Edexcel GCSE English Literature key terms

A worker who makes cloth on a manually operated loom, often in a home or small workshop.

A historical term for a prostitute or sex worker.

A mythological creature combining a woman’s form with a bird’s body or wings. Ariel adopts this threatening shape to confront Prospero’s enemies.

Acting too quickly, without allowing enough time for thought or preparation.

A vehicle used to carry a coffin to a funeral.

A person expected to inherit property, a title or a position after its present holder dies.

A woman who inherits money or property; Portia’s inherited wealth makes her marriage financially attractive.

A belief that contradicts accepted religious teaching; the word can also describe a challenge to an established intellectual belief.

The cultural traditions, memories and connections passed down through generations.

A pair of rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter.

A system in which people or groups are ranked above or below one another in status or authority.

Accumulating and keeping possessions or money rather than using or sharing them.

The devastating famine in Soviet Ukraine in 1932–1933, during which millions died and Soviet policies intensified the catastrophe.

Respect associated with reputation, conduct or social standing. In Much Ado About Nothing, a claim to honour does not necessarily prove honesty.

A horn overflowing with food, traditionally symbolising abundance; also called a cornucopia.

The welcome and care offered to guests, including a host’s responsibility to protect them.

Excessive pride or confidence that leads someone to overestimate their powers and disregard limits or responsibilities.

An outlook that places human welfare, sympathy and responsibility at the centre of moral life, without necessarily grounding them in religious belief.

Recognition of one’s limitations and faults, rather than assuming superiority over other people.

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Behaviour that conceals hostile or dishonest intentions beneath an appearance of goodness.

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

A metrical pattern containing five feet per line, each normally consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

A metrical pattern of four iambic feet per line, each normally moving from an unstressed to a stressed syllable. Poets can vary this pattern to create emphasis or natural speech.

Presenting something as more perfect or wholly positive than it may actually have been.

Belief in, and commitment to, principles or a vision of a better society, even when achieving them is difficult.

A person who hopes to create a better society by putting principles and ambitious ideas into practice.