QCAA Literature key terms

A method of analysing a text by examining its specific language, imagery, structure and stylistic choices line by line, rather than relying on summary, biography or general impressions.

Specific quotations, phrases or structural details drawn directly from a text and used to support an interpretive claim in analysis or an essay.

The associations, emotional colouring or implied meanings a word carries beyond its literal dictionary sense, shaped by context and usage.

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word, considered apart from the feelings or associations it may evoke.

A recurring image, phrase, object or idea that accumulates meaning across a text and reinforces its themes or emotional patterns.

The use of concrete objects, figures or actions to represent abstract ideas or qualities, inviting readers to read beyond literal meaning.

A narrative in which characters, settings and events consistently stand for abstract ideas or moral, political or historical meanings beyond the literal story.

A metaphor developed across several lines, a stanza or an entire text, sustaining a comparison between two things in an elaborate and sustained way.

A figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were another, asserting a resemblance without using words such as like or as.

A comparison between two unlike things introduced by words such as like, as or than, highlighting a shared quality for effect.

A figure of speech attributing human qualities, emotions or actions to non-human things such as objects, animals or natural forces.

The technique of attributing human emotion to natural phenomena, such as weather or landscape, so that setting mirrors or comments on mood and action.

A gap between what is stated or expected and what is actually meant or occurs, creating meaning through contrast, often with critical or humorous effect.

A mode that uses humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticise human vices, institutions or social behaviour, usually with reformist intent.

An imitation of a text, style or genre that exaggerates its conventions for comic or critical effect, drawing attention to the original's features.

The way a text refers to, echoes, quotes or transforms other texts, so that meaning is produced through those relationships and recognised allusions.

An indirect reference to another text, historical event, myth, person or cultural work, relying on the reader's knowledge to complete the meaning.

The persona or perspective from which a story is told, including its tone, values and degree of knowledge, distinct from the author's own voice.

The position from which a narrative is presented, such as first person, third person limited or omniscient, shaping what the reader can know and feel.

The perspective through which narrative information is filtered, determining whose perceptions, thoughts and knowledge the reader is granted access to.

A narrative technique blending third-person narration with a character's thoughts, idiom and attitudes without quotation marks or explicit tags such as 'she thought'.

A narrative mode that attempts to render the continuous, associative flow of a character's thoughts and perceptions, often disrupting conventional syntax and chronology.

A passage presenting a character's inner thoughts directly, as if overheard, allowing readers access to private reflection and associative mental processes.

A dramatic convention in which a character speaks alone on stage, revealing private thoughts and intentions to the audience rather than to other characters.

A situation in drama where the audience knows something a character does not, so their words or actions carry meaning they themselves cannot perceive.

The techniques an author uses to construct and develop characters, including description, dialogue, action, relationships and the responses of other characters.

A character whose qualities contrast with those of another, usually the protagonist, in order to highlight particular traits by comparison.

The central character whose goals, conflicts and development organise the narrative and whose fate most concerns the audience or reader.

The character, force or circumstance that opposes the protagonist and generates central conflict, whether as a person, institution or internal impulse.

The central struggle between opposing forces in a narrative, which may be internal within a character or external between characters, society or environment.

The point of greatest tension or turning point in a narrative where the central conflict reaches its peak and subsequent events are determined.

The concluding phase of a narrative in which the central conflict is settled, tensions are released and the consequences of earlier action become apparent.

The final unravelling of a plot after the climax, in which remaining confusions are clarified and the story's outcome is fully disclosed.

The time, place and social environment in which a narrative occurs, shaping atmosphere, character behaviour and the values the text explores.

The prevailing emotional mood or feeling created by a text's language, imagery and setting, influencing how readers respond to events and characters.

The attitude or stance a text's speaker or narrator adopts towards its subject and audience, conveyed through diction, syntax and imagery.

The writer's choice of words and phrasing, including register, formality and precision, which shapes voice, tone and the reader's response.

The variety of language suited to a particular purpose, audience or social situation, ranging from formal and literary to colloquial or specialised usage.

The arrangement and ordering of words and sentences in a text, including sentence length, clause structure and punctuation, which creates emphasis and rhythm.