Macbeth, William Shakespeare key vocabulary

Question 1

dramatic irony

Answer 1

the full significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character

Question 2

Hamartia

Answer 2

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

Question 3

Hubris

Answer 3

excessive pride or self-confidence

Question 4

tragic hero

Answer 4

the central character of a play, film, etc., depicted as a noble figure who experiences a tragic downfall

Question 5

remorse/remorseful

Answer 5

deep regret or guilt for a wrong committed

Question 6

paranoia/paranoid

Answer 6

unjustified suspicion and mistrust of other people or their actions

Question 7

deception/deceive

Answer 7

deliberately cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain

Question 8

role reversal

Answer 8

a situation in which someone adopts a role the reverse of that which they normally assume in relation to someone else, who typically assumes their role in exchange

Question 9

betrayal/betray

Answer 9

be gravely disloyal to

Question 10

manipulation/manipulate

Answer 10

control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly or unscrupulously

Question 11

courage/courageous

Answer 11

the ability to do something that frightens one

Question 12

nihilism/nihilistic

Answer 12

rejecting all religious and moral principles in the belief that life is meaningless

Question 13

inevitability/inevitable

Answer 13

certain to happen; unavoidable

Question 14

equivocal/equivocator

Answer 14

open to more than one interpretation

Question 15

Machiavellian

Answer 15

cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous

Question 16

tyrant/tyrannical/tyranny

Answer 16

a cruel and oppressive ruler

Question 17

supernatural

Answer 17

attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature

Question 18

treason

Answer 18

the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government

Question 19

valiant

Answer 19

possessing or showing courage or determination

Question 20

malevolent

Answer 20

having or showing a wish to do evil to others

Question 21

macabre

Answer 21

something that is very strange and unpleasant because it is connected with death or violence

Question 22

natural order

Answer 22

the moral source from which natural law seeks to derive its authority

Question 23

regicide

Answer 23

the action of killing a king

Question 24

duplicity

Answer 24

deceitfulness

Question 25

soliloquy

Answer 25

an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers

Question 26

catharsis

Answer 26

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions

Question 27

treachery

Answer 27

betrayal of trust