AQA GCSE English Literature key terms

A marriage organised or negotiated by families or other people rather than solely by the couple. It does not necessarily exclude the couple’s consent.

Severe self-discipline and avoidance of comfort or pleasure, often for religious reasons.

A short speech heard by the audience but conventionally not heard by other characters on stage.

The murder of a prominent person, usually for political reasons.

The belief that the positions and movements of stars and planets influence human lives.

The mood or feeling created by a writer's choices of description, events and language.

A poem or song about dawn, often presenting lovers who must separate as morning arrives.

Language that evokes sound, such as the description of bones being “audibly shattered”.

The ability to make and act on one’s own choices, rather than simply being controlled by others.

Extreme greed for wealth or possessions.

A man who is not married.

A storytelling poem traditionally associated with song, rhythm and repetition. Tennyson’s poem has ballad-like qualities without following a standard ballad stanza throughout.

An order forcing someone to leave a place and remain away from it.

Public announcements of an intended marriage, made before the wedding so that objections can be raised.

Humour or language containing sexual references, often through jokes and double meanings.

A blade attached to the end of a rifle, used as a weapon in close combat.

A story using animals with human characteristics to explore human behaviour and communicate ideas.

A person who provides money or other support to help someone. In Great Expectations, Magwitch is Pip’s secret benefactor.

Kindness and a desire to help others.

The breaking of trust or a commitment to another person or cause.

A promise or agreement to marry; it is not the wedding ceremony itself.

A tendency for personal feelings, interests or assumptions to influence someone’s judgement or account of events.

A reference to another text, person or event. Biblical allusions in Jane Eyre can offer comfort, claim authority or expose the misuse of Christian teaching.

A stand or frame on which a coffin or dead body is placed before burial.

The act of marrying someone while already legally married to another living person.

A novel tracing its central character’s growth towards adulthood, particularly through learning, relationships and moral choices.

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.