Macbeth vocab

Archetypes

• an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book or play

  
  

• is a work with two levels of

  meaning, a literal one and a symbolic one. In such a

  work, most of the characters, objects, settings, and

  events represent abstract qualities.

• a pattern in literature

  that is found in a variety of works from different

  cultures throughout the ages. An archetype can be a

  plot, a character, an image, or a setting. For example,

  the association of death and rebirth with winter and

  spring is an archetype common to many cultures.

• a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if thinking aloud. 

  
  

tragedy

• a dramatic work that presents

  the downfall of a dignified character who is involved

  in historically, morally, or socially significant events.

  
  

• a pattern in literature

  that is found in a variety of works from different

  cultures throughout the ages. An archetype can be a

  plot, a character, an image, or a setting. For example,

  the association of death and rebirth with winter and

  spring is an archetype common to many cultures.

  
  

• a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if thinking aloud. 

  
  

• a pair of statements or images in which the one reverses the other. The pair is written with similar grammatical structures to show more contrast.

  
  

tragic hero

• the use of similar

  grammatical constructions to express ideas that are

  related or equal in importance.

  
  

• occurs when readers know

  more about a situation or a character in a story

  than the characters do.

  
  

• a main character, who has a tragic flaw,

  a quality that leads to his or her destruction. The

  events set in motion by a decision

  that is often an error in judgment 

  
  
  
  

• a technique in which a

  sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis

  or unity.

  
  

Dramatic irony

•  a technique in which a

  sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis

  or unity.

  
  

• does not require a reply. Writers use them

  to suggest that their arguments make the answer

  obvious or self-evident.

  
  

• when readers know

  more about a situation or a character in a story

  than the characters do.

  
  

• a protagonist who has the

  qualities opposite to those of a hero; he or she may be

  insecure, ineffective, cowardly, sometimes dishonest

  or dishonorable, or— most often—a failure.

  
  

Soliloquy

• a technique in which a

  sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis

  or unity.

  
  

• a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if thinking aloud. 

  
  

• a pattern in literature

  that is found in a variety of works from different

  cultures throughout the ages. An archetype can be a

  plot, a character, an image, or a setting. For example,

  the association of death and rebirth with winter and

  spring is an archetype common to many cultures.

  
  

• occurs when readers know

  more about a situation or a character in a story

  than the characters do.

  
  

Aside

• a protagonist who has the

  qualities opposite to those of a hero; he or she may be

  insecure, ineffective, cowardly, sometimes dishonest

  or dishonorable, or— most often—a failure.

  
  

• an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book or play

  
  

• is a short speech directed to

  the audience, or another character, that is not heard

  by the other characters on stage.
  

• a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if thinking aloud. 

  
  

Iambic pentameter

• a dramatic work that presents

  the downfall of a dignified character who is involved

  in historically, morally, or socially significant events.

  
  

• the use of similar

  grammatical constructions to express ideas that are

  related or equal in importance.

  
  

• the restating of

  information in one’s own words.

  
  

• a metrical

  pattern of five feet, or units, each of which is made up

  of two syllables, the first unstressed and the second

  stressed.

  
  

Repetition

• a technique in which a

  sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis

  
  

• a dramatic work that presents

  the downfall of a dignified character who is involved

  in historically, morally, or socially significant events.

  
  

• the use of similar

  grammatical constructions to express ideas that are

  related or equal in importance.

  
  

• an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book or play

  
  

Parallelism

• the restating of

  information in one’s own words.

  
  

• a main character, who has a tragic flaw,

  a quality that leads to his or her destruction. The

  events set in motion by a decision

  that is often an error in judgment 

  
  

• the use of similar

  grammatical constructions to express ideas that are

  related or equal in importance.

  
  

• does not require a reply. Writers use them

  to suggest that their arguments make the answer

  obvious or self-evident.

  
  

Rhetorical Question

• when readers know

  more about a situation or a character in a story

  than the characters do.

  
  

• does not require a reply. Writers use them

  to suggest that their arguments make the answer

  obvious or self-evident.

  
  

• the use of similar

  grammatical constructions to express ideas that are

  related or equal in importance.

  
  

• a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if thinking aloud.