Hertswood GCSE English – Macbeth: Literary Terms

What is dramatic irony?	When the audience knows something a character doesn’t.
What is structure?	The overall design of the play – how the plot is revealed, what events happen when, which scenes focus on thoughts and feelings, and which scenes build towards a dramatic climax.
What is blank verse?	Blank verse is a type of poetry that follows these three rules: The lines usually don’t rhyme Each line has 10 or 11 syllables Each line has 5 big (stressed) beats.
What are rhyming couplets?	A pair of lines that rhyme and have metre.
What is a paradox?	A statement that contradicts itself or cancels itself out.
What is an oxymoron?	Where two words contradict each other.
What is allusion?	Reference to a historical event, work of art, mythical/ literary figure, religious text, etc.
What does ‘aside’ mean?	A comment made by an actor. It is heard by the audience but not by the other actors.
What is equivocation?	A deliberate misleading statement. It is not technically a lie, but it is also not the whole truth.