English Literature key terms

Renewal of a person’s values and conduct so that they become more compassionate, responsible and honest.

A judgement that someone is responsible for harm because of their actions or failures to act, whether or not they have broken the law.

A belief in cooperation, community and social justice, which Priestley expresses through the Inspector’s challenge to selfishness and inequality.

Serious moral corruption or wickedness.

A recurring image or idea that helps develop a work’s meaning, such as light in Agard’s celebration of neglected historical figures.

The reason behind a character’s action or decision, such as affection, fear, pride or financial need.

The varied-coloured or patchwork clothing associated with a professional fool.

The expression of grief following someone’s death, sometimes through particular clothing, rituals or withdrawal from social life.

A character through whom a writer expresses important views or arguments.

A group of English poets associated with the 1950s, including Elizabeth Jennings, whose writing often used clear language and traditional poetic forms.

The condition of being subject to change; in Frankenstein, it includes the instability of feelings and circumstances.

A relationship in which affection, trust and support are exchanged by both people.

An eighteenth-century spiritual and military leader of Jamaica’s Windward Maroons, recognised as a Jamaican national heroine and associated with resistance to British colonial rule.

The way a narrative resolves its central conflicts and brings its events towards an ending.

The shortening of narrative time, so that a long period of events is covered in relatively little text.

The speed at which a story moves through events, shaped by the balance between detailed scenes, summaries and omitted periods.

The perspective through which events are presented. A third-person narrator tells these chapters, often focusing on Utterson’s perceptions and thoughts.

A poem that tells a story through a sequence of events.

A conclusion that resolves the main conflicts and shows the outcomes of the story.

The order and arrangement of events, information and sections within a literary work.

The perspective through which events are presented, shaping what readers know and how they understand it.

The perspective and manner through which a story is told, shaping what readers learn and how they judge it.

The person who tells a story. In The Sign of Four, Dr Watson narrates events in the first person, using ‘I’.

A moment when the narrator draws attention to their own voice by commenting explicitly on the story or its characters, rather than simply recounting events.

Strong identification with a nation, which can involve placing its interests above those of other nations or people.

The process through which a person acquires citizenship of a country.

Speech or behaviour designed to resemble everyday life, including informal vocabulary, interruptions and unfinished sentences.