Macbeth Terms to Know (25)

soliloquy

A long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage

Hubris

Excessive pride or self-confidence

pathetic fallacy

the attachment of human traits such as emotions, thoughts, sensations and feelings to inanimate objects. It largely relates to the personification of objects. Examples are smiling/dancing flowers, angry/cruel winds, and brooding mountains

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

allusion

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

catharsis

a release of emotional tension - usually pity or fear-from the audience

comic relief

comic episodes in a dramatic or literary work that offset more serious sections to lighten the mood

anachronism

something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

aside

a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage

couplet

two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

trochaic tetrameter

one stressed syllable and one unstressed syllable repeated three times. The witches speak this way in Macbeth.

iambic pentameter

a poetic meter that is made up of 5 stressed syllables each followed by an unstressed syllable

foil

a character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another

pun

a play on words, often achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings

regicide

killing of a king

theme

a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work

equivocation

the use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself

hamartia (tragic flaw)

A "tragic" or "fatal" character flaw that causes the downfall of a person of high status.

motif

an object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work

imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

semantics

Meaning of words and sentences

diction

word choice

syntax

the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences

Great Chain of Being

conceptual hierarchy of all life and matter (God > Angelic Beings >King > Men >Women) Disruption of this chain can cause chaos in the world.

Pathos

an appeal to emotions