Kerala Plus Two English (DHSE) key terms

The mental process of extracting and constructing meaning from a written passage, including identifying main ideas, supporting details, and the writer's purpose.

A conclusion drawn from evidence in a passage rather than stated directly; the reader combines clues with prior knowledge to reach it.

The central point a paragraph or passage is built around; every other sentence supports, illustrates, or qualifies it.

A sentence, usually at the start of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's controlling idea and directs what follows.

Reading quickly for gist by glancing at headings, first sentences, and key words, without attending to every detail.

Moving the eyes rapidly over a text to locate a specific fact, name, date, or number without reading surrounding material closely.

The writer's attitude towards the subject or reader, conveyed through word choice and sentence structure, for example ironic, nostalgic, or indignant.

The emotional atmosphere a text creates in the reader, distinct from the writer's own attitude, though the two often reinforce each other.

A meaning suggested but not openly stated, which the reader must infer from context, emphasis, or deliberate omission.

A condensed restatement of a text's essential points in the writer's own words, omitting examples and repetition while preserving proportion.

Rewording a passage's content in different language while keeping its full meaning, often used to demonstrate understanding or to avoid direct quotation.

Descriptive language appealing to the senses, especially visual and tactile detail, that builds concrete pictures and shapes emotional response.

A figure of speech stating that one thing is another, transferring qualities without using 'like' or 'as', as in 'the classroom was a cage'.

A comparison introduced by 'like' or 'as', which highlights a resemblance between two otherwise unlike things.

Attributing human qualities, feelings, or actions to non-human things, such as wind that whispers or a road that waits.

Repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words, used to create rhythm, emphasis, or a memorable phrase.

Repetition of similar vowel sounds within nearby words, producing a subtle musical echo rather than a hard consonant beat.

The running on of a sentence past the end of a line without punctuation, so that the verse line and the grammatical unit do not coincide.

A marked pause within a line of verse, often created by punctuation or syntax, that breaks the flow and adds emphasis or hesitation.

The ordered pattern of end rhymes in a poem, conventionally labelled with letters such as abab or abcb.

A group of lines in a poem set off by spacing, functioning like a paragraph and often shaping a stage in the poem's argument or feeling.

An object, place, or action that carries meaning beyond its literal sense, pointing to an idea the poem explores.

A gap between what is said or expected and what is meant or actually happens, producing critical or comic effect.

Writing that exposes folly or vice to ridicule, using irony, exaggeration, or wit with the aim of correction rather than mere mockery.

The methods a writer uses to build a character, including description, dialogue, action, and the responses of other characters.

The principal character whose fortunes or choices organise the plot and command the audience's main interest.

The character or force that opposes the protagonist and generates the central conflict of a narrative or play.

A character whose contrasting traits throw the protagonist's qualities into sharper relief, often through parallel situations.

A speech in which a character, alone on stage, voices private thoughts aloud, giving the audience direct access to inner conflict.

A situation where the audience knows something a character does not, so the character's words carry a meaning they cannot perceive.

A recurring idea or insight about life that a literary work explores through plot, character, and image, such as ambition or displacement.

A recurring image, phrase, or situation that gains meaning through repetition and quietly reinforces a work's themes.

The struggle between opposing forces in a narrative, whether person against person, society, nature, or the self.

A letter following a fixed layout with sender's address, date, salutation, subject line, body, and closing, written to an official or institution.

A formal letter to a newspaper responding to an issue or published item, combining a clear stand with brief supporting reasons and a call to action.

A factual, structured account of an event or investigation, usually with a heading, reporter's name, and clearly ordered factual paragraphs.

A short public announcement displayed or circulated to inform a specific group about an event, rule, or change, giving essentials in minimal space.

The level of formality suited to an audience and purpose, ranging from formal official prose to informal personal writing.

The linking of sentences and paragraphs through connectors, pronouns, and repeated key words so that a text reads as one continuous whole.

The logical ordering of ideas so that each part follows from the last and the whole text makes sense to a reader.