good words to use in essays

Question 1

duplicitous

Answer 1

Macbeth has an extremely duplicitous nature

Question 2

valor

Answer 2

bravery, courage

Question 3

enamoured

Answer 3

Macbeth is enamoured with the idea of becoming King

Question 4

covet

Answer 4

to desire something, which one should not usually desire
Macbeth covets the position of being King

Question 5

demise

Answer 5

Macbeth’s demise can ultimately be down to the witches prophecies eliciting the latent evil within him

Question 6

perfidious

Answer 6

disloyal and unfaithful
Macbeth has a perfidious nature that forces him to commit regicide

Question 7

quagmire

Answer 7

a difficult situation
Macbeth’s regicide of King Duncan led to a quagmire as he became consumed with fear, yet also even more ambition

Question 8

haughty

Answer 8

Macbeth’s character changes from sceptical to guilty to haughty
arrogantly superior and disdainful

Question 9

hamartia

Answer 9

fatal flaw
Macbeth’s ambition and drive for power is his hamartia and ultimately leads to his death

Question 10

catharsis

Answer 10

the purging or cleansing of emotions
the audience experiences catharsis at the end of the play as Macbeth loses everything

Question 11

anagnorisis

Answer 11

when a hero realises his mistakes after a certain misfortune
Macbeth realises this after he kills Duncan

Question 12

tragic hero

Answer 12

the protagonist of a tragic story or drama- they have virtuous and sympathetic traits and ambitions but they reach their demise
Macbeth is the tragic hero in the play

Question 13

tragic waste

Answer 13

the waste of potential, the waste of life and the waste of innocence are examples of the types of tragic waste in the play

Question 14

what is chiasmus?

Answer 14

the reversal of grammatical structure
e.g. fair is foul and foul is fair to represent the cyclical nature of the witches

Question 15

hubris

Answer 15

excessive pride or self- confidence

Question 16

what is peripetia?

Answer 16

an action that once done causes a change in circumstances or sudden reversal of fortunes
the peripeteia in Macbeth is the regicide of King Duncan

Question 17

despotic nature

Answer 17

tyranny- tyrant rule
Macbeth rules Scotland in a despotic nature

Question 18

pallor

Answer 18

skin paleness

Question 19

what does Machiavellian mean?

Answer 19

cunning and scheming

Question 20

what does unscrupulous mean?

Answer 20

having or showing no moral principles

Question 21

prose

Answer 21

when it looks like writing in a book the whole page
prose is normally used by the lower- status characters- murderers or porters- or when characters are losing sense of themselves e.g. Lady Macbeth when she sleepwalks

Question 22

what is blank verse?

Answer 22

no rhyme scheme- meant to imitate the natural rhythms of speech

Question 23

what is equivocator?

Answer 23

the use of ambiguous expressions to mislead
the witches use equivocation to deceit as at times they use vague language

Question 24

temerity

Answer 24

excessive confidence or boldness

Question 25

tirade

Answer 25

a long, angry speech of criticism and accusation
Lady Macbeth uses a tirade of abuse to manipulate Macbeth into committing the regicide

Question 26

impediment

Answer 26

a hindrance or obstruction in doing something
Lady Macbeth would have murdered King Duncan but the impediment of the King looking like her father prevented her from doing so

Question 27

imperious

Answer 27

arrogant and domineering
Lady Macbeth is extremely imperious