Print Preview - C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\e3temp_4756\.aptcache ...



Name Date

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: ACT 3

Literary Analysis

SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY: DRAMATIC IRONY

Dramatic irony is the contrast created when the audience knows more about a situation than the character knows. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to build suspense.

Directions: Skim Act Three for remarks that create dramatic irony. Record the scene and

line numbers in the first column of the chart. Then tell what the characters think or say in the second column. In the third column, explain what the audience knows in each situation.

|Scene, Lines |What Characters Think or Say |What Audience Knows |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

How does dramatic irony in Macbeth help to create suspense?

Unit 2

British Literature

Answer Key

The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act III

Literary Analysis

Responses will vary. Possible answers are given.

Scene 2, lines 29–34

Macbeth tell his wife to pay special attention to

Banquo at the banquet.

Macbeth has had Banquo killed.

Scene 4, lines 41–44

Macbeth publicly wishes for Banquo’s company, knowing he is dead.

Banquo’s ghost sits at Macbeth’s place at the table.

Scene 4, lines 53–58

Lady Macbeth tells the guests that her husband suffers from a strange malady.

Macbeth is hallucinating because he is riddled with guilt.

Scene 4, lines 90–92

Macbeth toasts Banquo and wishes he were present.

The ghost has returned to the hall.

Scene 4, lines 120–121

Lennox wishes Macbeth better health.

Macbeth is really hallucinating over guilt, not illness.

Students may say that dramatic irony keeps the audience a step ahead of the characters. It creates suspense by hinting

at Macbeth’s ultimate fall and making the audience wonder what will happen next.

-----------------------

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: ACT 3

Copyright by McDougal Littell, a division of Houghton Mifflin Company

Copyright by McDougal Littell , a division of Houghton Mifflin Company.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download