end of year 7 English Literature Test Revision keywords Flashcards
Genre
A type or category of literature e.g. Gothic
Generic conventions
The features we would normally associate with a particular genre of writing.
Context
The circumstances in which a literary text is written; the social and historical events that influence writers and their readers.
Character
A person who plays a role in a narrative (story).
Plot
The main events that occur in a narrative.
Setting
The time and location of a narrative.
Protagonist
The leading character of a short story, novel or play.
Antagonist
A character in a narrative who is presented as the main enemy and rival of the protagonist.
Archetype
An example of a typical character type e.g. Hero or villain.
Narrative
a story
Narrator
The ‘speaker’ in a narrative; the character telling the story.
Simile
Comparing two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Metaphor
Comparing two things by saying one is the other.
Personification
Giving human qualities (e.g. emotions or actions) to non-living things.
Pathetic fallacy
Using descriptions of the weather to create a specific mood.
Onomatopoeia
Words that re-create the sound of the thing they are describing.
Sensory language
Describing what characters can see, hear, feel, smell and taste.
Flashback
A scene in a narrative that is set in a time earlier that the main events of the story.
Foreshadowing
When the writer drops hints about what will happen later in the story.
Cliffhanger
When the ending of a story is uncertain and the reader is left wondering what will happen.
Cyclical structure
A narrative that follows a circular pattern with an ending that connects back to the beginning (e.g. starts and ends in the same place or with the same events).
Scene
A section of a play which is set in one time or place:)
Dialogue
The words spoken by between characters in a play.
Stage directions
Instructions in a play script that show how actors move and speak on stage. They are also used to describe the set and lighting.
