Eduqas GCSE English Literature key terms

Sexual unfaithfulness to a husband or wife.

Speaking or acting on another person’s behalf. Desdemona’s advocacy aims to reconcile Cassio with Othello.

Friendly, approachable behaviour. Mr Collins uses this word to praise Lady Catherine, although her conduct towards Elizabeth is intrusive and commanding.

The ability to make and act on one’s own choices. Jane seeks a marriage that preserves her agency rather than giving a husband complete control over her.

The position that claims about God should be approached through the limits of what can be known, rather than asserted with certainty.

A story in which characters or events also represent wider ideas; Scrooge’s supernatural journey can be read as a moral lesson about responsibility and change.

A connection between families or groups, often strengthened through marriage.

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words.

A reference to another text, belief or cultural idea that adds meaning to a literary moment.

An alternative identity or second self. Hyde is the identity through which Jekyll expresses his evil impulses.

The presence of more than one possible meaning or explanation.

The desire to gain something, such as greater power, wealth or social position.

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginnings of successive clauses or lines.

A military standard-bearer or ensign; Iago holds this position under Othello.

An appearance or presentation combining qualities conventionally associated with both masculinity and femininity.

Description that associates a person with an animal, often suggesting instinct, appetite or a loss of human restraint.

A character who opposes another character's aims and creates conflict.

A collection of literary works, often by different writers.

Prejudice, hostility or discrimination directed against Jewish people.

A contrast between opposing words or ideas within a phrase or passage.

An assessment objective rewarding an informed response to a literary text, supported by textual references, including quotations.

An assessment objective rewarding analysis of how a writer uses language, form and structure to create meanings and effects.

An assessment objective rewarding understanding of relationships between a literary text and the contexts in which it was written.

The assessment objective rewarding accurate spelling and punctuation, and vocabulary and sentence structures that communicate meaning effectively.

A short, memorable statement expressing a general observation or principle.

The catastrophic end of the world or of an existing order. The curate interprets the Martian invasion through religious ideas about the end of the world.

Relating to the end of the world or a final divine judgement.

A direct address to someone absent, dead or unable to reply, or to an abstract idea or object.