A-Level English Literature

• Allegory


  characters and events represent qualities or concepts
• Alliteration


  repetition of letters or sounds at connected words
• Allusion


  a reference to a literary work, myth, Biblical story, historical event, or some other cultural artefact
• Apostrophe


  An address, exclamation, or question posed to someone or something, usually not present but as though it is
• Archetype


  the original pattern or model from which all other similar items are derived; a primordial, universal symbol
• Assonance


  repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words
• Characterization


  process of character development in a text
• Static Character

  Remains unchanged throughout a work (e.g. Charley)
• Dynamic Character

  Change (for better or worse) in response to circumstances or experience
• Flat Character


  Caricatures, defined by a single idea or quality
• Round Character


  fully developed, with complexities of real people
• Protagonist


  central character, usually identical to the hero
• Antagonist


  Character pitted against the protagonist
• Foil


  Character, who by contrast with the protagonist, serves to accentuate that character's distinctive qualities
• Chiasmus


  Repetition in which certain words, sounds, concepts or syntactical structures are reversed or repeated in reverse order (2 parts of a chiastic whole mirror each other as go the parts of the letter X); chiastic structure may heighten paradox
• Comedy


  any amusing and entertaining work using humor or wit as the essential element; intended purpose may be to evoke laughter
• Conflict


  confrontation or struggle between opposing characters or plot of narrative work, from which the action emanates and around which it evolves. There are 4 types.
• Physical Conflict


  Elemental clash between character and Nature, or the physical environment
• Social Conflict


  competition or struggle within society
• Internal/psychological Conflict


  inner divisions or turmoil of a single character
• Metaphysical Conflict


  Clash between a human being and Fate or a deity
• Connotation


  The associations called up by a word that goes beyond its dictionary meaning. Poets, especially, tends to use words rich in connotation.
• Consonance


  Repetition of consonant sounds, not necessarily initial
• Convention


  A customary feature of a literay work, such as the use of a chorus in Greek tragedy, the inclusion of an explicit moral in a fable, or the use of a particular rhyme scheme in a villanelle. Literary conventions are defining features of particular literary genres, such as novel, short story, ballad or play.
• Denotation


  The dictionary meaning of the word. Writers typically play off word's denotative meaning against its connotations, or suggested and implied associational implications.
• Denouement


  The resolution of the plot of a literary work.
• Diction


  An author's choice of words
• Enjambment


  use of a line of poetry whose sense and rhythmic movement continues to the next line; "run-off" line
• Epiphany


  Sudden revelatory experience through which a character suddenly understands the essence of a (generally commonplace) object, gesture, statement, situation, moment or mentality - that is, when one "sees" the commonplace for what it really is beneath the surface and perceives its inner workings, its nature.
• Flashback


  Presentation of events that occur before the time of the current narration; various methods can be used, including memories, dream sequences, stories or narration by characters, or even authorial sovereighnty
• Hyperbole


  overstatement or exaggeration
• Imagery


  diction that appeals to the senses; sight, sound, taste, smell, touvh, motion
• Irony


  discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, what is said and what is done, what is expected or intended and what happens, what is meant or said and what others understand.
• Situational Irony


  Expectations raised by events or situation are reversed
• Dramatic Irony


  Discrepancy between a character's perception and what the reader or audience knows to be true
• Sarcasm

  Intentional derision, generally directed at another person and intended to hurt
• Satire


  The exposure of humanity's vices, foibles, or follies, usually with the intent to change or reform
• Juxtaposition


  placement of contrasting ideas, words, or phased next to one another to create a startling, amusing, or illuminating effect
• Metaphor

  comparison of two dissimilar items by identifying one as the other
• Motif


  use of repetition of imagery, symbolism, diction, etc. in order to unify an artistic work