Edexcel GCSE English Literature key terms

An affectionate longing for the past that can combine pleasure in remembering with sadness about what has been lost.

Noticing, observing or listening to something. In Much Ado About Nothing, characters often misunderstand what they have noted.

A short novel with a more concentrated narrative than a full-length novel.

A novel that explores the behaviour, conventions and social relationships of a particular society.

Treating a person as an object or possession rather than as an independent individual.

Excessively submissive behaviour towards someone powerful, usually shown through flattery and eagerness to please.

A consuming preoccupation that displaces other interests, relationships or responsibilities.

An eight-line stanza.

A poem that addresses and celebrates a subject, often in an elevated or reflective style.

An occurrence interpreted as a sign of a future event.

Knowledge of everything. The Inspector’s apparently extraordinary knowledge can support a supernatural interpretation of him.

A narrator who can describe the thoughts and feelings of different characters, not just their outward behaviour.

The use of a word whose sound resembles the sound it describes.

Decorative outward display. Bassanio uses the word to describe attractive appearances that can conceal danger or wrongdoing.

A person whose parents have died. Jane’s orphanhood leaves her dependent on relatives for shelter and care.

A combination of apparently contradictory terms, such as Blake’s “Marriage hearse” in line 16 of London.

A holiday in which transport and accommodation are sold together, usually by a tour operator.

A cloth spread over a coffin. Used figuratively, the word can make something seem covered by death or mourning.

A story that communicates a moral or spiritual lesson through its characters and events.

An apparently contradictory idea that reveals a meaningful connection or truth.

The use of similar grammatical patterns or arrangements to connect ideas. Cope’s mirrored phrases expose the speakers’ shared anxieties.

Two connected storylines developed alongside one another, allowing their characters, choices and outcomes to be compared.

An accurate restatement of a text’s meaning in your own words, without presenting those words as a direct quotation.

The power parents exercise to guide their children’s behaviour and decisions, often accompanied by an expectation of obedience.

An imitation that makes its subject appear ridiculous; Stephano’s imagined court parodies royal authority.

Strong emotion or desire, including love, anger and resentment; it can motivate resistance but also overwhelm judgment.

Writing that presents rural life or countryside, often emphasising its beauty or peace.