AQA GCSE English Literature key terms

A reasoned explanation of what a text means, supported by its language, events or other details.

A contrast between an apparent meaning or claim and what the surrounding text reveals.

Separation from other people, whether physically, socially or emotionally; it may be chosen or imposed.

Relating to the reign of James I of England, from 1603 to 1625.

A provision of property or income for a wife after her husband’s death; Capulet uses this marriage-related term for reconciliation after Juliet’s death.

Fair treatment: giving people what they are due, protecting the innocent and holding wrongdoing to account. Justice may involve compensation as well as punishment.

Placing contrasting things close together so that their differences become significant.

A Japanese pilot assigned to crash an aircraft into an enemy target in a suicide attack during the Second World War.

The qualities, responsibilities and authority associated with being a king.

The holy book of Islam, also commonly spelt Qur’an.

A social class of country landowners below the peerage, whose income came largely from their estates rather than working in trade.

A category applied to several of Shakespeare's later plays, combining loss and separation with wonder, reunion and renewal.

A medicine made from opium dissolved in alcohol, widely used in the nineteenth century for pain and other ailments.

The rules enforced by a society’s authorities. An action can follow the law without necessarily seeming morally fair.

A gift of money or property left to someone in a will.

Responsibility for breaking a law, established through a legal process. Dickens distinguishes this from a person’s moral worth.

The ability to read and write. In Animal Farm, unequal literacy gives the pigs greater control over laws and information.

The straightforward meaning of words in their immediate context.

A church appointment providing a clergyman with an income, often awarded by a patron.

A mystery involving a crime committed in a room that appears to have been securely closed, making entry and escape seem impossible.

An appeal to reasoning or evidence; an argument can sound logical without proving its conclusion.

The painful feeling of lacking meaningful connection with others, even when other people are nearby.

Faithfulness to a person, group or commitment, especially when maintaining it involves difficulty or personal cost.

The Roman festival celebrated on 15 February, associated in the play with a ceremonial race and a belief that ritual contact could promote fertility.

The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding word, often for comic effect.

A dissatisfied, resentful character who feels alienated from society and criticises or disrupts it.

The view associated with Thomas Robert Malthus that population could grow faster than food supplies, causing hardship unless its growth was restrained. His concern that guaranteed support could encourage population growth helped underpin opposition to poor relief.