Key Words and Meanings - Year 10 English

• Term 1 & 2: Macbeth – William Shakespeare.

  Equivocation	The use of ambiguous (unclear) language to confuse or trick.
  Divine Right of Kings	The doctrine that kings derive their authority from God not their subjects, from which it follows that rebellion is the worst of political crimes.
  Tyranny	Cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control.
  Kingship	The state or position of being a king.
  Betrayal	The act of revealing something about someone which endangers them, or deceiving them in a deliberately deceptive manner. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth can be accused of betrayal.
  Guilt	Feeling of shame or regret as a result of poor conduct.
  Blank Verse	Non rhyming verse in iambic pentameter.
  Iambic Pentameter	A line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.
  Violence	Behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. Also strongly connected to war and conflict.
  Patriarchal Society	Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. In some patriarchal societies property and title are inherited only by male lineage.
  Witchcraft	The practice of magic, especially black magic; the use of spells. The witches are important to steering the plot.
  Supernatural	A manifestation or event attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. Closely linked to ghosts and witchcraft.
  Ambition	A strong desire to do or achieve something, also associated with success. This can be linked to desire to socially climb.
  Madness	A state of mind where chaos takes over, and a character is no longer able to make sense. Also this can be associated with foolish behaviour. However this is most linked to Lady Macbeth where madness and guilt take hold.
  Deception	The act of deliberately causing someone to believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain.

• Term 1 & 2: Writer’s craft: Language and structure & creative writing.

  Inclusive pronouns	Using pronouns such as you / your, we / us / our to engage an audience.
  Standalone paragraph	A one sentence paragraph - normally used for emphasis.
  Credible / expert opinions	Including statements / quotations from experts or others, to make your writing / arguments seem more believable.
  Tone	Formal or less formal? Serious or humorous? Factual or full of opinions? Balanced or biased?
  Motif / extended metaphor	Motif is a literary technique that consists of a repeated element that has symbolic significance to a literary work. Sometimes, a motif is a recurring image. Other times, it's a repeated word, phrase, or topic expressed in language.
  Imagery	Creating a picture for the reader using words.
  Connotations	Ideas or emotions associated with a word / idea / image e.g. red may have connotations of danger or romance.
  Language technique	The techniques writers use to make their work more powerful, specifically the words they use e.g. metaphor, simile, hopeful imagery.
  Structural technique	The techniques writers use to make their work more powerful, specifically how they order their ideas and sentences e.g. short sentences for impact, mysterious opening, ellipses.
  Flashback	When a story does not run in chronological order, instead going back to focus on an event from the past.
  Cyclical narrative	A story that starts and ends with the same / very similar ideas or words.
  Literary devices	The techniques or "tools" writers use to make their words powerful. E.G. Metaphor, simile, rhetorical questions.
  Tone	Formal or less formal? Serious or humorous? Factual or full of opinions? Balanced or biased?
  Purpose	Why has the author written this? What are they trying to achieve? E.G. Persuade, entertain etc.
  Audience	Who has this been written for? Older people? Younger people? People with an interest is something?

• Term 3 & 4: An Inspector Calls - J.B Priestley // Boys Don’t Cry – Malorie Blackman.

  Dual heritage	A person from two or more cultural or ethnic backgrounds.
  Prejudice	A preconceived (already held) opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience, normally a negative opinion against a specific group or culture.
  Foreshadowing	Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter, and it helps the reader develop expectations about the upcoming events.
  Dual perspective narrative	A narrative (story) told from two different viewpoints e.g. a third person narrator and from a character's perspective.
  Civilisation	A group of people living together, with an agreed set of rules and morals.
  Motif / extended metaphor	Motif is a literary technique that consists of a repeated element that has symbolic significance to a literary work. Sometimes, a motif is a recurring image. Other times, it's a repeated word, phrase, or topic expressed in language.
  Literary allusion	Ideas, characters, imagery etc. referencing another famous book, poem, play etc.
  Authorial voice	A character or narrator voicing an author or poet's own personal opinions.
  To dehumanise	To treat / think of someone as if they are no longer a person
  Authorial intent	The aim that a writer is trying to achieve e.g. to persuade their audience to take a certain action, to point out a particular issue.

• Term 3 & 4: Writer’s craft: Evaluation & transactional writing.

  Inclusive pronouns	Using pronouns such as you / your, we / us / our to engage an audience.
  Ironic / irony	Express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning, usually for humorous effect / to emphasise an idea.
  Standalone paragraph	A one sentence paragraph - normally used for emphasis.
  Credible / expert opinions	Including statements / quotations from experts or others, to make your writing / arguments seem more believable.
  Imagery	Creating a picture for the reader using words.
  Terminology	Specific words used with a particular technical application in a subject of study, profession, etc.
  Generic convention	Rules for different genres (types) of texts. E.G. Newspaper articles start with a headline.
  Passive voice	Passive voice is a verb form that creates a sense of indirect action in a sentence, leading with the object, and often conceals the subject of a sentence. E.G. active voice = I broke the vase, passive voice = the vase was broken.
  Sub-header	An additional headline or title that comes immediately after the main headline or title or a title given to one of the parts or divisions of a piece of writing.
  Headline	A heading at the top of an article or page in a newspaper or magazine.
  Connotations	Ideas or emotions associated with a word / idea / image e.g. red may have connotations of danger or romance.
  Direct address	Speaking directly to your audience: "Have you ever...?" "It is our responsibility, all of us..."
  Literary devices	The techniques or "tools" writers use to make their words powerful. E.G. Metaphor, simile, rhetorical questions.
  Audience	Who has this been written for? Older people? Younger people? People with an interest is something?
  Generic convention	Rules for different genres (types) of texts. E.G. Newspaper articles start with a headline.
  Whole text structure	Thinking about the "ingredients" and order of a piece of writing as a whole. Why is it put together specifically like this?
  Tone	Formal or less formal? Serious or humorous? Factual or full of opinions? Balanced or biased?
  Purpose	Why has the author written this? What are they trying to achieve? E.G. Persuade, entertain etc.
  Audience	Who has this been written for? Older people? Younger people? People with an interest is something?
  Theme	A repeated idea throughout a story.
  Setting	The location and situation of a story. When and where is it taking place, and what is happening at that time?

• Term 5: Comparison skills & revision for end of year assessment.

  Similarity	A point of comparison, a likeness across two or more things.
  Contrast	A difference between people or things that are being compared
  Synthesis (to synthesise)	The combination of components or elements to form a connected whole.
  Headline	A heading at the top of an article or page in a newspaper or magazine.
  Sub-header	An additional headline or title that comes immediately after the main headline or title or a title given to one of the parts or divisions of a piece of writing.
  Language technique	The techniques writers use to make their work more powerful, specifically the words they use e.g. metaphor, simile, hopeful imagery.
  Structural technique	The techniques writers use to make their work more powerful, specifically how they order their ideas and sentences e.g. short sentences for impact, mysterious opening, ellipses.
  Credible / expert opinions	Including statements / quotations from experts or others, to make your writing / arguments seem more believable.
  Generic convention	Rules for different genres (types) of texts. E.G. Newspaper articles start with a headline.
  Terminology	Specific words used with a particular technical application in a subject of study, profession, etc.
  Standalone paragraph	A one sentence paragraph - normally used for emphasis.
  Authorial intent	The aim that a writer is trying to achieve e.g. to persuade their audience to take a certain action, to point out a particular issue.

• Term 6: Anthology Poetry & Spoken Language Endorsement.

  Dramatic monologue	Writing a poem to tell a story from the perspecive or viewpoint of a specific character or historical figure.
  Authorial voice	A character or narrator voicing an author or poet's own personal opinions.
  Literary allusion	Ideas, characters, imagery etc. referencing another famous book, poem, play etc.
  Dual heritage	A person from two or more cultural or ethnic backgrounds.
  Romanticism	A literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the 18th century. Often focussed on autobiographical material, thoughts and feelings, common human values, and an appreciation of nature.
  Motif / extended metaphor	Motif is a literary technique that consists of a repeated element that has symbolic significance to a literary work. Sometimes, a motif is a recurring image. Other times, it's a repeated word, phrase, or topic expressed in language.
  Dual perspective narrative	A narrative (story) told from two different viewpoints e.g. a third person narrator and from a character's perspective.
  Sonnet	A sonnet (pronounced son-it) is a fourteen line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme. Often, sonnets use iambic pentameter: five sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables for a ten-syllable line.
  Rhythm	The measured flow of words and phrases in verse or prose as determined by the relation of long and short or stressed and unstressed syllables.
  Imagery	Creating a picture for the reader using words.
  Poetic persona	A poet takes on a poetic persona, when they write from the point of view of a character or someone other than themselves.
  Stanza	A stanza is a grouped set of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation, on a related topic. A "poetry paragraph".
  Rhyme scheme	A rhyme scheme is the pattern of sounds that repeats at the end of a line or stanza. E.G. regular rhyme? Alternating lines or rhyming couplets?
  Autobiography	Writing a text telling the story of your OWN life, from your point of view.
  Ballad	A popular narrative ("story") song passed down orally ("speaking / singing"). In the English tradition, it usually follows a form of rhymed (abcb) quatrains (four line stanzas), with the first & third, and second & fourth lines rhyming.
  Tone	Formal or less formal? Serious or humorous? Factual or full of opinions? Balanced or biased?