| act | a main division of a drama. Shakespeares’s plays consist of 5 |
| allusion | a reference to a literary or historical person or event to explain a present situation |
| aside | a brief remark made by a character and intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters |
| atmosphere | the tone or mood established by events, places or situations |
| chorus | in greek drama, the singing and dancing group whose words formed commentary of interpretation of action. In Elizabethan drama the role of it was often taken by one actor to recite a prologue or several actors to offer commentary on a situation |
| comic relief | a humorous scene or speech in a serious drama which is meant to provide relief from emotional intensity and by contrast to heighten the seriousness of the story |
| foreshadowing | a hint of what is to come in the story. this is often used to keep the audience in a state of expectancy |
| imagery | words or phrases that appeal to the 5 senses, figurative language may create images but not all images are figures of speech |
| irony | a contrast btwn what is and what appears to be. One type is verbal in which a character says one thing and means another. Another is dramatic in which the audience knows what the characters dont |
| metaphor | a figure of speech that implies or states a comparison btwn 2 unlike things which are similar in some way (no like or as) |
| paradox | a statement which seems to be contradictory but is at the same time profoundly logical. it may be used to emphasize a particular theme or idea |
| scene | a small unit of a play in which there is no shift of locale or time |
| simile | a figure of speech that states a comparison btwn 2 unlike things which are similar in one aspect (uses like or as) |
| soliloquy | a speech given by a character alone on stage-to let the audience know what the character is thinking and feeling |
| tragedy | type of drama of human conflict which ends in defeat and suffering. often the main character has a tragic flaw which leads to their destruction, sometimes the conflict is w/ forces beyond the control of the character-fate, evil in the world |
Macbeth Glossary of terms
September 9, 2019