English Literature key terms

Relating to the reign of James I of England, from 1603 to 1625.

A language spoken in Jamaica, with its own grammatical patterns and vocabulary. Bennett uses it as a literary language and a means of expressing Jamaican cultural identity.

Fear or resentment that another person may take away affection, attention or a valued relationship.

A professional entertainer who amuses a ruler or household through jokes and fooling; Trinculo is the King of Naples’s jester.

A provision of property or income for a wife after her husband’s death; Capulet uses this marriage-related term for reconciliation after Juliet’s death.

A judgement or response concerned with fairness, responsibility and proportionate treatment, rather than satisfying personal hatred.

The placement of contrasting characters, images or events close together so that their differences become significant.

A Japanese pilot assigned to crash an aircraft into an enemy target in a suicide attack during the Second World War.

A broad, dry region of southern Africa.

Qualities suitable for a king, including justice, truthfulness, self-control, generosity, mercy and courage.

Scrofula, a disease traditionally believed to be curable by a monarch’s touch. In Macbeth, Edward’s reported healing power represents holy, beneficial kingship.

The qualities, responsibilities and authority associated with being a king.

A person who buys worn-out or injured animals for slaughter and the sale of their remains.

Understanding or information gained through learning, investigation or experience.

A small hill; a ‘kopje-crest’ is its summit.

The holy book of Islam, also commonly spelt Qur’an.

A Luvale coming-of-age initiation, also called mukanda, in which boys spend time apart from their community before returning with adult status.

An expression of grief, sorrow or regret.

Landowners whose estates provided income and social standing, traditionally below the peerage. Differences in wealth and family connections could create distinctions within this group.

The words, images and verbal techniques a writer uses to create meanings and effects.

A category applied to several of Shakespeare's later plays, combining loss and separation with wonder, reunion and renewal.

A medicine made from opium dissolved in alcohol, widely used in the nineteenth century for pain and other ailments.

The rules enforced by a society’s authorities. An action can follow the law without necessarily seeming morally fair.

The role of directing a group and influencing its decisions; it can depend on trust, practical ability or intimidation.

The act of saying goodbye to someone or something being left behind.

A gift of money or property left to someone in a will.

Responsibility for breaking a law, established through a legal process. Dickens distinguishes this from a person’s moral worth.