English Literature key terms

The combination of a rapidly connected sequence of events with references suggesting that a longer period has elapsed.

The presentation of characters as mirrors of one another, using similarities and differences to reveal their qualities.

Without money or property to bring to a marriage. Belle describes herself as a dowerless girl when questioning whether Scrooge would still choose to marry her.

Money or property provided by a bride’s family as part of a marriage arrangement.

The shortening or combining of events to create a more concentrated dramatic sequence.

The circumstances surrounding a speech or event, including who is present, what has happened and what the speaker wants.

A character whose contrasting qualities help reveal those of another character.

The purpose a character, action or prop serves in developing a play’s ideas and dramatic effects.

A situation in which the audience knows something important that a character does not.

A poem spoken by an imagined character whose words reveal their feelings and situation.

A change that reverses a character’s position or the direction of the action.

Suspense or anxious anticipation created by conflict, uncertainty or an approaching revelation in a play.

Choosing an outcome by a chance procedure, sometimes believed to reveal God’s will.

Waste material or impurities associated with metal; figuratively, something considered worthless.

An identity shaped by two cultural or ancestral backgrounds.

The coexistence of two contrasting aspects within a person or thing; in the novella, Jekyll and Hyde reveal a divided identity.

Performance poetry of Jamaican origin with rhythms associated with reggae, often addressing politics and social injustice.

A gold coin used as money in Venice.

An arranged fight between two people, often used to settle a dispute or defend reputation.

A conversation between two characters in a play.

Deliberate deception through presenting different versions of oneself or concealing one’s true conduct.

A marriage that connects ruling families and helps secure their political power and succession.

A succession of rulers belonging to the same family.

A learning difficulty that primarily affects accurate and fluent reading and spelling; it does not mean that a person lacks intelligence.

A society marked by oppressive or frightening conditions, often used in fiction to expose problems in apparently desirable systems.

Listening secretly to a conversation, often without the speakers' apparent knowledge.

Expressing mourning or sorrow for something lost; an elegiac tone need not occur in a formally structured elegy.