English Language & Literature A - Unit 1 Section A: Integrated analysis and Text Production

Question 1

Narrative viewpoint

Answer 1

The perspective or point of view adopted by a writer in order to tell a story.

Question 2

First Person Narrative

Answer 2

A story that is narrated by a character from within the story itself using the pronoun ‘I’

Question 3

Third Person Narrative

Answer 3

A story that is told from a less personal point of view than a first person narrative, such as from the author’s own perspective.

Question 4

First Person Pronoun

Answer 4

These are ‘I’, ‘Me, ‘Myself’. We use these words to stand in place of our name.

Question 5

Irony

Answer 5

A mismatch or discrepancy between what is written or said and what is actually meant. It can be described as the difference between appearance and reality

Question 6

Ironic

Answer 6

The adjective used to describe something that uses Irony.

Question 7

Third Person Pronouns

Answer 7

These are ‘he’, ‘him’, ‘she’, ‘her’, and ‘it’ in the singular form, and ‘they’ or ‘them’ in the plural. They stand in place of nouns and names. They are referred to as third person as they follow the third person ‘I/We’ and the second person ‘you’

Question 8

Omniscient Narrator

Answer 8

A narrator who has a complete overview of the story and can move freely between different characters and scenes, with full knowledge of everything that happens.

Question 9

Restricted Narrator

Answer 9

A narrative who gives only a limited view of the story, usually focusing on the experiences of a single character.

Question 10

Intrusive Narrator

Answer 10

An author who inserts his or her own opinion into the story.

Question 11

Narrative Voice

Answer 11

The tone or style of a narrator’s language, which gives us an impression on the narrators character

Question 12

Lexical Choices

Answer 12

The Vocabulary consciously selected by a writer to create a specific tone or effect

Question 13

Genre

Answer 13

A class or category of text, with its particular conventions of language, form and structure, for example, short story, science fiction novel, Shakespearean Comedy.

Question 14

Semantic Field

Answer 14

A group of words within a text relating to the same topic, e.g tyre, brake pedal, Starter motor and exhaust are all from the semantic Field of cars.

Question 15

Register

Answer 15

A type of language defined in the terms of its appropriateness for the type of activity or context in which the language is used, including the purpose, audience and situation of a piece of speech or writing.

Question 16

Abstract Noun

Answer 16

The name given to a thought, feeling, idea or concept; eg. Happiness, imagination, destiny.

Question 17

Concrete Noun

Answer 17

The name given to a physical object or thing, e.g car, book, sausage.

Question 18

Syntax

Answer 18

The study of the way words are combined to create sentences

Question 19

Simple Sentence

Answer 19

A sentence with only one clause

Question 20

Clause

Answer 20

A Part of a sentence that contains both a subject and a verb. It can stand alone as a sentence as in ‘I bought a book’ (main or independent clause) but it need not to do as in ‘When I went out’ (subordinate or dependant clause)

Question 21

Compound Sentence

Answer 21

A sentence with two or more clauses linked by coordinating conjunctions

Question 22

Coordinating conjunction

Answer 22

words such as ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘or’. which are used to link together independent clauses e.g In the sentence ‘he likes swimming but he hates shopping’ each clause could stand idependently.

Question 23

Complex Sentence

Answer 23

A sentence with two or more clauses linked by subordinating conjunctions.

Question 24

Subordinate Conjunctions

Answer 24

Words such as ‘although’, ‘because’ or ‘unless’ which are used to link a main clause to a subsidiary or dependant one, e.g in the sentence ‘Although it was raining’ is secondary in importance to the main point of the sentence (‘the party was a success’)

Question 25

Imagery

Answer 25

In Literacy terms, imagery refers to the pictures created by a writer’s choice of language, e.g their use of a metaphor or personification

Question 26

Literal Language

Answer 26

Language that conveys meaning according to the explicit, non-figurative sense of words or phrases.

Question 27

Figurative Language

Answer 27

Language that draws an Imaginative comparison between what is described and something else, resulting in a image which cannot literally be true but may enable us to perceive something more vividly or allow us greater insight into the story or character.

Question 28

Simile

Answer 28

A imaginative comparison drawn between two different things, linked with the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, eg. ‘her hands were cold as ice’ or ‘that man was like a bear’.

Question 29

Metaphor

Answer 29

A direct comparison between two different things, as if the subject really is the thing it is being compared to, e.g ‘her hands were ice blocks’ or ‘he was a bear of a man’

Question 30

Personification

Answer 30

A form of metaphor where something that is not human is endowed with human characteristics, e.g ‘the windows stared blankly’

Question 31

Symbolism

Answer 31

A writer’s deliberate use of an object or action to represent an idea or concept beyond its basic meaning. For example, a white dove is just a bird on a literal level, but is often used to signify the idea of peace.

Question 32

Allusion

Answer 32

A reference to another work of literature or source by a writer. The writer may well assume that the reader has some knowledge of the work referred to and will understand the allusion. For example, in the list above David Alric makes an allusion to the story of Icarus when he names the unfortunate pilot Icares

Question 33

Asyndetic List

Answer 33

A form of list in which there’s no conjunction (such as ‘and’ or ‘but’) separating the final two items. This can be used for the rhetorical effect, as in the famous line ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’, or it can give an open-ended feel to the list, perhaps suggesting that there is more which could be added. The opposite to this is a syndetic list such as ‘As the market I bought apples, oranges, pears and bananas’

Question 34

Modifier

Answer 34

A word or phrase which, when added to another word, provides readers with additional detail or greater precision about the sense of that word. Adjectives are typical examples of modifiers. In the phrases ‘the happy boy’ and ‘the blue boy’, the adjectives ‘happy’ and ‘blue’, give us an entirely different impression of the boy. Adverbs are also a form of modifier; if we say ‘he walked slowly’ or ‘he walked quickly’, the meaning has been modified by the choice of adverbs. However many words, not just Adjectives and adverbs, can perform the function of modifier in the right context. For example, in the phrase ‘London Underground’ the name London takes on the job of modifier here, even though it is usually a proper noun.

Question 35

Verbs

Answer 35

Words that describe actions, e.g. ‘to be’, ‘to think’ or ‘to seem’

Question 36

Dynamic Verbs

Answer 36

Verbs that describe physical actions, e.g ‘to jump’

Question 37

Stative Verbs

Answer 37

Verbs that describe states of being and thought processes, e.g ‘to be’, ‘to think’ or ‘to seem’.

Question 38

Paragraphs

Answer 38

Sub-sections of a written text, usually devoted to one main idea or stage in a narrative, comprising at lease one sentence.

Question 39

Ellipsis

Answer 39

The omission of part of a sentence. ‘Hope you get well soon’ is an example of a ellipsis, as the pronoun ‘I’ has been left out. Ellipsis can also be represented by three dots (…) to indicate the missing part of the sentence.

Question 40

Pathetic Fallacy

Answer 40

The literacy technique of representing internal, human states and emotions through the description of external details such as landscape and weather. In this sense ‘pathetic’ means arousing sympathy, in other words the term ‘pathetic’ suggests the landscape is reflecting a characters feelings. The word ‘fallacy’ reminds us that this relationship is deception: inanimate objects cannot truly echo the feelings and emotions of people, even though writers may have us believe otherwise

Question 41

Tragedy

Answer 41

A serious play, often portraying the fortunes and misfortunes of the main character. The central character, or tragic hero, is often of high status; their downfall may results from a particular character flaw, such as Othello’s Jealousy or Macbeth’s ambition.

Question 42

Comedy

Answer 42

A play intended to entertain and amuse the audience, in which the problems encountered by the characters are resolved happily at the end.

Question 43

Comic Relief

Answer 43

A humorous episode included in a tragedy to relieve the emotional tension of the drama, which may also heighten the tension through the shock of the contrast

Question 44

Juxtapose

Answer 44

To place side by side. In literature, writers often Juxtapose ideas to create interesting or surprising effects.

Question 45

Subplot

Answer 45

A set of events that is secondary to the main story of a play but may which may enhance our understanding of the main plot, e.g by mirroring or contrasting with the main events.

Question 46

Climax

Answer 46

The most dramatic moment of a play, also referred to as the crisis

Question 47

Exposition

Answer 47

The opening part of a play, which introduces the main characters and explains the background to the story.

Question 48

Inciting Moment

Answer 48

An event that occurs early on in a play and triggers the rest of the action.

Question 49

Rising Action

Answer 49

The part of the plot of a play in which the action develops towards the climax of the drama.

Question 50

Complications

Answer 50

The problems, dilemmas and conflict encountered by the characters in a play during the rising action of the plot.

Question 51

Conflict

Answer 51

The struggle or tension that is central to the drama and leads to a drama and leading to the close of the play

Question 52

Falling Action

Answer 52

The part of the plot of a play that follows on from the climax, leading to the close of the play

Question 53

Resolution

Answer 53

The part of the play where all the complications of the plot are worked out and a conclusion reached.

Question 54

Denouement

Answer 54

The final resolution of the plot in a play or novel

Question 55

Chronological Order

Answer 55

The sequencing of events in order that they occur n time.

Question 56

Flashback

Answer 56

The technique of shifting from the present to a scene in the past in order to show something of significance that has happened previously.

Question 57

Realism

Answer 57

A style of writing in which life is portrayed in an accurate, realistic manner

Question 58

Hyperbole

Answer 58

An extravagant exaggeration in writing.

Question 59

Synonym

Answer 59

A word that has the same or a similar meaning to another word. e.g ‘smile’ and ‘grin’ are synonyms, as they mean more or less the same thing but carry different connotations.

Question 60

Connotation

Answer 60

The associations and feelings we attach to words on top of their basic meanings, e.g although ‘smile’ and ‘grin’ mean more or less the same thing, the word ‘smile’ has connotations of warmth and friendship whereas the word ‘grin’ may have connotations of falseness or stupidity about it.

Question 61

Soliloquy

Answer 61

A speech delivered by a character who is alone on stage, in which they reveal inner thoughts and feelings aloud to the audience.

Question 62

Monologue

Answer 62

An extended speech delivered by a single character.

Question 63

Aside

Answer 63

A brief line or speech spoken by a character to the audience and unheard by the other characters on stage, in which the speaker reveals the inner thoughts and intentions.

Question 64

Dialogue

Answer 64

Conversation between two or more characters presented in writing.

Question 65

Dramatic Irony

Answer 65

A situation in a drama where the audience is aware of something that some of the characters on stage do not know about

Question 66

Protagonist

Answer 66

The central character in a play.

Question 67

Antagonist

Answer 67

A character who is in opposition to the protagonist, who creates conflict with the main character.

Question 68

Antihero

Answer 68

The main character of a text who lacks the conventional heroic qualities.

Question 69

Stock Character

Answer 69

A one-dimensional stereotypical character, often included to make a point or represent an idea rather than as a realistic portrayal of a person.