AQA GCSE English Literature key terms

The practice of passing an estate principally to the eldest son, which could leave younger sons with smaller inheritances.

The original amount borrowed, excluding interest.

A moral belief or rule that guides behaviour, including when following it is difficult.

A ship no longer in normal seagoing service that has been converted into a floating prison.

A special benefit or right enjoyed by one person or group but denied to others.

A play whose mixture of comic resolution and disturbing moral questions makes its tone and ending difficult to classify. Some critics apply this term to The Merchant of Venice.

Wastefully extravagant, especially with money.

A flash-forward to events later than the main narrative’s present.

An opening speech or section that introduces a dramatic work before its main action begins.

A Titan in Greek mythology who, in some versions, created humanity from clay and who stole fire for humankind, suffering punishment from Zeus.

Communication designed to influence people’s beliefs and behaviour, often through selective information, repetition or false claims.

A prediction about what will happen in the future, often presented as coming from supernatural knowledge.

Behaviour considered socially appropriate, respectable and well-mannered.

The official listing of people as outlaws liable to be killed and have their property confiscated; the triumvirs use it to remove opponents and help fund their armies.

Speech or writing without a regular verse metre.

The central character whose experiences and decisions drive a literary work. Jane is the protagonist of Jane Eyre.

A person or character whose resistance to women’s subordination anticipates later feminist ideas, although they belong to a period before modern feminism.

God's guidance or governing purpose in the world.

A name used by an author instead of their own name when publishing.

The identity or behaviour a person presents to others, which may differ from their private thoughts and feelings.

A joke or play on words that uses similar sounds or more than one meaning.

The removal of people considered opponents or threats, often through imprisonment or execution.

A stanza of four lines.

A stanza containing five lines.

A word or phrase taken directly from a text and used as evidence for an interpretation.

Prejudice or discrimination based on race, including the belief that racial groups have fixed characteristics or can be ranked as superior and inferior.

A charitable school providing free education for impoverished children. The name came from the ragged clothing many pupils wore.