Key terms & definitions

The ways readers or listeners respond to and interpret a work; responses can differ according to their experiences, values and social position.

The way listeners or readers interpret and react to a work, influenced by their experiences, knowledge and values.

An audience member’s emotional reaction, judgement or action in relation to a media product.

Dividing an audience into groups using characteristics such as location, age, income, interests or values.

A royal court in the Spanish Empire whose judges administered justice.

An element of sound that communicates meaning, such as music, dialogue, voiceover or a sound effect.

The detection and perception of sound by the ear, auditory nerve and brain.

A region of the temporal lobe that processes sound information.

Language that evokes sound, such as the description of bones being “audibly shattered”.

A digital record of changes that identifies who made each change, what they changed and when.

A spiral drill bit that cuts into timber and carries waste chips out of the hole.

A Roman religious official who interpreted signs, particularly those involving birds, to judge whether the gods approved an action.

A Roman religious official who interpreted signs such as birds’ flight and lightning to establish divine approval or disapproval of proposed actions.

The interpretation of signs believed to reveal divine approval or disapproval. An augur was the religious specialist who interpreted these signs.

Interpreting signs, especially the appearance or behaviour of birds, to discover the will of the gods.

Members of a local organisation associated with honouring the emperor through the imperial cult; these positions offered opportunities for prominent freedmen.

A priest associated with the worship of Augustus; Trimalchio displays this religious status in his household.

The period and political culture associated with Octavian after he became Augustus. Augustan writing often celebrated his victory and Rome's renewed strength.

Relating to Augustus and his period of rule in Rome; this is the political setting of Virgil’s Aeneid and Horace’s Odes.

The longstanding alliance between France and Scotland, which threatened England with enemies to its south and north.

A sacred sound, also written as om, associated with the origin of the universe and used in meditation.

The god whose support Persian kings invoked to present their kingship as divinely authorised.

A halo or surrounding glow; in Love, the word makes the baby’s fine hair seem radiant and precious.

Government measures intended to reduce spending relative to income, including spending cuts and tax increases.

Strict self-discipline and avoidance of personal comforts or pleasures.

Economic self-sufficiency: producing the food and resources a country needs without relying on imports.

Checking that a user is who they claim to be before allowing access to a system.

A piece of code that checks supplied credentials and determines whether a user can proceed.

The impression that an artist is genuine and true to their musical identity. This impression can itself be carefully constructed through presentation and marketing.

A system of government concentrating power in a leader or small group rather than allowing effective democratic accountability.