Macbeth Literary Terms

a recurring subject, theme, idea in a literary work that can have symbolic meanings

a long speech made by a character alone on stage

a figure of speech in which the speaker directly addresses an absent person or a personified quality, object, or idea

anything that stands for or represents something else

use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or accented syllables as in Sally sold sea shells

an error or defect in th tragic hero that leads to his downfall, such as greed, pride, or ambition

a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken as though it were something else

a speech delivered by an actor who is on stage but other characters don't hear them

a two line stanza that usually rhymes

a figure of speech in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics

poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

a contrast b/w what is stated and what is meant, or b/w what is expected to happen and really happens

reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

the atmosphere or feeling created in the reader by a literary work

a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two separate subjects using like or as

repetition of a consonant sound at the end of words or accented syllables

a metrical foot with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable