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Birds are a motif in Macbeth: they often appear and are commented upon by the characters.

Literary Terms 02

Build your literary toolkit for GCSE English. Learn how writers use characterisation, symbolism and motif to shape meaning, then practise explaining effects with clear, concise evidence.

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Fascinating Fact:

Characterisation is how a writer builds people on the page. Actions and dialogue reveal traits fast.

In GCSE English, precise literary terms help you analyse how texts work. Use vocabulary like characterisation, symbolism, and motif to explain effects, and support your points with short, relevant quotations.

Key Terms

Characterisation: The methods a writer uses to create a character, such as actions, dialogue, thoughts, and description.
Symbolism: When an object, image, or action represents a bigger idea or theme in the text.
Motif: A recurring image or idea that repeats through a text and helps develop its themes.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is characterisation in literature?

Characterisation is how writers present characters through actions, dialogue, thoughts, and description so readers infer traits and motivations.

How is a motif different from a theme?

A motif is a repeating element, such as an image or phrase. A theme is the bigger message. Motifs help reveal and develop themes.

How do I revise literary terms for GCSE?

Create flashcards with definitions and examples, practise applying terms to short quotations, and link each term’s effect back to the question.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
A true or imaginary account of events; a story.

Fiction

Prose

Narrative

Novel

Fiction is always imagined. Narrative includes true stories, such as autobiography, biography and certain histories, amongst other forms

2 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
Emotional identification with a character.

Empathy

Pathos

Sympathy

Tragedy

Empathy and sympathy are similar. Empathy, however, involves feeling as if you actually were the other person, while sympathy means being able to imagine what it would be like to be the other person

3 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
An idea or emotion associated with a word or phrase.

Parody

Explicit meaning

Reference

Connotation

'Confident' is a fairly neutral term. What are the connotations of two of its synonyms: 'fearless' and 'pushy'?

4 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
Overstating or wildly exaggerating in order to make a point.

Hyperbole

Paradox

Juxtaposition

Irony

5 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
An element, such as a symbol, word, action or object, which occurs repeatedly in a text.

Mood

Motif

Symbol

Tone

Birds, for example, are a motif in Macbeth: they often appear and are commented upon by the characters

6 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
Written language which follows the ordinary rhythms of speech.

Poetry

Song

Fiction

Prose

Prose is contrasted to verse, which uses patterns and rhythmic structure in its lines

7 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
The subgroups into which works of literature are categorised.

Ranks

Genre

Selections

Sets

8 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
Placing two things near one another, usually for contrast.

Introduction

Irony

Paradox

Juxtaposition

9 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
A reference to something outside of the text, such as a historical event, story, idea, or person. Usually left to the reader to understand.

Invention

Illusion

Clue

Allusion

'Allusion' is the noun, while 'allude' is the verb: i.e. 'The phrase "a thousand ships" clearly alludes to Helen of Troy'

10 .

Match the definition to the correct term.
Two seemingly contradictory ideas joined together while somehow both being true.

Contradiction

Paradox

Contraries

Obstacles

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)