Mrs. Pieczynski

The Tragedy of Macbeth

TragedyA narrative literary

work depicting serious and important events, in which the protagonist comes to an unhappy end

The protagonist is a TRAGIC HERO, one who suffers his fate due to a flaw in his personality

ExpositionInciting (Exciting) ForceRising ActionClimaxFalling ActionMoment of Final Suspense Catastrophe

Plot Structure of a Tragedy

Gender Issues Ladylike vs. Women are source of evil?Cowardly or Manly?

Reality vs. Illusion“Look like the innocent flower, but be the

serpent under’t.”Power- Unrestrained ambition

Themes

Blank Verse- unrhymed, metrical lines of poetry

Iambic Pentameter- 10 syllables per line, stress on the 2nd syllable, every other syllable

Shakespeare’s Writing Style

Act I, scene i

Paradox-a contradiction

“Fair is foul and foul is fair…”

Literary Terms

Act I, scene ii

Act I, scene iii.

Soliloquy-a speech alone on stageAside-other characters “don’t hear” thoughts

Literary Terms

Dramatic Irony-a situation in which the audience knows more than a character

Thane of Cawdor!!!

Literary Terms

Literary TermsPersonification-When

human qualities are used to describe something nonhuman

“If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir.”

Act I, scene iv

Inflection- a rise or fall in pitch or tone “Is execution done on Cawdor?”

Literary Terms

Stress- emphasis on a word or syllable “He was a gentleman on whom I built an

absolute trust.”

Literary Terms

Apostrophe-A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and capable of responding

“Stars, hide your fires. Let not light see my black and deep desires.”

Literary Terms

Act I, scene v

Act I, scene vi

Act I, scene vii

Subtext-the underlying meaning beneath the words

“He that’s coming must be provided for…”

Literary Terms

Simile-A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using a connective word such as “like” or “as”“Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may

read strange matters.”

Metaphor-does not use like or as

Literary Terms-Imagery

Act II, scene i

Act II, scene ii

Symbol-something that represents something else

Blood=GuiltColors:

WhiteBlackRed

“My hands areof your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.”

Literary Terms

Act II, scene iii

Comic Relief- a moment of humor after tension

Literary Terms

Simile-A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using a connective word such as “like” or “as”“Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may

read strange matters.”

Metaphor-does not use like or as“There’s daggers in men’s smiles…”

Literary Terms-Imagery

Act II, scene iv

Act III, scene i

Act III, scene ii

Act III, scene iii

Act III, scene iv

Act III, scene v

Act III, scene vi

Act IV, scene i

Act IV, scene ii

Act IV, scene iii

Act V, scene i

Act V, scene ii

Act V, scene iii

Act V, scene iv

Act V, scene v

Act V, scene vi, vii, viii