Eduqas GCSE English Literature key terms

A short piece of wording taken exactly from a text and used as evidence for an interpretation.

Prejudiced beliefs or discriminatory treatment based on someone’s perceived race or ethnic background.

A charitable school providing free education for destitute children in nineteenth-century Britain.

A person’s position in a social hierarchy, shaped by factors such as birth, title and family connections.

A literary approach that represents ordinary lives through detailed social settings, believable behaviour and complex motivations.

The ability to think, assess evidence and judge what to do, rather than act only on immediate feeling.

The process of recovering someone from harmful behaviour and restoring them to a better way of life.

A moment when a character discovers someone’s true identity or recognises a previously hidden relationship.

The restoration of friendly relations after conflict.

Moral uprightness: a commitment to behaving honestly and doing what is right.

Moral or spiritual recovery from wrongdoing. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s redemption involves repentance followed by lasting changes in his behaviour.

A word, phrase or line repeated through a song or poem.

The period from 1811 to 1820 when the Prince Regent exercised royal functions during George III’s illness; the term also describes the surrounding cultural period.

The killing of a monarch. Duncan’s murder is presented in Macbeth as both political treason and a religious offence.

Deep regret or guilt about having done wrong.

An act that attempts to repair a previous wrong, rather than simply expressing regret for it.

A lively exchange of witty replies between speakers.

Sincere acknowledgement of wrongdoing and a commitment to turn away from it, especially in a religious sense.

A factual-seeming style of reporting events, often using precise locations, times, documents and eyewitness accounts.

The suppression of desires or feelings that a person considers unacceptable.

Social standing based on appearing respectable, trustworthy and morally proper.

The social standing gained by appearing to follow accepted standards of morality, dignity and proper behaviour.

An obligation to answer for one’s actions and consider their effects on other people.

Punishment understood as a consequence of wrongdoing. Godfrey sees his childless home as possible punishment for abandoning Eppie.

A return to earlier events through narration or a character’s recollection.

Narration that looks back on earlier events, allowing the narrator to reflect on experiences with later knowledge.

Storytelling in which a narrator looks back on events that have already happened.