Glossary of Terms
Acheron: Hell; one of the rivers in Hades.
apparition: A ghost or ghostlike image of a person or animal.
augur: To foresee or predict the future.
berate: To scold or criticize angrily.
bodements: Omens; a herald.
compunction: Feeling of guilt or moral scruple that follows a crime or sin.
dichotomy: A division or contrast between two things that have polar or opposite qualities (e.g. good and bad, fair and foul).
dramatic irony: A type of irony, in which the significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience but unknown to the character.
dudgeon: Ill humor; a deep resentment; a state of intense indignation.
effect: As a verb: to bring about or cause something to happen. (Compare with affect: to have an influence on or to make a difference to someone or something.)
equivocation: To say one thing while meaning something different; to use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or to avoid categorical statements.
extemporize: To improvise; to perform or produce something such as a speech or piece of music on the spot.
foison: Strength or power; resource(s).
Golgotha: The site outside Jerusalem at which Jesus was crucified.
gumption: Resourcefulness; shrewd and spirited initiative.
husbandry: Thriftiness of the conservation of resources. Also the cultivation and breeding of crops and animals.
Hyrcan: Of or pertaining to Hyrcania, an ancient provice of Asia southeast of the Caspian Sea.
incarnadine: Crimson or pinkish-red color.
minion: Underling or servant of an important person.
multitudinous: Very numerous.
parricide: The killing of a parent or near relative.
precocious: Showing intelligence or abilities at a younger age than usual (said of children, such as Macduff's son).
rancour: Bitter, especially longstanding resentfulness.
recompense : Compensation for loss or harm done; also a reward for efforts or work performed.
regicide: The killing of a king.
scansion: The rhythm of a line of verse; the act of scanning a line to determine its rhythm.
shoal: A shallow area in a body of water, often posing a navigational hazard. Also a large number of fish.
sundry: Of various kinds, usually not important enough to be enumerated.
syncopate: To displace the beats in music or speech, so as to reverse the order of strong and weak beats.
tragic flaw: A fatal flaw in one's character, usually leading to the downfall of the hero or heroine. Also known by the Greek term hamartia.
warder: A guard; usually a prison guard.
yoke: A crossbar or crosspiece that joins two animals in farming; often used as a symbol of oppression or bonding.
ClassicNote on Macbeth
| 
