ENGLISH II FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE You must

ENGLISH II FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE You must be familiar with the entire play of Macbeth and know the story. These slides should be studied for additional help on the test.

SOLILOQUY, ASIDE, & MONOLOGUE Soliloquy Monologue • Longer speech • One character • No others on stage can hear what is said • Others onstage can hear what is said and respond to it. • Reveals inner thoughts or motives of a character • Generally reveals previous events • Explains a character’s choice of action Aside • Shorter comment • One character • No others on stage can hear what is said • Comments on the action of the play • Reveals judgments or hidden secrets

ACT I NOTES • Malicious - intending or intended to do harm. • Weird sisters’ tale of the sailor • When Macbeth receives his new title, Banquo reacts with concern. • A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself, or that must be both true and untrue at the same time. § “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. ”

BLANK VERSE Blank verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter • The majority of Macbeth is written in blank verse • Blank verse is effective for drama b/c it closely approximates the natural rhythms of English speech • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=I 5 lsuy. UNu_4

TRAGEDY Elements of a tragedy • Central character who makes mistakes and is high-ranking • Catastrophe near the end or conclusion Tragic flaw - a trait in a character leading to his downfall, and the character is often the hero of the literary piece • Macbeth’s tragic flaw • His lust for power

ACT II NOTES • When Lennox and Macduff arrive at Macbeth’s castle in the morning, Macduff wonders if the porter has stayed up late and slept in. • The porter’s cursing is ironic because he invokes the devil without knowing about the crime • Banquo wants to meet with the other nobles in order to discover the purpose of the murder. • The natural disturbances that continue all night after Duncan’s murder (screaming owl, chimneys being blown down, Duncan’s horses turning wild) symbolize the evil of Macbeth’s deeds.

ACT III NOTES • Barren scepter = • No heirs to the throne • Macbeth explains to the hired murderers that they must keep his plan a secret because he and Banquo have friends in common who would be upset. • When Macbeth begins talking to Banquo’s ghost, Lady Macbeth reacts by telling the others Macbeth has an illness. • Vivid example of figurative language • “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” = metaphor • Hecate (queen of witches) intends to ensure Macbeth’s downfall by making him overconfident. • At the beginning of scene 6, Lennox speaks about Macbeth’s sorrow in a sarcastic tone.

ACT IV NOTES • In response to Macbeth’s question, the witches call upon apparitions who answer most of his questions. • Know the four apparitions and what each of them said to Macbeth • When Macbeth hears that no one born of a woman will harm him, he decides to kill Macduff anyway. • Malcolm pretends that he is too evil to become king in order to ascertain Macduff’s loyalty. • When Ross joins Malcolm and Macduff in Scene 3, he says to Macduff, “Let not your ears despise my tongue forever, / Which shall possess them with the heaviest sound / That ever yet they heard. ” He means • Please do not hate me because I bring bad news

ACT V NOTES • The gentlewoman in Scene 1 refuses to repeat Lady Macbeth’s sleep-talk to the doctor because there is no witness to confirm the truth of the gentlewoman’s words. • The “damned spot” to which Lady Macbeth refers to is Duncan’s bloodstain • “Tomorrow, tomorrow…” - V. v • Macbeth says this after he finds out Lady Macbeth is dead • He thinks life is a meaningless path to death • “Life’s but a walking shadow” – example of figurative language • Motifs (images that occur repeatedly in the play) • Daggers, woods, children • Macbeth finally realizes that the witches and apparitions deceived him with ambiguous messages

ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR THE TEST • Figurative language • Simile, metaphor, personification, symbolism, etc • Theme: • Ambition • the devastation which follows when ambition oversteps moral boundaries • Fate and free will • the extent to which we control our own destinies • Motif: • Nature • The natural world and its disruption when the bounds of morality are broken • Light and Darkness • representing innocence and evil • Blood • representing evil plans and consequences of overreaching ambition • Sleep • a natural process and its disruption as caused by the fracture of the moral order

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE • THIS INFO WILL NOT BE ON THE TEST FALL 2021 • You will need to know biographical information about the playwright of Macbeth, William Shakespeare. • Use the graded A&E Biography video questions as a study guide for this information.