A-Level Literature in English - Advanced Critical Terminology

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Dramatic Irony

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A theatrical device where the audience possesses knowledge that characters on stage lack, creating tension and engagement. Central to Greek tragedy and Shakespearean drama (e.g., Oedipus Rex, Hamlet). Enables spectators to anticipate outcomes while characters remain oblivious.

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Pathetic Fallacy

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Attribution of human emotions to inanimate nature, particularly weather, to reflect a character's inner state. Term coined by John Ruskin. Frequently employed in Gothic fiction (Wuthering Heights) and Romantic poetry to externalize psychological turmoil.

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Free Indirect Discourse

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A narrative technique blending third-person narration with a character's interior thoughts, removing tagging phrases like 'she thought.' Pioneered by Jane Austen and perfected by Modernists like Virginia Woolf. Creates immediacy and psychological depth while maintaining grammatical third-person distance.

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Mimesis

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Aristotle's concept of art as imitation or representation of reality. Fundamental to classical aesthetic theory, distinguishing poetry from history: poetry deals with universals, history with particulars. Central to understanding realism and naturalism as literary modes.

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Catharsis

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The purgation or purification of emotions (pity and fear) experienced by audiences during tragic drama. Aristotle's term from Poetics describing tragedy's psychological function. Debated whether this refers to emotional release or intellectual clarification.