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GCSE English Literature · key term
The comic treatment of an ordinary or small-scale subject as though it were grand or heroic.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Paper 1
A style that applies grand, heroic language to ordinary or small-scale events, often creating affectionate humour.
Revise: Jaggers and WemmickDickens uses a mock-heroic style: the language of siege and military defence is applied to a tiny home and its supplies of food. The result is comic, but Wemmick’s pride is genuine.
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Paper 2
A comic treatment of an ordinary or minor event as though it were a grand heroic action. The elaborate preparations for Pip’s fight with the pale young gentleman make their childhood contest seem like a major battle.
Revise: Chapters 10 to 19Dickens makes the contest mock-heroic: a children’s fight is narrated with the seriousness of a grand battle. The pale young gentleman announces in Chapter 11, “Laws of the game!” and “Regular rules!” while hopping from one foot to the other. His concern with ceremony makes him comic, especially when his careful preparations are followed by immediate defeat.
Paper 1
A humorous style that gives small or ordinary things the grand language associated with heroic achievements.
Revise: Jaggers and WemmickThe mock-heroic humour is affectionate: its defences are tiny, but the happiness they protect matters enormously.
