The Play
After you're done with the play, make sure to take the AR test on it as a review.
IronyVerbal: The difference between what is said and what is meant.
Dramatic: Where the audience or reader knows something that someone involved in the action does not know. For example, Macbeth's line, "I drink to the general joy of the whole company and to our dear friend Banquo whom we miss; would he were here" is irony because Banquo is at the banquet, at least in Macbeth's mind. We in the audience know what Macbeth does not--that the ghost is there. |
Plotexposition, rising action, turningpoint or climax, falling action, resolution
The turning point is the moment of greatest emotional intensity OR the moment from which the rest of the action of the play is decided (or both). In a Shakespearean play, the turning point is often in Act III. In Macbeth the turning point happens.... Sorry, that's going to be on the test. |
Epic SimileAn extended comparison that goes for many lines. The captain's descriptions of Macbeth define Macbeth as an epic hero (like Beowulf).
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Foreshadowing
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Allusion
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Character
Static and Dynamic Characters Characterization Protagonist and Antagonist |
Verse Form
Shakespeare's plays are written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, which is also called blank verse. The witches speeches are NOT blank verse. (Why not?) The porter's speech is NOT blank verse. (Why not?) Lady Macbeth's lines as she sleepwalks are NOT blank verse. (Why not?) |
Anachronism
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TragedyA tragedy is a play, novel, or story that has a tragic hero. It is a story that ends in violence, often with the death of the main character.
The main character often gains wisdom by the end of the play, even though that knowledge can no longer help him or her. *According to Aristotle, tragedy moves an audience to pity and fear; pity for the hero and fear for all humans who are prone to the same defects as the hero. Do you feel any pity for Macbeth by the end of the play? Are you supposed to? |
Tragic HeroThe protagonist or tragic hero’s downfall is caused by a tragic flaw. This character often starts as a great figure and then is destroyed by a character flaw. Pride, arrogance, greed, and ambition are among the most common tragic flaws.
What is Macbeth's tragic flaw? In what way is Macbeth a tragic hero--if he is? |