Macbeth Literary Terms

1. Act A main division of drama. Shakespeare’s plays consist of five acts with each act subdivided into scenes.

2. Scene A small unit of a play in which there is no shift of locale or time

3. Irony A contrast between what is and what appears to be. One type of irony is verbal in which a character says one thing and means another. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows what the character/s do not know.

4. Blank Verse Unrhymed verse written in Iambic pentameter, or ten syllable lines in which every second syllable is stressed. For example, when Romeo sees Juliet appear at her

window, he exclaims

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!

5. Foreshadowing A hint of what is to come in the story. This is often used to keep the audience in a state of expectancy.

6. Soliloquy A speech given by a character alone on the stage. The purpose of a soliloquy is to let the audience know what the character is thinking and feeling.

7. Puns Play on words based on different meanings of words that sound alike. Used to create comic relief.

8. Oxymoron A contrast of two contradictory terms for the sake of emphasis.

Ex: “an honorable villain.”

9. Aside A brief remark made by a character and intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters.

10. Tragedy The type of drama of human conflict which ends in defeat and suffering. Often the main character has a tragic flaw which leads to his or her destruction. Sometimes the

conflict is with forces beyond the control of the character – fate, evil in the world.

11. Dramatic foil Contrast with another character and helps to highlight this character’s traits.

Ex: Macbeth and Banquo

12. Monologue Lengthy speech addressed to other characters, not to the audience.

13. Tone Feelings and emotions that accompany the words.

14. Allusion A reference to a literary or historical person or event to explain a present situation.

15. Internal Conflict psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates the plot's suspense. Ex: man v. self

16. External Conflict: the struggle occurring outside a character's mind; a character's struggle or problem with an outside force. Ex: man v. man, man v. nature

17. Character Motivation: is the reason behind a character's behaviors and actions. These might be external needs and relate to survival, but they might also be psychological or existential needs, such as love or professional achievement.