British Literature Vocabulary

Unit 1

ecclesiastical

• Having to do with the church

precept

• Commandment or direction meant as a rule of action or conduct

temporal

• Lasting only for a short time, limited; of this world, not spiritual

adversity

• Misfortune, trouble

diligently

• With great care and attention

efficacious

• Effective, producing the desired result

agency

• Force or power

secular

• Of the world; not sacred

literal

• Word for word, true to the actual or original meaning

allegory

• A work in which each element symbolizes, or represent, something else

caesura

• Major pause, or breath place, in a line of poetry

alliteration

• Repetition of initial consonant sounds • (ex. seven silver swans)

hyperbole

• Deliberate exaggeration for effect

metaphor

• Comparison in which one thing is said to be another (ex. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!)

simile

• Comparison using like or as• (ex. My love is like a red, red rose.)

tribute

• Regular payment of money or goods made by one ruler or nation to another in acknowledgement of servitude or for protection from invasion.

spoils

• Arms, goods, or money taken from a defeated foe

brood

• Offspring or a family of offspring of animals

Purge

• Cleanse or rid of impurities or other undesirable elements

Relish

• Enjoy; like