1. Macbeth vocab

2. Thane (n.) A nobleman under service of a king, much like a knight
Known by the names of the places they ruled
Macbeth=Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor
Macduff=Thane of Fife

3. Motif (n.)
The repetition of an image, symbol, or idea in a work of literature
Motifs in Macbeth
Blood
Clothing
Sleep/sleeplessness
Light/darkness
Birds
Unnatural occurrences

4. Comic relief (n.)
In drama, a humorous scene that follows a serious one
Intensifies the seriousness by adding contrast

5. Motifs in Macbeth Blood Clothing
Duncan: “What bloody man is that?” I/ii
Macbeth: “…When we have marked with blood those sleepy two of his own chambers and used their very daggers…” I/vii
Clothing
Macbeth: “The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?” I/iii
Banquo: “New honors come upon him, like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold but with the aid of use.” I/iii

6. Motifs in Macbeth Light/Darkness
Macbeth: “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.” I/iv
LM: “Come, thick night, and pall me in the dunnest smoke of hell!” I/v

7. Motifs in Macbeth Sleep/sleeplessness
LM: “When in swinish sleep their drenched natures lie as in a death, what cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Duncan?” I/vii

8. Your motif task from here on in:
Choose a motif from the previous list
Every time it is mentioned in Macbeth, note the page # in your notebook or mark the page with a sticky note.
These references will become the basis of a unit assessment

10. Minion (n.) Assistant or servant
The dictator used his minions to do his dirty work

11. Disburse (v.) To pay out to someone
The treasurer disbursed $ for the field trip.

12. ague (n.)
Fever
The ague left him hallucinating and blabbering.

13. dire (adj.)
very bad
After the botched robbery attempt, the three found themselves in a dire situation.

14. Harbinger (n.) One who announces the arrival of another
The robin is the harbinger of spring.

15. Missive (n.)
Letter
After reading about a tax increase, he sent a missive to his congressman.

16. prate (v.) To speak foolishly or about trivial matters
The girls would prate on and on about their favorite boy bands

17. trifle (n.) Something trivial or unimportant
He threw his life away as if it were a trifle.

18. equivocate (v.)
To speak vaguely or be deliberately unclear; to speak in half-truths
The three witches equivocate with Macbeth.

19. chide (v.) Tell somebody off (gently)
The woman would chide her young son for misbehaving in public.

20. parricide (n.) The murder of one’s parents
No one could understand what drove her to parricide

21. suborn (v.) Persuade another to do wrong, esp. with a bribe
I tried to suborn my teachers to get better grades, but most of them refused.

22. Blank Verse (n.) Unrhymed iambic pentameter
(ten syllables per line, no end rhyme)
Most of Macbeth is written in blank verse
“Lower-class” characters speak in straight prose
Other characters deviate from blank verse if they are lying, speaking prophecy, or doing something out of the ordinary

23. Blank Verse (n.) Unrhymed iambic pentameter
(ten syllables per line, no end rhyme)
“All hail Macbeth. Hail to thee Thane of Glamis” (10 syllables)
“All hail Macbeth. Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor.” (11 syllables)
“All hail Macbeth, that shall be king hereafter.”(11 syllables)

24. couplet (n.)
two lines of verse that form a unit alone or as part of a poem, especially two that rhyme and have the same meter

25. Paradox (n.)
A statement that seems to be contradictory but that might be true when considered from a particular perspective.
Fair is foul and foul is fair.
To achieve peace, you must prepare for war.

26. Aside (n.)
a remark made by an actor, usually to the audience, that the other characters on stage supposedly cannot hear
Asides are designated in the script of a drama
Ex: MACBETH (aside): This supernatural soliciting cannot be good; cannot be ill.

27. Aside (n.)
a remark made by an actor, usually to the audience, that the other characters on stage supposedly cannot hear
In film, characters address the camera when using asides.

28. intemperance (n.)
overindulgence, the inability to control one’s desires.
His intemperance lead to liver disease.

29. laud (v.) praise somebody laudable (adj): worthy of praise
His performance on the football field was laudable.

30. incensed (adj.)
angry
He was so incensed that he threw his toys across the room.

31. entrails (n.) innards (guts)
The hunters threw the elk’s entrails to the dogs.

32. epicure (n.) expert in food and wine and the “finer things” in life
To be a food critic, one must be a bit of an epicure.