Eduqas GCSE English Literature key terms

The process of developing a romantic relationship with marriage as a possible outcome. Social visits, dances and family connections shape courtship in Austen’s novel.

The legal principle under which a married woman’s independent legal identity was largely absorbed into her husband’s, restricting her control over property and contracts.

A person’s reputation for being able to repay borrowed money. Antonio uses his credit to obtain a loan for Bassanio.

A person or organisation to whom money is owed.

A person born in a colony, historically used in the Caribbean for people of European descent as well as people of mixed ancestry. The label alone does not establish a person’s race.

The study of criminals’ physical characteristics, associated in the nineteenth century with Cesare Lombroso’s claim that some people were born criminals whose bodies showed supposedly primitive traits.

An interpretation supported by evidence and reasoning, which considers how a writer creates meaning rather than simply retelling events.

Having ribbons tied across the legs to hold stockings up. Malvolio adopts this appearance because Maria’s forged letter instructs him to do so.

A man whose wife is sexually unfaithful. Horns were a conventional symbol of cuckoldry and male humiliation.

A member of the clergy who assists a parish priest; in the novel, the curate becomes the narrator’s companion during the invasion.

An organisation in which the ending returns to situations or details from the beginning, often revealing what has changed.

A metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, producing a triple rhythm when repeated.

A metrical pattern in which a stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed syllables, creating a triple rhythm.

A room with controlled lighting used to develop photographic film and prints using chemicals.

Money owed to another person. Shakespeare also uses the language of debt to describe obligations of love and friendship.

Moral or cultural decline, associated in this novel with excessive comfort and unquestioning confidence in the future.

Deliberately causing someone to believe something false, through words, actions or appearances.

Behaviour considered proper for a person’s social position and circumstances.

Respectful submission to someone regarded as superior in rank or authority.

A nineteenth-century belief that individuals or civilisation could decline towards a supposedly more primitive condition; it is not an established scientific explanation of criminal behaviour.

A historical belief that individuals or societies could decline towards a supposedly more primitive condition; it is not an accepted explanation of criminal behaviour.

Language that represents a person as less than human, for example by describing them as an animal, object or monster.

The destruction of confidence, courage or willingness to resist.

The final part of a narrative in which its central mysteries or complications are explained.

A person who relies on someone else for financial or material support. At Gateshead, Jane’s dependence is used to justify denying her equal treatment.

A reduced emotional response to something disturbing after repeated exposure to it.

A historical category for poor people considered worthy of assistance, often because they worked hard or could not work. Dickens uses the Cratchits to challenge prejudice against poor people.

A form of language associated with a particular region or social group, reflected in vocabulary and grammar.