Figurative Language & Imagery
Duncan says the air “recommends itself” to their senses (1.6). What figurative device gives the air human-like action?
What is personification?
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is mainly described as what kind of warrior?
What is brave and heroic?
The repeated contrast between what seems good and what is truly evil supports what theme?
What is appearance vs. reality?
What prophecy do the witches give Macbeth that begins his ambition?
What is that he will become king?
The suffix -ful means “full of.” What does direful mean?
What is full of dread?
The captain describes Macbeth’s sword as “smoked with bloody execution” (1.2). What type of figurative language strongly created here?
What is imagery?
Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth’s manhood in Act 1, Scene 7. What is her goal in doing this?
What is to pressure him into murdering Duncan?
Crowns and titles in Macbeth often symbolize what larger idea?
What is power and ambition?
What major crime does Macbeth commit to gain the crown?
What is the murder of King Duncan?
The prefix in- means “not.” What does infirm mean?
What is not strong?
Duncan compares Banquo and Macbeth to plants that he will “make…full of growing” (1.4). What literary technique is being used?
What is a metaphor?
Banquo refuses to compromise his “allegiance clear” (2.1). What trait does this reveal about Banquo?
What is honor and integrity?
Darkness surrounds Duncan’s murder, while light is linked with goodness. What does darkness symbolize?
What is evil, secrecy, and moral corruption?
Why does Macbeth arrange Banquo’s murder?
What is he fears Banquo’s descendants will take the throne?
The suffix -cide means “killing.” What is parricide?
What is the killing of a parent or close relative?
Macbeth asks if “all great Neptune’s ocean” can wash the blood from his hands (2.2). What device is being used to exaggerate guilt?
What is hyperbole?
Macbeth becomes increasingly violent after becoming king. What motivates most of his actions in the second half of the play?
What is fear of losing power?
The witches’ prophecies influence Macbeth’s choices. What theme about human action does this raise?
What is fate vs. free will?
What event fulfills the prophecy that Birnam Wood will come to Dunsinane?
What is Malcolm’s army using branches as camouflage?
incarnadine contains a root linked to flesh (carn-). In Macbeth, it most nearly means what?
What is turning blood-red?
In Act 4, Scene 3, Ross describes Scotland as a place where “violent sorrow seems a modern ecstasy” and where “sighs and groans and shrieks…rent the air” (4.3.189–198). What type of figurative language is being used to create a bleak, haunted mood?
What is imagery?
By Act 5, Macbeth says life is “a tale told by an idiot…signifying nothing.” What does this reveal about his mindset?
What is despair and emptiness after choosing evil?
Macbeth gains the throne but loses peace, honor, and relationships. What theme does his downfall ultimately develop?
What is unchecked ambition leads to destruction?
Macbeth believes he cannot be killed by “any man of woman born.” How is this prophecy undone?
What is Macduff was born by Caesarean section, not naturally born?
mouth-honor in Act 5 refers to what kind of loyalty?
What is empty words of loyalty (praise without true support)?