English Literature key terms

The seizure of a position of power or authority from its rightful holder.

Someone who takes power or a position without a rightful claim to it.

Lending money at interest. In historical religious debates, the term could mean any interest; today it usually refers to excessive or exploitative interest.

An imagined ideal society. Gonzalo’s proposed island commonwealth would remove poverty, private boundaries and conflict.

An excessive concern with being admired or thought well of by other people.

Open grassland in southern Africa.

Language whose intended meaning differs from, or opposes, its literal meaning.

Poetry organised into lines with a rhythmic pattern. Blank verse is unrhymed verse usually written in iambic pentameter.

An older resident of the Cottages who has already experienced the transition away from their childhood institution.

A stock tempter in morality plays who represents evil and often shares plans with the audience.

Someone who suffers harm or exploitation. Estella is a victim of her damaging upbringing, while also being someone who hurts others.

A short, vivid description of a person, scene or moment.

A strong desire to take revenge for an injury or wrong.

The use of physical force to injure, damage or destroy. In the novella, violence also exposes cruelty and the fragility of civilised behaviour.

An English trading and colonising enterprise chartered by James I in 1606 to establish settlements in Virginia.

Genuine moral goodness, rather than merely the appearance of goodness or a respected social position.

Language that evokes bodily sensations, often making an emotional experience feel physically immediate.

A mask or face covering. In Macbeth’s metaphor, a face becomes a ‘vizard’ that conceals the feelings and intentions of the heart.

A strong sense of being called to a particular occupation or way of life, especially religious service.

A turn in a poem’s thought, argument or feeling, often found in a sonnet.

A woman of gentle social standing; Maria serves as Olivia’s personal attendant but ranks below the knight Sir Toby.

A lack of basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter; this is the meaning embodied by the girl named Want.

A child placed under another person’s care or protection. Adèle is Rochester’s ward.

A civilian photographer who records armed conflict and its consequences, often risking personal safety to inform people elsewhere.

A group responsible for guarding streets and maintaining order at night.

Money, property and other valuable possessions held by a person or group.

Connected with fate or destiny: this older meaning gives the name Weird Sisters significance beyond simply describing the witches as strange.