Edexcel GCSE English Literature key terms

A male head of a family or community who holds authority over others.

A society in which men hold most power and authority, shaping women’s opportunities and treatment.

A social system in which men hold the main positions of authority and power.

A person who provides support or an appointment. Lady Catherine is Mr Collins’s patroness because she has given him the living at Hunsford.

Support or opportunities provided by an influential person. Lady Catherine's church patronage gives Mr Collins his position and income at Hunsford.

The class of people holding noble titles, such as duke or earl, ranked above the landed gentry.

A punishment in which a convicted person was sent overseas, often to an Australian penal colony, rather than remaining in Britain.

An act of repentance undertaken to acknowledge and make amends for wrongdoing.

Remorse for wrongdoing, associated with a desire to repent.

A name an author uses when publishing instead of their own name.

Poetry composed with spoken delivery to an audience as an important part of its effect.

Cruel or harmful treatment directed at someone because of their identity, beliefs or membership of a group.

The voice speaking in a poem, which need not be the poet’s own voice.

The organised presentation of a leader as exceptionally wise, heroic and indispensable, encouraging personal devotion rather than critical judgement.

Your own interpretation of a text, informed and supported by its details rather than based on unsupported opinion.

The presentation of something non-human as having human qualities or behaviour.

The use of arguments or appeals to influence someone’s beliefs or actions; persuasion need not involve dishonesty.

An outlook that emphasises suffering, disappointment or the likelihood of unhappy outcomes.

A tradition of love poetry influenced by the Italian poet Petrarch, often presenting a suffering male lover who idealises an unattainable woman.

A conventional lover who idealises the beloved, often admiring her beauty and purity from a distance rather than knowing her as an individual.

A fourteen-line poem organised into an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet, usually with a turn in thought between them.

A person regarded as lacking appreciation of art, culture or intellectual interests; the speaker uses it as an insult.

Spelling that represents the sound of speech, as in Agard’s use of ‘yu’ for ‘you’.

The practice of judging a person’s character from their facial appearance; Lady Ingram uses it to give her class prejudice an appearance of authority.

Money allowed to a wife for her personal expenses.

Compassion for another person's suffering, leading someone to wish to relieve it.

Taking powers normally associated with God, especially creating life or deciding whether another being should live.