What is Subject Terminology in Literature?
Subject terminology is the specific phrasing featured as part of AO2 and means the inclusion of
relevant literary and linguistic terms. These should be included but not at the cost of relevant
and perceptive explanation of the effect of the writer's craft.
In effect therefore it refers to ‘the language of the subject’ and there is absolutely no specific
hierarchy of terminology. Literary terminology is included under the broad umbrella of ‘the
language of the subject’, which can refer to the following literary devices (the list is not
exhaustive):
characterisation (Characterisation is a literary device that is used step-by-step in
literature to highlight and explain the details about a character in a story. It is in the initial stage
in which the writer introduces the character with noticeable emergence. After introducing the
character, the writer often talks about his behaviour; then, as the story progresses, the thought-
processes of the character.)
plot (In a literary work, film, or other narrative, the plot is the sequence of events where each
affects the next one through the principle of cause-and-effect. The causal events of a plot can
be thought of as a series of events linked by the connector "and so". ... Plot is similar in
meaning to the term storyline.)
theme (A literary theme is the main idea or underlying meaning a writer explores in a novel,
short story or other work of literature)
The main themes of Shakespeare’s Macbeth are
ambition, kingship, fate and free will, good versus evil, appearances versus reality
,irony (Irony is a contrast or incongruity between expectations for a situation and what is
reality. This can be the difference between the surface meaning of something that is said and
the underlying meaning. It can also be the difference between what might be expected to
happen and what actually occurs.)
Irony is when a writer lets their reader know something that a character does not. In
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, each young lover takes the poison, thinking the other is
already dead—the dramatic irony comes from the audience wanting them to know the
whole story before taking this final action. Similarly, in Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello trusts
Iago—but the audience knows better.
Dramatic or situational irony involves a contrast between reality and a character’s intention or
ideals. For example, in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, King Oedipus searches for his
father’s murderer, not knowing that he himself is that man.
volta (The volta is most commonly associated with the Sonnet. It is the Italian word for ‘turn’
in a Sonnet, the volta is the turn of thought or argument: in Petrarchan or Italian sonnets it occurs
between the octave and the sestet, and in Shakespearian or English before the final couplet)
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130:
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,
Coral is far more red, than her lips red,
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun:
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head:
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks,
And in some perfumes is there more delight,
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know,
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
, I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet by heaven I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.
The sonnet praises the beloved of the poet who has beautiful eyes, red lips, and rosy cheeks. The whole
sestet and octave continue with the praise of the poet’s beloved. However, the volta comes in the
second last line when Shakespeare says, “And yet by heaven I think my love as rare.” This volta comes at
the end as it shows the poet has taken a turn to show his sincerity instead of showering praise on his
beloved.
caesura (a pause in a line of verse- generally towards the middle; a caesural break creates
various effects, depending upon the way it is used. Sometimes it breaks the monotonous
rhythm of a line and forces readers to focus on the meaning of the phrase preceding the
caesura. In some other cases, it might create a dramatic or ominous effect. Normally, it
happens in the middle of a sentence, or phrase in poetry. It also adds an emotional and
theatrical touch to a line, and helps convey depth of the sentiments)
In many classical meters, caesura was a requirement of certain lines. Latin, Greek, and Anglo-
Saxon poets were required to place caesurae in the middle of certain lines. Beowulf, the
famous Anglo-Saxon epic poem, has a caesura in each of its lines. (Unfortunately, the English
translations don’t preserve these caesurae very well.)
Modern forms are much more flexible than classical forms, so caesurae are no longer required
in poetry. However, they may still be used when a poet wants to break up the rhythm of a
poem. This might have the effect of a dramatic pause between one phrase and the next, or it
might simply be an aesthetic choice. In the simplest cases, a caesura can help provide places for
the reader to breathe.
Alexander Pope’s first major poem, “An Essay on Criticism,” contains one of the most famous
caesurae in all of English literature:
to err is human; || to forgive, divine.
Further examples:
