English Literature key terms

A group of three parallel words, phrases or clauses used for rhetorical effect.

A member of a three-man ruling alliance. Antony, Octavius and Lepidus become Rome's triumvirs in Julius Caesar.

Government or control by three people. After Caesar’s death, Antony, Octavius and Lepidus form a triumvirate.

A rhythm organised into pairs of syllables in which a stressed syllable is followed by an unstressed syllable.

A metrical pattern in which each pair of syllables begins with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.

A rhythm usually consisting of four stressed–unstressed pairs per line. Some lines omit the final unstressed syllable.

A metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.

A cave-dweller. Utterson’s word “troglodytic” suggests that Hyde resembles a supposedly primitive human.

The political and national conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998, usually understood to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement.

A person who holds or manages property on behalf of someone else, rather than treating it as their own.

A change in a poem’s direction, argument, situation or tone.

A moment that changes the direction of the action or a character’s situation.

Serious moral corruption or wickedness.

A Christian celebration at the close of the Twelve Days of Christmas, associated with Epiphany and traditions of feasting, entertainment and reversed social roles.

An infectious disease which spreads through Lowood’s pupils in Chapter 9 and exposes the school’s harmful conditions.

Cruel or oppressive rule in which a ruler uses power for personal interests rather than the welfare of the people.

A ruler who uses power cruelly and oppressively.

Language that presents something as less significant or extreme than it really is.

An imagined realm of the dead beneath the world of the living.

A rapier is a narrow sword. In Toby’s description of Andrew in Act 3 Scene 4, “unhatched rapier” suggests a sword that has not been used in combat.

The concentration of a play's action within one location or closely connected setting.

The concentration of a play's events within a short period, conventionally no more than a day.

A narrative account whose accuracy or interpretation the reader has reason to question, for example because of self-interest or limited understanding.

A narrator whose account gives readers reasons to question their judgement, accuracy or motives.

A voice whose account or judgements cannot be accepted uncritically because they are distorted, misleading or limited.

Love that is not returned by the person who is loved.

A character who does not appear on stage but whose actions or experiences influence the drama.