Macbeth Literary Terms and Summary

A seemingly contradictory statement that proves to be true

• Blank Verse
• Aside
• Motif
• Paradox

One character alone on stage sharing his or her thoughts

• Aside
• Dramatic Irony
• Paradox
• Soliloquy

A dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience

• Aside
• Soliloquy
• Dramatic Irony
• Paradox

Surprising or amusing contradictions

• Soliloquy
• Motif
• Irony
• Metaphor

Words and actions of the characters are understood differently by the audience than by the characters because the audience has knowledge that the characters lack

• Metaphor
• Simile
• Theme
• Dramatic Irony

Something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol

• Personification
• Theme
• Verbal Scenery
• Metaphor

The Popsicle was delicious, with it's sweet scent and fruity flavor.

• personfication

• imagery

• hyperbole

What literary term do we use for visually descriptive and/or figurative language in a text?

• imagery

• symbolism

• foreshadowing

• dramatic irony

What literary term do we use for parts of a text that hint at what will happen later in the text?

• symbolism

• foreshadowing

• imagery

• allusion

What term do we give to a statement or idea in a text that may seem absurd or contradictory but yet can be true, or at least makes sense, like when witches tell Macbeth that his friend Banquo is "lesser than Macbeth and greater"?

• paradox

• allusion

• pathetic fallacy

• motif