Page 34 - Year 11 Knowledge Organiser

English Literature: 'Macbeth’: 1 of 3

Keyword Definition Question: How does Shakespeare present Lady

Playwright The writer of a play. Macbeth?

Audience The people watching the play.
Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as evil
Soliloquy A speech by a character, usually on stage alone, speaking their thoughts when he uses the declarative, stating that she
aloud. would have “dashed the brains out”. This cold

Rhyme A word or syllable that has a similar sound to another. delivery, coupled with the violent imagery hints

Theme The subject/ ideas portrayed. Also known as the topic, subject or a motif at Lady Macbeth’s own personal anguish. She is
a woman who is angry and frustrated and once
Regicide The act of killing the king.
given something to focus on transfers all that
Ambition A strong desire to achieve something. built-up rage into it. Lady Macbeth is shown by

Tragedy A play dealing with tragic (sad) events and having an unhappy ending, Shakespeare to be strongly emotional,
especially one concerning the downfall of the main character. passionate and ambitious; these act almost as
her hamartia leading to her eventual suicide in
Hallucination Picturing something that is not there.
act 5. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth is
Supernatural Things which are not logical in this physical world, such as visions and done to shock the audience, she is a character
witches. contradicting Jacobean gender expectations of a

Tyrant An evil, villainous ruler. woman. It is this sparking of emotion in
Shakespeare’s audience that builds his successful
Heir Next in line to be king.
career as a playwright as he understood the

Equivocate Not telling the whole truth. (The witches do this. They are emotions and interests of his seventeenth
equivocators.) century audience.
Couplet Two successive lines of poetry.
Remember to consider what, why, how

Iambic Ten syllables organised into five pairs. when answering all literature questions.
pentameter
Blank verse Un-rhymed lines of poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter.