Flashcards: Shakespeare's World and Macbeth — 24 cards

William Shakespeare — birth date?

April 23, 1564.

Elizabethan Age — duration?

1558 to 1603.

Humanism — focus?

Human achievements and secular learning.

Shakespeare's father — name?

John Shakespeare.

Latin education — role?

Foundation for literary and rhetorical skills.

New Place — significance?

Symbol of social success and wealth.

The Globe — purpose?

Theater built for performances, especially Shakespeare’s.

Elizabethan theater — design element?

Circular stage with galleries and yard.

Audience — composition?

Crowds, groundlings, and spectators close to stage.

Witches in Macbeth — role?

Introduce fate and supernatural influence.

Macbeth — main theme?

Ambition and its destructive effects.

Sources of Macbeth — author?

Holinshed’s Chronicles of England.

King James I — connection?

Play references his lineage; flattery.

Fate in Macbeth — symbolized by?

The Weird Sisters and prophecies.

Macbeth’s hallucination — what?

Bloody dagger before the murder.

Blood metaphor — meaning?

Violence, guilt, and moral stain.

Milk metaphor — meaning?

Innocence, nurture, and life.

Elizabethan theater — audience?

Communal, interactive, seated or standing close.

Stage design — feature?

Elevated platform, trapdoor, and painted canopy.

Historical context — Macbeth?

Based on Scottish history, influenced by James I.

Witches’ speech — style?

Rhythmic, incantatory, singing-like.

Macbeth’s mental state — term?

Rapt, hallucinations, inner conflict.

Themes in Macbeth — focus?

Fate, ambition, good vs evil.

Elizabethan audience — characteristic?

Close proximity, influence on performance.