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ENGLISH
LITERATURE
GLOSSARIES
CONTENTS
General Vocab: English Literature
Key Text: An Inspector Calls
Key Text: The History Boys
Key Text: A View from the Bridge
Key Text: Pride and Prejudice
Key Text: Lord of the Flies
Key Text: Of Mice and Men
Key Text: To Kill a Mockingbird
Appendices:
1. Vocab lists for quick-fire spelling tests in each area
2. Activity cards for revising key words and definitions
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy
Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
3
Glossary:
Glossary:
General English Literature
General English Literature
adjective
compare
Words that are used to describe or modify nouns.
To consider the differences and similarities between two things.
affect (v.)
To make a difference to.
contemporary
alliteration
culture
Repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of
closely connected words.
The ideas, customs and artistic traditions of a particular society.
antagonist
To give a detailed account of something.
A character who works against the main character in a
novel or play.
dialogue
anti-hero
A central character in a story who lacks typical characteristics
of a hero, such as courage or kindness.
audience
A collected group of people watching a play (NB. do not
talk about ‘readers’ when writing about a play).
author
Someone who writes books, articles or documents.
character
A person in a play or novel.
characterisation
Belonging to or happening in the present day.
describe
Speech or conversation between characters.
dramatic irony
The reader or audience is given information of which the
characters are unaware.
dystopia
A nightmare vision of society, in which everything is unpleasant.
The opposite of Utopia.
effect (n.)
The result or consequence of.
emotive
Arouses the emotions of readers or audience.
What the characters in a story are like and how the writer
shows this to us.
emphasise
class
feminism
The division of society according to social or economic status.
Support of women’s rights and the equality of the sexes.
comedy
flashback
A play based on amusing events, which ends with
characters triumphing over their difficulties.
A scene in a novel or play that is set in an earlier time than
the rest of the story.
To give special importance to or lay stress upon something.
4
Glossary:
Glossary:
General English Literature
General English Literature
foreshadowing
metaphor
When an author or playwright hints at plot events
before they happen.
Applying a word or phrase to an object or action it
is not literally applicable to.
gender
metonym
The state of being male or female, with an emphasis on
cultural – rather than biological – differences.
A word, name or expression used to suggest something with
which it is closely associated.
genre
monologue
A style or category of literature, eg, crime, science fiction.
A long, uninterrupted speech by one character in a play.
Gothic
morality
A genre of fiction that combines elements of horror and romance.
A code of values that defines behaviour as right or wrong.
historical context
narration
Events, ideas and culture of the time and place a text was written.
The voice in which a story is told.
hyperbole
narrator
Using exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
A character who tells the story.
imagery
novel
Figurative or descriptive language used to create a
vivid picture in the reader’s mind.
A long prose narrative that describes fictional events or characters.
infer
All-knowing.
To work something out from evidence and reasoning.
influential
Having power to affect the thoughts and behaviour of others.
irony
Making a point using language that usually means the opposite.
issue
omniscient
onomatopoeia
A word that imitates the sound of the thing it names, eg, crash, sizzle.
oxymoron
A figure of speech that places apparently contradictory terms together.
pathetic fallacy
An important topic or problem that the story raises.
Attributing human emotions to something that is not human,
eg, weather reflecting the mood of a story.
language
patriarchy
The words that a writer uses to communicate.
A social system in which men hold the power and women
have very little.
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6
Glossary:
Glossary:
General English Literature
General English Literature
personification
simile
Giving human characteristics to an object, animal or
abstract idea, eg, the dog grinned.
Comparing one thing to another using the word ‘like’ or
‘as’, eg, smooth as silk.
persuade
society
To convince someone to do something or behave in
a certain way.
A group of people living together in an ordered community.
playwright
Someone who writes plays.
An instruction in the text of a play that suggests how scenes
should be acted or staged.
plot
structure
The main events of a play, novel or story.
How the events of a play or novel are organised. The ‘shape’
of the story.
protagonist
The main character in a novel or play.
repetition
When a word, phrase or sound is repeated for dramatic effect.
rhetorical question
stage direction
subplot
A secondary storyline that supports the main story.
symbolism
Using an object to represent an idea or quality.
A question that does not expect an answer.
theme
scene
A topic or idea that is central to the story of a novel
or play, eg, love.
A section of continuous action in a play in which the time
and setting usually remain the same.
tradition
setting
A belief or behaviour that has been passed down
through generations.
The place and time in which the events of a story occur.
sexuality
1.) The capacity to experience sexual feeling.
2.) A person’s sexual orientation or preference.
sibilance
Repetition of the ‘s’ or ‘sh’ sound to create a hissing effect.
significant
Something important; worth noting.
tragedy
A play based on human suffering, which often ends
with the downfall of the main character.
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Key Text Glossary:
Key Text Glossary:
An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls
Birling
Inspector Goole
Surname of the middle class family visited by Inspector Goole.
A mysterious man who is investigating the suicide of Eva Smith.
Brumley
J. B. Priestley
An industrial city in the north Midlands.
English dramatist whose plays were first performed during
the 1930s and 1940s.
capitalism
An economic system in which trade is controlled by
private businesses, rather than by the state.
morality
charity
patriarchal
Giving help or money to those in need.
Of or relating to the patriarchy.
cliffhanger
patriarchy
A dramatic ending that leaves the audience anxious to
find out what happens next.
A social system in which men hold the power and women
have very little.
dramatic irony
prostitute
The reader or audience is given information of which the
characters are unaware.
A person who engages in sex activity in return for payment.
drawing room theatre
1.) Having a duty to take care of something.
2.) Being to blame for something.
A type of Victorian drama in which the main action takes
place in a drawing room.
Edwardian
Relating to or characteristic of the reign of King Edward VII (1901-1910).
Eva Smith
A code of values that defines behaviour as right or wrong.
responsibility
Sheila
The pretty daughter of Mr and Mrs Birling.
socialism
A working class girl who is also known as Daisy Renton.
A system in which production and distribution are owned
by the community as a whole.
fallen woman
suicide
A woman who is thought to have lost her innocence and fallen
from the grace of God.
The act of taking one’s own life.
Gerald Croft
Mr Birling’s snobbish wife.
A handsome young aristocrat who is engaged to Sheila Birling.
hypocrisy
Claiming to have higher standards or principles than one does in practice.
Sybil
tension
Building suspense within the story.
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10
Key Text Glossary:
Key Text Glossary:
The History Boys
The History Boys
academic
homosexuality
Relating to education.
Sexual attraction to members of one’s own sex.
Akthar
innuendo
Muslim pupil of Asian ancestry.
A remark that has a double meaning, often disparaging or rude.
Alan Bennett
irony
English playwright who was born in Leeds and studied
history at the University of Oxford.
Making a point using language that usually means the opposite.
comprehensive school
Cynical young history teacher, recruited to help coach
students applying for Oxbridge.
A state secondary school that does not select its students
on the basis of academic achievement.
Crowther
Irwin
Lintott
Pupil whose hobby is acting.
Female history teacher who has a traditional style and is
interested in the facts.
curriculum
Lockwood
The programme of study followed by a school or college.
Opinionated pupil.
Dakin
Oxbridge
Handsome and sexually confident pupil.
The universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Édith Piaf
pedagogy
French singer who became internationally popular
during the 1950s.
The method and practice of teaching.
enrichment
To improve or enhance the quality of something.
The study of fundamental problems, such as those connected
to knowledge, reality and existence.
(Cutlers’) grammar school
Posner
A state secondary school that selects students by their
academic ability.
The youngest pupil; gay and Jewish.
Hector
Pupil known more for his athletic skills than his intelligence.
Teacher of English, who is close to retirement and who
values knowledge and art for its own sake.
philosophy
Rudge
Scripps
Anglican pupil; plays piano.
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Key Text Glossary:
The History Boys
Sheffield
An industrial city in South Yorkshire.
subjunctive
A tense used to express that which is imagined, wished or possible.
Thatcherism
The policy and political style of Conservative politician
Margaret Thatcher.
Timms
Overweight pupil known for being a joker.
university
Institution for high-level study and research.
W. H. Auden
Anglo-American poet, born in 1907 and now regarded as one
of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
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Key Text Glossary:
Key Text Glossary:
A View From The Bridge
A View From The Bridge
Alfieri
honour
An Italian lawyer who acts as the chorus of the play.
Perceived worthiness and respectability, which affects social standing.
Arthur Miller
illegal
American playwright; his major plays were first performed
during the 1940s and 1950s.
Forbidden by law.
Beatrice
Eddie’s wife; a loving and caring woman.
A person who goes to live permanently in a different country
to the one in which they were born.
Brooklyn
Immigration Bureau
A borough of New York City which is known for its cultural diversity.
Government organisation that monitors and polices immigration.
Catherine
longshoreman
The orphaned daughter of Beatrice’s sister.
A dock worker; loads and unloads cargo from ships.
chorus
machismo
A character in a play who comments on the main action;
originates from ancient Greek tragedy.
Aggressive masculine pride.
citizen
A legal resident of a country.
Beatrice’s cousin; immigrant worker who has a wife and
children still living in Italy.
deportation
Red Hook
Sending an immigrant back to their country of origin.
A very poor area of Brooklyn which faces the bay and the Brooklyn Bridge.
dramatic irony
Rodolpho
The reader or audience is given information of which the
characters are unaware.
Marco’s younger brother; attractive and sensitive.
Eddie Carbone
An area of land where ships are built and repaired.
Head of the Carbone family; manly and overprotective.
effeminate
Having characteristics regarded to be typical of a woman.
flashback
A scene in a novel or play that is set in an earlier time than
the rest of the story.
immigrant
Marco
shipyard
Sicily
A large island off the coast of Italy.
tragedy
A play based on human suffering, which often ends with the
downfall of the main character.
bathos
An abrupt change in style from sublime to ridiculous.
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16
Key Text Glossary:
Key Text Glossary:
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
Catherine de Bourgh
marriage
Darcy’s aunt; a rude and insensitive upper class woman.
The formal union of two people, as recognised by law.
class
morality
A division of society according to social or economic status.
A code of values that defines behaviour as right or wrong.
clergyman
Mr Bingley
Priest or minister of a Christian church.
A suitor to Elizabeth’s sister Jane; likeable and down to earth.
Elizabeth Bennet
Mr Darcy
The heroine of the novel; spirited and independent.
The novel’s romantic hero; rich, powerful and aloof.
elope
Mr Wickham
Run away to get married in secret.
A selfish and uncaring man who grew up with Darcy.
etiquette
Netherfield Park
An established code of polite behaviour.
Mansion where Mr Bingley lives with his sisters.
free indirect discourse
Pemberley
A style of third-person narration that incorporates some
aspects of first-person speech.
Darcy’s beautiful country estate.
gentry
A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or
actual experience.
People of good social standing; the social class directly
below nobility.
Hertfordshire
A county in the South East of England, bordering London.
Jane Austen
prejudice
respectable
Thought of as proper, correct or good by society.
Rosings Park
The estate of Catherine de Bourgh.
English novelist who lived from 1775 to 1817 and wrote
primarily in the Romance genre.
William Collins
juxtaposition
A clergyman who proposes to both Elizabeth and Charlotte;
pompous and silly.
Two contrasting things being placed together.
Longbourn
Home of the Bennet family.
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Key Text Glossary:
Key Text Glossary:
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
allegory
littleuns
A story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden moral
or political message.
Collective name for the youngest boys on the island.
anarchy
A military conflict in which nuclear weapons are used.
A state of disorder due to absence of government or authority.
Beelzebub
A name for the devil; literal translation of ‘lord of the flies’.
civilisation
An advanced stage of social development and organisation.
conch
A hollow shell that can be blown like a trumpet.
democracy
A form of government in which all citizens have an equal say.
denigrate
Criticise unfairly.
despotism
Exercising absolute power, particularly in a cruel and
oppressive way.
dictator
nuclear war
parachutist
Somebody who descends from the sky by means of a parachute.
paradise
An ideal or perfect place.
Piggy
A smart, overweight boy who wears glasses.
Ralph
A natural leader; he is brave, sensible and civilised.
savagery
Being fierce or cruel.
society
A group of people living together in an ordered community.
symbol
An object that represents an idea or quality.
A ruler who has complete power and typically gained control
by force.
violence
humanity
William Golding
The quality of being human; kindness.
English novelist, born in 1911, who went on to win both
the Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.
individuality
The qualities of a person that distinguish them from others.
island
A piece of land surrounded by water on all sides.
Using physical force that is intended to hurt, damage or kill.
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20
Key Text Glossary:
Key Text Glossary:
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
bunkhouse
Lennie
A building that contains basic accommodation for workers.
A physically large man with limited intelligence.
California
loneliness
A large state on the west coast of the USA.
Sadness caused by having no friends or companions.
Candy
lynch
The oldest worker on the ranch; he lost his right hand
in an accident.
Put someone to death without trial, usually by hanging.
Crooks
The ranch’s stable hand; the only black worker.
A person who moves from one place to another in
order to find work.
Curley
prosperity
The boss’ son; a prize-fighter who is newly married.
Financial success.
George
provocative
A small, clever man who is friends with Lennie.
Deliberately trying to cause a strong reaction from somebody.
Great Depression
revenge
A severe worldwide economic depression, which lasted from
1930 to the middle of the 1940s.
Repayment for an injury or wrong.
Hoovervilles
18th century Scottish poet known for his poem ‘To a Mouse’
among others.
Shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression.
Named after US president Herbert Hoover.
imagery
migrant
Robert Burns
Salinas Valley
One of the most productive farming regions in California.
Figurative or descriptive language used to create a vivid picture
in the reader’s mind.
Slim
isolation
The natural leader of the ranch. People look up to him and
respect his judgement.
The state of being far away from other people.
John Steinbeck
American writer who was born in California and published
most notably during the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
Soledad
A town in the Salinas Valley region; Spanish for ‘solitude’.
tragedy
A play based on human suffering, which often ends with the
downfall of the main character.
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22
Key Text Glossary:
Key Text Glossary:
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
abolition
Great Depression
The act of formally putting an end to a system or practice.
A severe worldwide economic depression, which lasted
from 1930 to the middle of the 1940s.
Alabama
A state in the south east of the USA.
Harper Lee
Atticus Finch
American author who published just one novel in her
lifetime, in 1961.
Father of Jem and Scout; a lawyer; kind, honest and fair.
Bildungsroman
innocence
Being morally pure and free from corruption.
A ‘coming of age’ story that focuses on the growth of the
protagonist from child to adult.
Jem
Boo Radley
Scout’s older brother. He is calmer and more sensible
than Scout.
A misunderstood recluse who has been shut away for
much of his life.
justice
Calpurnia
Fair treatment supported by the administration of law.
The well-educated black cook who works for the Finch family;
she is firm but kind.
lynch
caste system
Maycomb
The division of people into groups that have particular
privileges and functions within society.
A fictional town in Alabama; probably inspired by
Harper Lee’s hometown, Monroeville.
civil rights
Mayella Ewell
Entitlement to political and social freedom and equality.
The eldest daughter of the poor and ill-mannered Ewell family.
compassion
metaphor
Sympathy or concern for the suffering of others.
Applying a word or phrase to an object or action it is
not literally applicable to.
courage
Put someone to death without trial, usually by hanging.
The ability to face something frightening; bravery.
mockingbird
discrimination
A thrush-like songbird that is known for being able to mimic
the calls of other birds.
The unjust treatment of groups of people, often on the
grounds of race, sex or age.
Negro
Previously: a person of African descent (Now widely
considered out of date or offensive).
23
24
Key Text Glossary:
To Kill a Mockingbird
neighbourhood
A community or district within a town or city.
prejudice
A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or
actual experience.
racism
The belief that all members of a race possess the same
characteristics, making some races superior to others.
Rosa Parks
African-American civil rights activist; famously refused to
give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger.
Scout
A young tomboy; the narrator of the story.
segregation
The enforced separation of different racial groups within
a community.
Southern Gothic
A subgenre of Gothic fiction, which makes use of
disturbing characters and situations to explore issues of
the American south.
Tom Robinson
A black man with a crippled arm, who lives on the
outskirts of town.
Key Text Glossary:
25
Vocab: General English Literature
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
KEY WORDS (3)
personification
characterisation
onomatopoeia
simile
flashback
foreshadowing
metaphor
playwright
oxymoron
alliteration
author
irony
scene
character
hyperbole
pathetic fallacy
structure
imagery
omniscient
protagonist
symbolism
narration
setting
dialogue
narrator
plot
metonym
tragedy
theme
adjective
comedy
antagonist
sibilance
Monologue
Repetition
emotive
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
Vocab: General English Literature
KEY WORDS (4)
KEY WORDS (5)
KEY WORDS (6)
historical context
dystopia
compare
dramatic irony
Gothic
effect
issue
stage direction
persuade
genre
patriarchy
infer
rhetorical question
feminism
influential
novel
gender
significant
culture
class
affect
society
sexuality
describe
audience
morality
emphasise
contemporary
Anti-hero
language
tradition
subplot
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
Vocab: An Inspector Calls
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
J. B. Priestley
charity
Inspector Goole
Gerald Croft
Brumley
Eva Smith
Birling
patriarchy
Sheila
patriarchal
Sybil
dramatic irony
suicide
capitalism
prostitute
socialism
hypocrisy
fallen woman
Edwardian
morality
drawing room theatre
tension
Responsibility
cliffhanger
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
Vocab: The History Boys
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
KEY WORDS (3)
Alan Bennett
Lintott
comprehensive school
Hector
Akthar
W. H. Auden
Irwin
Rudge
enrichment
Dakin
homosexuality
curriculum
Posner
Thatcherism
irony
Cutlers’ Grammar School
subjunctive
Scripps
Sheffield
Édith Piaf
Timms
philosophy
university
Crowther
innuendo
academic
Lockwood
Pedagogy
Oxbridge
TES Connect Digital Publishing
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Vocab: A View from the Bridge
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
Arthur Miller
illegal
Brooklyn
immigrant
Red Hook
effeminate
Sicily
Immigration Bureau
Alfieri
citizen
Eddie Carbone
deportation
longshoreman
tragedy
shipyard
machismo
Catherine
flashback
Beatrice
chorus
Rodolpho
honour
Marco
dramatic irony
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
Vocab: Pride and Prejudice
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
Jane Austen
Longbourn
Elizabeth Bennet
Netherfield Park
Hertfordshire
clergyman
Mr Darcy
Catherine de Bourgh
Mr Bingley
William Collins
Mr Wickham
Rosings Park
Pemberley
elope
prejudice
class
morality
bathos
marriage
free indirect discourse
etiquette
respectable
Gentry
juxtaposition
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
Vocab: Lord of the Flies
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
William Golding
democracy
Ralph
society
Piggy
savagery
conch
anarchy
nuclear war
littleuns
civilisation
Beelzebub
individuality
despotism
island
dictator
paradise
allegory
humanity
denigrate
Violence
symbol
parachutist
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
Vocab: Of Mice and Men
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
John Steinbeck
Crooks
Great Depression
Candy
Hoovervilles
Slim
Robert Burns
California
migrant
Salinas Valley
Lennie
Soledad
George
lynch
Curley
imagery
loneliness
tragedy
isolation
revenge
provocative
bunkhouse
prosperity
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
Vocab: To Kill a Mockingbird
KEY WORDS (1)
KEY WORDS (2)
KEY WORDS (3)
Harper Lee
Boo Radley
Bildungsroman
Maycomb
Calpurnia
Great Depression
Alabama
Jem
Mayella Ewell
Atticus Finch
Scout
lynch
metaphor
Tom Robinson
Southern Gothic
neighbourhood
discrimination
segregation
justice
racism
courage
caste system
civil rights
compassion
Negro
abolition
innocence
Prejudice
Rosa Parks
mockingbird
TES Connect Digital Publishing
www.tesconnect.com/literacy Copyright © TSL Education Ltd 2013
To give a detailed account of something.
The ideas, customs and artistic traditions of a
particular society.
culture
describe
Belonging to or happening in the present day.
To consider the differences and similarities
between two things.
compare
contemporary
A play based on amusing events, which ends with
characters triumphing over their difficulties.
The division of society according to social or
economic status.
What the characters in a story are like and how
the writer shows this to us.
A person in a play or novel.
Someone who writes books, articles or documents.
comedy
class
characterisation
character
author
A collected group of people watching a play.
audience
(NB. do not talk about ‘readers’ when writing about a play).
A central character in a story who lacks typical characteristics
of a hero, such as courage or kindness.
A character who works against the main character
in a novel or play.
antagonist
anti-hero
Repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning
of closely connected words.
To make a difference to.
affect (v.)
alliteration
Words that are used to describe or modify nouns.
adjective
General English Literature
Activity card:
influential
infer
imagery
Having power to affect the thoughts and behaviour
of others.
To work something out from evidence and reasoning.
Figurative or descriptive language used to create a
vivid picture in the reader’s mind.
Using exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
Events, ideas and culture of the time and place a text was written.
historical context
hyperbole
A genre of fiction that combines elements of horror and romance.
A style or category of literature, eg, crime, science fiction.
The state of being male or female, with an emphasis on
cultural – rather than biological – differences.
Gothic
genre
gender
When an author or playwright hints at plot events
before they happen.
A scene in a novel or play that is set in an earlier time
than the rest of the story.
flashback
foreshadowing
Support of women’s rights and the equality of the sexes.
To give special importance to or lay stress upon something.
Arouses the emotions of readers or audience.
The result or consequence of.
A nightmare vision of society, in which everything is unpleasant.
The opposite of Utopia.
The reader or audience is given information of which
the characters are unaware.
Speech or conversation between characters.
feminism
emphasise
emotive
effect (n.)
dystopia
dramatic irony
dialogue
General English Literature
Activity card:
personification
patriarchy
pathetic fallacy
oxymoron
onomatopoeia
omniscient
novel
narrator
narration
morality
monologue
metonym
metaphor
Giving human characteristics to an object, animal or
abstract idea, eg, the dog grinned.
A social system in which men hold the power and
women have very little.
Attributing human emotions to something that is not
human, eg, weather reflecting the mood of a story.
A figure of speech that places apparently contradictory
terms together.
A word that imitates the sound of the thing it names,
eg, crash, sizzle.
All-knowing.
A long prose narrative that describes fictional events or
characters.
A character who tells the story.
The voice in which a story is told.
A code of values that defines behaviour as right or wrong.
A long, uninterrupted speech by one character in a play.
A word, name or expression used to suggest something
with which it is closely associated.
Applying a word or phrase to an object or action it
is not literally applicable to.
The words that a writer uses to communicate.
An important topic or problem that the story raises.
issue
language
Making a point using language that usually means the opposite.
irony
General English Literature
Activity card:
symbolism
subplot
structure
stage direction
society
simile
significant
sibilance
sexuality
setting
scene
rhetorical question
repetition
protagonist
plot
playwright
persuade
Using an object to represent an idea or quality.
A secondary storyline that supports the main story.
How the events of a play or novel are organised. The ‘shape’
of the story.
An instruction in the text of a play that suggests how scenes
should be acted or staged.
A group of people living together in an ordered community.
Comparing one thing to another using the word ‘like’ or
‘as’, eg, smooth as silk.
Something important; worth noting.
Repetition of the ‘s’ or ‘sh’ sound to create a hissing effect.
1.) The capacity to experience sexual feeling.
2.) A person’s sexual orientation or preference.
The place and time in which the events of a story occur.
A section of continuous action in a play in which the time
and setting usually remain the same.
A question that does not expect an answer.
When a word, phrase or sound is repeated for dramatic effect.
The main character in a novel or play.
The main events of a play, novel or story.
Someone who writes plays.
To convince someone to do something or behave in a certain way.
General English Literature
Activity card:
tragedy
tradition
theme
A play based on human suffering, which often ends
with the downfall of the main character.
A belief or behaviour that has been passed down
through generations.
A topic or idea that is central to the story of a novel
or play, eg, love.
General English Literature
Activity card:
morality
J. B. Priestley
Inspector Goole
hypocrisy
Gerald Croft
A code of values that defines behaviour as right or wrong.
English dramatist whose plays were first performed
during the 1930s and 1940s.
A mysterious man who is investigating the suicide
of Eva Smith.
Claiming to have higher standards or principles than
one does in practice.
A handsome young aristocrat who is engaged to Sheila Birling.
A woman who is thought to have lost her innocence
and fallen from the grace of God.
A working class girl who is also known as Daisy Renton.
Eva Smith
fallen woman
Relating to or characteristic of the reign of
King Edward VII (1901-1910).
A type of Victorian drama in which the main action takes
place in a drawing room.
drawing room
theatre
Edwardian
The reader or audience is given information of which
the characters are unaware.
A dramatic ending that leaves the audience anxious
to find out what happens next.
Giving help or money to those in need.
An economic system in which trade is controlled by private
businesses, rather than by the state.
An industrial city in the north Midlands.
Surname of the middle class family visited by Inspector Goole.
dramatic irony
cliffhanger
charity
capitalism
Brumley
Birling
An Inspector Calls
Activity card:
tension
Sybil
suicide
socialism
Building suspense within the story.
Mr Birling’s snobbish wife.
The act of taking one’s own life.
A system in which production and distribution are owned
by the community as a whole.
The pretty daughter of Mr and Mrs Birling.
Sheila
A person who engages in sex activity in return for payment.
prostitute
1.) Having a duty to take care of something.
2.) Being to blame for something.
A social system in which men hold the power and
women have very little.
patriarchy
responsibility
Of or relating to the patriarchy.
patriarchal
An Inspector Calls
Activity card:
Cynical young history teacher, recruited to help coach
students applying for Oxbridge.
Irwin
Female history teacher who has a traditional style and is
interested in the facts.
Making a point using language that usually means the opposite.
irony
Lintott
A remark that has a double meaning, often disparaging or rude.
Innuendo
Sexual attraction to members of one’s own sex.
Teacher of English, who is close to retirement and who
values knowledge and art for its own sake.
Hector
homosexuality
A state secondary school that selects students by their
academic ability.
To improve or enhance the quality of something.
enrichment
(Cutlers’) grammar
school
French singer who became internationally popular
during the 1950s.
Handsome and sexually confident pupil.
The programme of study followed by a school or college.
Pupil whose hobby is acting.
A state secondary school that does not select its students
on the basis of academic achievement.
English playwright who was born in Leeds and studied
history at the University of Oxford.
Muslim pupil of Asian ancestry.
Relating to education.
Édith Piaf
Dakin
curriculum
Crowther
comprehensive school
Alan Bennett
Akthar
academic
The History Boys
Activity card:
W. H. Auden
university
Timms
Thatcherism
subjunctive
Sheffield
Anglo-American poet, born in 1907 and now regarded as one
of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
Institution for high-level study and research.
Overweight pupil known for being a joker.
The policy and political style of Conservative politician
Margaret Thatcher.
A tense used to express that which is imagined,
wished or possible.
An industrial city in South Yorkshire.
Anglican pupil; plays piano.
Pupil known more for his athletic skills than his intelligence.
Rudge
Scripps
The youngest pupil; gay and Jewish.
Posner
The study of fundamental problems, such as those connected
to knowledge, reality and existence.
The method and practice of teaching.
pedagogy
philosophy
The universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Opinionated pupil.
Oxbridge
Lockwood
The History Boys
Activity card:
Immigration Bureau
immigrant
illegal
Government organisation that monitors and polices immigration.
A person who goes to live permanently in a different country
to the one in which they were born.
Forbidden by law.
Perceived worthiness and respectability, which affects
social standing.
A scene in a novel or play that is set in an earlier time than
the rest of the story.
flashback
honour
Having characteristics regarded to be typical of a woman.
Head of the Carbone family; manly and overprotective.
Eddie Carbone
effeminate
The reader or audience is given information of which the
characters are unaware.
Sending an immigrant back to their country of origin.
dramatic irony
deportation
A legal resident of a country.
citizen
The orphaned daughter of Beatrice’s sister.
Catherine
A character in a play who comments on the main action;
originates from ancient Greek tragedy.
A borough of New York City which is known for its
cultural diversity.
Brooklyn
chorus
Eddie’s wife; a loving and caring woman.
American playwright; his major plays were first performed
during the 1940s and 1950s.
An Italian lawyer who acts as the chorus of the play.
Beatrice
Arthur Miller
Alfieri
A View From The Bridge
Activity card:
An area of land where ships are built and repaired.
shipyard
tragedy
A play based on human suffering, which often ends with the
downfall of the main character.
A large island off the coast of Italy.
Marco’s younger brother; attractive and sensitive.
Rodolpho
Sicily
A very poor area of Brooklyn which faces the bay and the
Brooklyn Bridge.
Beatrice’s cousin; immigrant worker who has a wife and
children still living in Italy.
Aggressive masculine pride.
A dock worker; loads and unloads cargo from ships.
Red Hook
Marco
machismo
longshoreman
A View From The Bridge
Activity card:
The novel’s romantic hero; rich, powerful and aloof.
A selfish and uncaring man who grew up with Darcy.
Mr Darcy
Mr Wickham
A suitor to Elizabeth’s sister Jane; likeable and down to earth.
A code of values that defines behaviour as right or wrong.
morality
Mr Bingley
The formal union of two people, as recognised by law.
Home of the Bennet family.
Two contrasting things being placed together.
English novelist who lived from 1775 to 1817 and wrote
primarily in the Romance genre.
marriage
Longbourn
juxtaposition
Jane Austen
A county in the South East of England, bordering London.
People of good social standing; the social class directly
below nobility.
gentry
Hertfordshire
A style of third-person narration that incorporates some
aspects of first-person speech.
An established code of polite behaviour.
Run away to get married in secret.
The heroine of the novel; spirited and independent.
Priest or minister of a Christian church.
A division of society according to social or economic status.
Darcy’s aunt; a rude and insensitive upper class woman.
An abrupt change in style from sublime to ridiculous.
free indirect discourse
etiquette
elope
Elizabeth Bennet
clergyman
class
Catherine de Bourgh
bathos
Pride and Prejudice
Activity card:
William Collins
Rosings Park
respectable
prejudice
Pemberley
Netherfield Park
A clergyman who proposes to both Elizabeth and Charlotte;
pompous and silly.
The estate of Catherine de Bourgh.
Thought of as proper, correct or good by society.
A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or
actual experience.
Darcy’s beautiful country estate.
Mansion where Mr Bingley lives with his sisters.
Pride and Prejudice
Activity card:
A ruler who has complete power and typically gained
control by force.
dictator
A smart, overweight boy who wears glasses.
A natural leader; he is brave, sensible and civilised.
Piggy
Ralph
An ideal or perfect place.
Somebody who descends from the sky by means of a parachute.
parachutist
paradise
A military conflict in which nuclear weapons are used.
Collective name for the youngest boys on the island.
A piece of land surrounded by water on all sides.
The qualities of a person that distinguish them from others.
nuclear war
littleuns
island
individuality
The quality of being human; kindness.
Exercising absolute power, particularly in a cruel and
oppressive way.
despotism
humanity
Criticise unfairly.
A form of government in which all citizens have an equal say.
denigrate
democracy
A hollow shell that can be blown like a trumpet.
An advanced stage of social development and organisation.
civilisation
conch
A name for the devil; literal translation of ‘lord of the flies’.
A state of disorder due to absence of government or authority.
anarchy
Beelzebub
A story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden moral
or political message.
Allegory
Lord of the Flies
Activity card:
William Golding
English novelist, born in 1911, who went on to win both
the Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Using physical force that is intended to hurt, damage or kill.
An object that represents an idea or quality.
symbol
violence
A group of people living together in an ordered community.
Being fierce or cruel.
Society
savagery
Lord of the Flies
Activity card:
The boss’ son; a prize-fighter who is newly married.
A small, clever man who is friends with Lennie.
Curley
George
The state of being far away from other people.
isolation
provocative
prosperity
migrant
lynch
loneliness
Lennie
Deliberately trying to cause a strong reaction from somebody.
Financial success.
A person who moves from one place to another in
order to find work.
Put someone to death without trial, usually by hanging.
Sadness caused by having no friends or companions.
A physically large man with limited intelligence.
American writer who was born in California and published
most notably during the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
Figurative or descriptive language used to create a vivid
picture in the reader’s mind.
imagery
John Steinbeck
Shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great
Depression. Named after US president Herbert Hoover.
Hoovervilles
A severe worldwide economic depression, which lasted from
1930 to the middle of the 1940s.
The ranch’s stable hand; the only black worker.
Crooks
Great Depression
The oldest worker on the ranch; he lost his right hand
in an accident.
A large state on the west coast of the USA.
A building that contains basic accommodation for workers.
Candy
California
Bunkhouse
Of Mice and Men
Activity card:
The natural leader of the ranch. People look up to him and
respect his judgement.
A town in the Salinas Valley region; Spanish for ‘solitude’.
A play based on human suffering, which often ends with the
downfall of the main character.
Soledad
tragedy
One of the most productive farming regions in California.
Salinas Valley
Slim
18th century Scottish poet known for his poem ‘To a Mouse’
among others.
Repayment for an injury or wrong.
Robert Burns
revenge
Of Mice and Men
Activity card:
Scout’s older brother. He is calmer and more sensible
than Scout.
Fair treatment supported by the administration of law.
justice
Being morally pure and free from corruption.
Innocence
Jem
American author who published just one novel in her
lifetime, in 1961.
A severe worldwide economic depression, which lasted
from 1930 to the middle of the 1940s.
The unjust treatment of groups of people, often on the
grounds of race, sex or age.
The ability to face something frightening; bravery.
Sympathy or concern for the suffering of others.
Entitlement to political and social freedom and equality.
The division of people into groups that have particular
privileges and functions within society.
The well-educated black cook who works for the Finch family;
she is firm but kind.
Harper Lee
Great Depression
discrimination
courage
compassion
civil rights
caste system
Calpurnia
A misunderstood recluse who has been shut away for
much of his life.
A ‘coming of age’ story that focuses on the growth of the
protagonist from child to adult.
Bildungsroman
Boo Radley
Father of Jem and Scout; a lawyer; kind, honest and fair.
A state in the south east of the USA.
Alabama
Atticus Finch
The act of formally putting an end to a system or practice.
Abolition
To Kill a Mockingbird
Activity card:
A black man with a crippled arm, who lives on the
outskirts of town.
A subgenre of Gothic fiction, which makes use of
disturbing characters and situations to explore issues of
the American south.
Southern Gothic
Tom Robinson
The enforced separation of different racial groups within
a community.
A young tomboy; the narrator of the story.
segregation
Scout
African-American civil rights activist; famously refused to
give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger.
The belief that all members of a race possess the same
characteristics, making some races superior to others.
racism
Rosa Parks
A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or
actual experience.
A community or district within a town or city.
Previously: a person of African descent (Now widely
considered out of date or offensive).
A thrush-like songbird that is known for being able to mimic
the calls of other birds.
Applying a word or phrase to an object or action it is
not literally applicable to.
The eldest daughter of the poor and ill-mannered Ewell family.
A fictional town in Alabama; probably inspired by
Harper Lee’s hometown, Monroeville.
Put someone to death without trial, usually by hanging.
prejudice
neighbourhood
Negro
mockingbird
metaphor
Mayella Ewell
Maycomb
lynch
To Kill a Mockingbird
Activity card: