RBSE SS English Literature key terms

The central character whose actions and choices drive a story forward, and with whom the reader is usually invited to sympathise or identify.

The character or force that opposes the protagonist, creating the central conflict of a narrative through resistance, rivalry, or obstruction.

The techniques a writer uses to build a character, including direct description, dialogue, action, and the reactions of other characters.

A character built around a single dominant trait or function who does not develop noticeably, often used to support the main action economically.

A character presented with enough complexity and contradiction to seem lifelike, and who may change or reveal new depths during the story.

The arranged sequence of events in a narrative, linked by cause and effect rather than mere chronology, moving through conflict towards resolution.

The struggle between opposing forces in a story, whether person against person, society, nature, or the self, which generates tension and drives the plot.

The point of greatest tension in a narrative, where the central conflict reaches its peak and the outcome begins to become clear.

The closing stage of a narrative in which loose ends are settled and the consequences of the climax are shown or implied.

The time, place, and social surroundings in which a story unfolds, shaping atmosphere and influencing how characters behave and speak.

The voice that tells a story, distinct from the author, whose knowledge, reliability, and position relative to events shape what readers can know.

The perspective from which a narrative is delivered, such as first person, third-person limited, or third-person omniscient, controlling access to characters' minds.

Telling a story using 'I' or 'we', so that events are filtered through one participant's knowledge, bias, and limited viewpoint.

A narrator who knows everything about the characters and events, moving freely between minds, places, and moments in time.

The central idea or insight about life that a literary work explores, conveyed through repeated patterns of action, image, and character rather than stated outright.

A recurring image, phrase, object, or situation in a literary work that gains meaning through repetition and supports its larger themes.

A gap between what is said or expected and what is actually meant or turns out to be true, producing effects ranging from humour to bitter criticism.

Writing that exposes folly or vice to ridicule, often through irony, exaggeration, or parody, with the aim of provoking reform or critical awareness.

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating vivid mental pictures and often carrying emotional or symbolic weight in a text.

A figure of speech that describes one thing directly in terms of another, without using 'like' or 'as', to reveal an unexpected resemblance.

A comparison between two unlike things introduced by 'like' or 'as', making a resemblance explicit and often vivid.

Giving human qualities, feelings, or actions to non-human things such as objects, animals, or abstract ideas, often to create vividness or emotional force.

The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words, used to create rhythm, emphasis, or a particular mood.

The repetition of similar vowel sounds within nearby words, often used to create musicality or to slow and soften a line.

The use of a word whose sound imitates the thing it names, such as 'buzz' or 'hiss', producing an auditory effect in the reader's mind.

An object, person, or event that stands for something beyond its literal self, carrying a meaning recognised through context and repetition.

The pattern in which end rhymes recur in a poem, usually mapped with letters such as abab or aabb to show which lines rhyme together.

The measured arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse, forming the rhythmic pattern on which a poem moves.

A grouped set of lines in a poem, separated by space from other groups, functioning like a paragraph in verse and often shaping the poem's structure.

A fourteen-line poem in a fixed metre, traditionally following either the Italian pattern of an octave and sestet or the English pattern of three quatrains and a couplet.

A speech in which a character, alone on stage, reveals private thoughts and feelings to the audience rather than to other characters.

A brief remark spoken by a character that the audience is meant to hear but other characters on stage supposedly do not.

A situation in a play where the audience knows more than a character does, so that words and actions carry a meaning the character cannot see.

A drama in which a protagonist of some stature falls from prosperity to suffering, often through a flaw or fateful choice, ending in catastrophe.

A defect of character or judgement in a tragic protagonist that contributes decisively to his or her downfall.

The emotional release of pity and fear that audiences are said to experience at the close of a tragedy, leaving a sense of relief or clarification.

The writer's or speaker's attitude towards the subject and audience, conveyed through word choice, sentence rhythm, and details selected for attention.

A restatement of a passage in one's own words at roughly the same length and level of detail, keeping the original meaning intact.

A condensed account of a text's main points, omitting examples and minor details while preserving the writer's central argument or narrative line.

A tightly controlled summary, usually about one-third of the original length, that follows the order of the source and uses entirely fresh wording.

A letter written in an impersonal, polite register to an official, editor, or institution, following a set layout of address, salutation, body, and closing.

The greeting that opens a letter, such as 'Dear Sir' or 'Dear Madam', whose formality must match the relationship and purpose of the correspondence.

The phrase ending a letter, such as 'Yours faithfully' or 'Yours sincerely', chosen to match the formality of the salutation and the letter's purpose.

A formal letter that states a grievance clearly and factually, describes the inconvenience caused, and requests a specific remedy in a measured tone.