WBCHSE HS Alternative English (ALTE) key terms

The central idea or underlying message a literary work explores, such as love, loss, identity or social injustice, usually revealed through characters, action and imagery rather than stated directly.

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

The main character whose actions and choices drive the narrative and whose fortunes the reader is invited to follow most closely.

The character or force that opposes the protagonist, creating the central conflict of the story, whether a person, society or an inner tendency.

A character built around a single dominant trait or function who does not develop significantly, often used to support the plot or contrast with the main figure.

A complex, fully developed character with multiple traits and the capacity to change, whose behaviour can surprise the reader while remaining believable.

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

The set of choices a writer makes about how a story is told, including point of view, order of events, pacing and the use of flashback or frame narration.

The perspective from which a story is narrated, such as first-person, third-person omniscient or third-person limited, shaping what the reader can know.

The voice that tells a story, who may be a participant in the events or an outside observer, and whose reliability and knowledge affect interpretation.

A scene that interrupts the present action to show an earlier event, giving background that explains a character's motives or the significance of a situation.

A hint or early suggestion of something that will happen later in the story, building expectation and making later developments feel prepared for.

The point of greatest tension or turning point in a narrative, where the central conflict reaches its peak and the outcome becomes inevitable.

The final part of a narrative in which the conflict is settled and the consequences of the climax are shown, sometimes called the denouement.

The time and place in which a narrative unfolds, including social and historical conditions that shape characters' choices and the mood of the work.

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating pictures and sensations in the reader's mind and often carrying emotional or symbolic weight.

A figure of speech that states one thing is another without using 'like' or 'as', transferring qualities to suggest a deeper resemblance.

A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as', used to clarify a description or sharpen an impression through an unexpected likeness.

A figure of speech in which human qualities or actions are given to non-human things, animals or abstract ideas, often to create vivid or emotional effects.

The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words, used to create rhythm, emphasis or a memorable musical effect in verse and prose.

The repetition of similar vowel sounds within nearby words, producing a subtle internal echo that can slow or soften the movement of a line.

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem, usually described with letters such as abab or aabb, which helps organise stanzas and shape the reader's expectations.

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that gives a poem its musical movement, often described in terms of metre and felt as pace or beat.

The regular arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse, such as iambic pentameter, which gives a poem a measurable rhythmic structure.

A group of lines in a poem set off by spacing, functioning like a paragraph and often developing one idea, image or turn in the argument.

The running on of a sentence or phrase from one line of verse to the next without a pause, creating momentum or a sense of unrest.

A deliberate pause or break within a line of verse, often marked by punctuation, used to change pace or give weight to a word or phrase.

An object, person or event that stands for something beyond itself, such as an idea or value, while also retaining its literal meaning in the work.

A recurring image, phrase or idea that appears throughout a work and reinforces its themes by accumulating meaning with each repetition.

A gap between what is said or expected and what is actually meant or happens, used to expose contradiction, create humour or sharpen criticism.

The writer's attitude towards the subject or reader, conveyed through word choice and detail, and often described with words such as bitter, wry or reverent.

The emotional atmosphere a text creates in the reader, produced by setting, imagery and rhythm, and distinct from the writer's own attitude.

The overall feeling or emotional climate of a scene or work, built from descriptive details, setting and diction, and shaping how events are received.

A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text rather than stated directly, requiring the reader to connect details and read between the lines.

The central point a passage communicates, which the supporting details explain or illustrate and which a good summary should capture.

The sentence, usually near the start of a paragraph, that states its controlling idea and signals what the rest of the paragraph will develop.

The quality of a piece of writing in which ideas are logically connected and flow smoothly, achieved through clear organisation and linking devices.

The linking of sentences and paragraphs through reference words, conjunctions and repeated key terms, so that the text holds together as a unit.

A word or phrase such as 'however', 'therefore' or 'in contrast' that signals the relationship between ideas and guides the reader through an argument.

Information in the surrounding words or sentences that helps a reader work out the meaning of an unfamiliar word without consulting a dictionary.

The habitual pairing of words that native users expect together, such as 'make a decision' rather than 'do a decision', affecting naturalness of expression.

The level of formality in language suited to a particular situation and audience, ranging from informal conversation to formal report or official letter.

A question that quotes a line or phrase from a prescribed text and asks candidates to identify the speaker, situation and significance of the extract.