English Literature key terms

An old name for tuberculosis, the illness from which Helen Burns dies.

The ideas, social conditions, literary conventions and audience perspectives that help explain a text’s meanings.

A statement that contradicts itself. The final Commandment claims equality while declaring that some animals have a superior status.

The presentation of differences between characters, settings or events so that their meanings become clearer.

Insulting, contemptuous treatment of someone.

A change from one religion to another; Shylock’s conversion to Christianity is imposed under threat in the trial scene.

A person who has been found guilty of a criminal offence.

Dishonest use of authority for personal gain, such as taking bribes or selling public offices.

Production carried out in workers’ homes rather than in factories, such as Silas’s weaving.

Private advice, plans or secrets; to ‘keep counsel’ means to keep such information confidential.

A person who advises a ruler. Gonzalo is an elderly counsellor serving Alonso, King of Naples.

An alternative argument or interpretation that tests or qualifies your main view.

An office where a business keeps its accounts and conducts financial work.

A country gentleman, usually a parish’s chief landowner, with considerable local standing.

Two consecutive lines of poetry, sometimes forming a separate stanza; they do not have to rhyme.

A literary convention presenting a lover as devoted to an idealised, often unattainable beloved, whose rejection makes the lover suffer.

Polished, formal behaviour associated with courtly society, including elaborate compliments and respectful gestures.

The process of seeking a romantic partner's affection, often with marriage as its intended outcome.

An English common-law doctrine under which a married woman’s legal identity was largely absorbed into her husband’s, restricting her independent control of property and contracts.

Greedily eager to possess money or other things.

Trust in someone’s ability to repay borrowed money. Antonio uses his reputation and expected trading income to secure a loan.

A person or organisation to whom money is owed.

Too ready to believe what someone says, without questioning it.

A term associated with birth or ancestry in a colony, particularly the Caribbean. Its historical meanings vary; it does not automatically mean mixed-race ancestry.

A failure to obey the law. In Great Expectations, legal wrongdoing does not always correspond neatly to a person’s moral worth.

The study of criminals’ physical characteristics, associated in the nineteenth century with Cesare Lombroso’s claim that some people were born criminals whose bodies showed supposedly primitive traits.

A comparison that examines both similarities and differences and explains how writers’ choices shape meaning.