English Literature key terms

A woman who has left her native country to live elsewhere, often for political reasons.

A reserve military force raised for service within Britain, including defence against invasion.

A character with a smaller role than the central characters, who can still shape the plot, reveal themes or influence the reader’s judgement.

Small mirrors incorporated into the decoration of fabric.

A person who hoards money and is unwilling to spend it, even on necessary comforts.

Prejudice against women, expressed through hostility, contempt or generalised assumptions about them.

A mistaken understanding or judgement; the Friar uses this word to describe the princes' belief that Hero is guilty.

A person who works to spread their religious faith, often in another country.

An attempt to spread a religion and convert others; in the novel’s opening, the phrase exposes assumptions about the supposed inferiority of those being converted.

An error in which one person is taken to be someone else.

A circumstance that makes wrongdoing more understandable or may reduce blame, without necessarily excusing the action.

The exercise of power by a disorderly crowd through intimidation or violence rather than lawful judgement.

A style that applies grand, heroic language to ordinary or small-scale events, often creating affectionate humour.

Grand language associated with heroic deeds applied to an unheroic person or situation, often for comic effect.

A verb expressing possibility, certainty, permission or obligation. “Could” and “might” help make the imagined changes in “Tissue” tentative.

A person who lends money, usually charging interest: an additional payment for borrowing it.

A large single block of stone, often used as a monument; it can also suggest a powerful, inflexible institution.

A sustained passage spoken or thought by one person. Cope’s linked monologues reveal each date’s private perspective.

A broad historical label used for North African people, especially Muslims, and also more loosely for other dark-skinned people. Its use in Shakespeare’s England does not correspond neatly to a modern nationality or racial category.

The presence of competing moral qualities or interpretations, making a person or action difficult to judge as entirely good or entirely bad.

The ability to recognise fairness, cruelty or wrongdoing, even without being able to explain it fully.

An individual’s principles about right and wrong, which may differ from the law or from other people’s principles.

The courage to do what is right despite fear of personal loss, disgrace or other difficult consequences.

A failure to face the personal cost of doing what is right, even when a person recognises their responsibility.

A change in a character’s understanding or conduct arising from recognising and correcting earlier faults.

A difficult question about what is right or wrong, especially when different responsibilities or interests conflict.

A story that teaches a moral lesson through its characters and events.