English Literature iGCSE
English Literature iGCSE glossary
92 key terms for English Literature iGCSE, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.
92 terms found. Open a term to try a short memory check.
A
- Allegory
- A story in which characters and events represent abstract ideas or moral qualities.Pearson Edexcel
- Ambiguity
- When meaning is deliberately left unclear or open to multiple interpretations.Pearson Edexcel
- Anagnorisis
- A moment of critical discovery or recognition.Pearson Edexcel
- Anaphora
- The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.Pearson Edexcel
- Assimilation
- The process by which individuals or groups of differing ethnic heritage are absorbed into the dominant culture of a society.Pearson Edexcel
B
- Bildungsroman
- A 'coming-of-age' novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist.Pearson Edexcel
- Blank Verse
- Unrhymed iambic pentameter, typically spoken by noble characters.Pearson Edexcel
C
- Caesura
- A pause near the middle of a line, usually indicated by punctuation (comma, dash, full stop).Pearson Edexcel
- Capitalism
- An economic system based on private ownership and profit, prioritising individual wealth.Pearson Edexcel
- Caricature
- A description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Pearson Edexcel
- Catharsis
- The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions (pity and fear).Pearson Edexcel
- Chi
- An individual's personal god or destiny in Igbo belief.Pearson Edexcel
- Chiaroscuro
- The use of strong contrasts between light and dark.Pearson Edexcel
- Code-switching
- The practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.Pearson Edexcel
- Colloquialism
- Words or phrases used in ordinary, everyday conversation rather than formal speech.Pearson Edexcel
- Cosmology
- A culture's understanding of the universe and its order.Pearson Edexcel
- Cyclical Structure
- A narrative that ends in the same place or manner it began.Pearson Edexcel
D
- Defamiliarisation
- The artistic technique of presenting common things in an unfamiliar way to enhance perception of the familiar.Pearson Edexcel
- Determinism
- The philosophical belief that all events are determined completely by previously existing causes.Pearson Edexcel
- Dramatic Irony
- When the reader understands the significance of an event or statement better than the narrator or characters do.Pearson Edexcel
- Dramatic Monologue
- A poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character.Pearson Edexcel
- Dual Narrative
- A narrative structure that tells two separate but connected stories.Pearson Edexcel
- Dual Narrative Perspective
- A story told from two distinct viewpoints by the same narrator (child experiencing, adult reflecting).Pearson Edexcel
- Dynamic Character
- A character who undergoes an important inner change.Pearson Edexcel
- Dystopia
- An imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.Pearson Edexcel
E
- Emasculation
- The deprivation of a man's male role, identity, or strength.Pearson Edexcel
- Enjambment
- When a sentence or phrase runs over from one poetic line to the next without terminal punctuation.Pearson Edexcel
- Entailment
- A legal restriction on property ensuring it can only be inherited by male heirs.Pearson Edexcel
- Epistolary Elements
- The inclusion of letters in a narrative.Pearson Edexcel
- Epistolary Form
- A novel or narrative told through the medium of letters.Pearson Edexcel
- Equivocation
- The use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth.Pearson Edexcel
- Expressionism
- A style of drama that seeks to express the inner world of emotion rather than external reality.Pearson Edexcel
- Extended Metaphor
- A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.Pearson Edexcel
F
- Filial Piety
- A virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors (a core concept in Confucian philosophy).Pearson Edexcel
- First-person limited narrator
- A narrative perspective where the story is told by one character (Klara) who only knows their own thoughts and what they observe.Pearson Edexcel
- Foil
- A character who contrasts with another character to highlight particular qualities of the other character.Pearson Edexcel
- Foreshadowing
- A literary device where the writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.Pearson Edexcel
- Free Indirect Discourse
- A style of third-person narration which uses some of the characteristics of third-person along with the essence of first-person direct speech.Pearson Edexcel
- Free Verse
- Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.Pearson Edexcel
G
- Generational Trauma
- Trauma that is transferred from the first generation of trauma survivors to the second and further generations.Pearson Edexcel
- Gothic Elements
- Literature characterised by fear, horror, and gloomy settings.Pearson Edexcel
- Gothic Imagery
- Language that evokes gloom, mystery, suspense, and terror.Pearson Edexcel
- Greek Chorus
- A character or group that comments on the action of a play without participating in it, guiding the audience's response.Pearson Edexcel
H
- Hamartia
- A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero.Pearson Edexcel
- Hamartia (Tragic Flaw)
- A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero.Pearson Edexcel
- Hubris
- Excessive pride or self-confidence that leads to a protagonist's downfall.Pearson Edexcel
I
- Incantatory Language
- Language that sounds like a chant or spell, often rhythmic and repetitive.Pearson Edexcel
- Irony
- A gap between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected and what happens.Pearson Edexcel
J
- Juxtaposition
- The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.Pearson Edexcel
L
- Liminality
- The state of being between two things; a transitional space.Pearson Edexcel
- Literalism
- Taking words in their usual or most basic sense, without metaphor or allegory.Pearson Edexcel
M
- Magical Realism
- A genre where magical elements are a natural part of an otherwise mundane, realistic environment.Pearson Edexcel
- Metafiction
- Fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, drawing attention to its status as an artifact.Pearson Edexcel
- Microcosm
- A small group or situation that represents the characteristics of a much larger system.Pearson Edexcel
- Morality Play
- A type of drama that attempts to teach a moral lesson.Pearson Edexcel
- Motif
- A recurring image, sound, action, or other figure that has a symbolic significance.Pearson Edexcel
N
- Nominative Determinism
- When a character's name reflects their personality or destiny.Pearson Edexcel
- Non-linear Narrative
- A storytelling structure where events are portrayed out of chronological order.Pearson Edexcel
- Non-linear structure
- A narrative that does not follow chronological order.Pearson Edexcel
O
- Omniscient Narrator
- An all-knowing narrative voice that can access the thoughts and feelings of all characters.Pearson Edexcel
- Oxymoron
- A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.Pearson Edexcel
P
- Pathetic Fallacy
- The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature.Pearson Edexcel
- Patriarchy
- A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.Pearson Edexcel
- Petrarchan Lover
- A melodramatic, performative style of loving where a man suffers unrequited love for an idealized, distant woman.Pearson Edexcel
- Phonetic Spelling
- Spelling words exactly as they sound, often to represent a specific dialect or accent.Pearson Edexcel
- Polyphony
- A feature of narrative which includes a diversity of points of view and voices.Pearson Edexcel
- Polysyndeton
- The repeated use of coordinating conjunctions (like 'and') in quick succession.Pearson Edexcel
- Post-Humanism
- A philosophical concept that questions the traditional boundaries of what it means to be human, often in relation to advanced technology.Pearson Edexcel
- Postcolonial Literature
- Writing that responds to and critiques the legacy of European colonialism.Pearson Edexcel
- Postcolonialism
- The study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism.Pearson Edexcel
- Problem Play
- A play that shifts between dark, complex psychological drama and lighter comic elements.Pearson Edexcel
- Prose vs. Blank Verse
- Prose is ordinary speech; blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter.Pearson Edexcel
- Proverb
- A short, well-known saying stating a general truth.Pearson Edexcel
R
- Restraint
- Holding back; in literature, a style that uses minimal words and avoids melodrama to create emotional impact.Pearson Edexcel
- Retrospective Narrative
- A story told from the point of view of a character looking back on past events.Pearson Edexcel
S
- Satire
- The use of humour, irony, or exaggeration to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices.Pearson Edexcel
- Semantic Field
- A group of words related in meaning (e.g., 'blood', 'guns', 'battle' create a semantic field of war).Pearson Edexcel
- Sibilance
- The repetition of 's' or 'sh' sounds, creating a hissing or whispering effect.Pearson Edexcel
- Social Satire
- The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices.Pearson Edexcel
- Socialism
- A political and economic theory advocating that the means of production should be regulated by the community as a whole.Pearson Edexcel
- Soliloquy
- A speech given by a character alone on stage, revealing their inner thoughts.Pearson Edexcel
- Spatial Metaphor
- Using physical space to describe abstract concepts or emotions.Pearson Edexcel
- Static Character
- A character who undergoes little or no inner change.Pearson Edexcel
- Subversion
- Undermining or challenging expected norms or conventions.Pearson Edexcel
- Syllogism
- A form of deductive reasoning where a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed propositions.Pearson Edexcel
- Symbolism
- The use of objects or characters to represent abstract ideas.Pearson Edexcel
T
- Theocratic
- A system of government in which priests rule in the name of God.Pearson Edexcel
- Tragic Hero
- A protagonist who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to their own destruction.Pearson Edexcel
U
- Unreliable Narrator
- A narrator whose credibility is compromised.Pearson Edexcel
V
Z
- Zoomorphism
- Applying animal characteristics to humans.Pearson Edexcel
Where these terms come from
Each definition is one we publish on a English Literature iGCSE topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to English Literature revision or the glossary for every subject.
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