OCR GCSE English Literature key terms

Words written in memory of a dead person, often placed on a tomb.

The principle that individuals have equal worth and should not be given inferior rights or treatment because of their identity or status.

A state of balance. In Lola’s poem, it becomes a metaphor for the relationship between a new life beginning and an older life approaching its end.

The use of ambiguous or double-meaning language to mislead while appearing to tell the truth.

A hermit: someone who lives apart from other people, often for religious reasons.

A secure domestic and financial position, often gained through marriage; this is what Charlotte seeks when she accepts Mr Collins.

Respect and admiration for someone’s character or abilities; Austen presents this as an important foundation for lasting marital happiness.

Separation or loss of closeness between people who previously had a family or personal relationship.

The idea that life or events recur. Ouspensky’s thinking encouraged Priestley to explore whether people could learn from repeated experiences and change.

The study of right and wrong, including questions about how people ought to treat others.

A mild or indirect expression used instead of a more uncomfortable or explicit one.

Centred on European cultures or experiences, often at the expense of other perspectives.

A focus on European culture and history that marginalises or excludes perspectives from elsewhere.

Change in living organisms across generations. In The War of the Worlds, Wells imagines how different environments and dependence on technology might produce radically different forms of life.

An event at Hailsham where students use tokens to obtain artwork and crafts made by other students.

A large-scale departure of people from a place, usually to escape danger or hardship.

Pip's anticipated wealth and future prospects. The title also suggests the hopes he builds around social advancement and Estella.

An anticipated future inheritance or fortune. Pip also attaches personal hopes about Estella and his future identity to his financial expectations.

Taking unfair advantage of another person’s work, vulnerability or dependence for personal benefit.

A comparison developed across several details or a substantial section of a text.

A struggle between people or groups, such as a fight between rival households.

An essay task requiring analysis of a printed passage and relevant parts of the same work elsewhere.

A short story that teaches a moral, often through animals or other non-human things given human qualities.

Trust or confidence in a religious belief, especially when it cannot be proved or when events challenge it.

An apparent resolution that makes a story seem finished before a further event overturns it.

The belief that an outcome is inevitable and that attempts to change it will be ineffective.

The idea that events are predetermined rather than entirely controlled by human choices.