shows, movies, books, plays, etc.

Foil

A character (usually a minor character) whose behavior, values, or situation contrasts with those of a minor character (usually). Foils highlights the more significant character’s opposing attributes because of this comparison.

EX: Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak (foil character)

Situational Irony

occurs when something happens in a largely unexpected story, a plot twist.

Dramatic irony

occurs when the audience knows something a character does not.

Equivocation

a confusing or ambiguous expression or action, especially to mislead or feign

Motifs to Track

Sleep as death, Disturbances in the natural order, Hypocrisy and Blood

Themes to Track

The effects of equivocation, the effects of excessive ambition/hubris and the influence of fate versus free will

Genre

a category of art, film, or writing

Drama

Derived from Greek, can be performed on stage, on film, or the radio

One of the characters was a distinct relative to ___________ in Macbeth and ________ lived during the period when they were related

James I

Examples of a tragic flaw

Gluttony, Greed, The Seven Deadly Sins

What is the relationship between fiction and nonfiction?

They are the trees and branches (different genes) that stem from each other

How does a soliloquy resemble a person in a play?

It can be the heart and mind of the character