Macbeth - Subject Terminology

Question 1

Antithesis

Answer 1

Two opposite ideas that are put together to achieve a contrasting effect.

Question 2

Aside

Answer 2

When a character speaks in such a way that some of the characters on stage do not hear what is said, while others do. Sometimes it can also be a direct address to the audience.

Question 3

Blank verse

Answer 3

Unrhymed verse with carefully placed stressed and unstressed syllables (unrhymed iambic pentameter).

Question 4

Comic relief

Answer 4

Humorous content in a dramatic or literary work intended to offset more serious episodes (the porter scene Act 2 Scene 3).

Question 5

Connotation

Answer 5

An idea or feeling linked to the main meaning of a word - what it implies or suggests in addition to its literal meaning.

Question 6

Dialogue

Answer 6

A conversation between two or more characters.

Question 7

Doggerel

Answer 7

Bad verse - rough and clumsy attempt at speaking in verse.

Question 8

Dramatic irony

Answer 8

When the audience knows something about a character or plot that the character on the stage is not aware of.

Question 9

Foreshadowing

Answer 9

To suggest that something unpleasant will happen later on in the text.

Question 10

Hyperbole

Answer 10

The use of exaggeration in a text.

Question 11

Imagery

Answer 11

The use of metaphorical language.

Question 12

Irony

Answer 12

Directly contradicting the truth.

Question 13

Metaphor

Answer 13

A comparison in which one thing is said (or implied) to be another.

Question 14

Pathos

Answer 14

Moment in a work of art or literature which evoke strong feelings of pity or sorrow.

Question 15

Personification

Answer 15

A type of metaphor in which things or ideas are treated as if they are human.

Question 16

Prose

Answer 16

Writing that follows the style of normal speech.

Question 17

Repetition

Answer 17

Repeating the same word or phrase for effect.

Question 18

Simile

Answer 18

A comparison in which one thing is said to be ‘like’ or ‘as’ another.

Question 19

Soliloquy

Answer 19

A long speech given by a character, usually on stage, as if they are thinking aloud.

Question 20

Stichomythia

Answer 20

The use of short, quick alternate lines in dialogue between two characters.

Question 21

Symbol

Answer 21

Something which represents something else.

Question 22

Tragedy

Answer 22

A play with an unhappy ending, usually involving the downfall of the main character.

Question 23

Tragic flaw

Answer 23

A character flaw that causes the downfall of a character (sometimes referred to as hamartia or a fatal flaw).