Recall — GCSE Flashcards
📖 GCSE English Literature Flashcards
Key texts, characters and themes — 10 free revision cards. Study them below, or add the whole deck to Recall and let FSRS spaced repetition schedule your revision so it actually sticks.
Who wrote Macbeth, and what genre is it?
Written by William Shakespeare (c. 1606).
Genre: Tragedy. Themes: ambition, guilt, the supernatural, fate vs free will.
Genre: Tragedy. Themes: ambition, guilt, the supernatural, fate vs free will.
Who is Lady Macbeth and what is her role?
Macbeth's wife. She persuades him to murder Duncan to seize the throne.
Later consumed by guilt — sleepwalks, washes imaginary blood ("Out, damned spot!") and dies offstage.
Later consumed by guilt — sleepwalks, washes imaginary blood ("Out, damned spot!") and dies offstage.
What is the central theme of A Christmas Carol by Dickens?
Redemption and social responsibility.
Scrooge's transformation critiques Victorian attitudes towards poverty (Malthusian "surplus population").
Scrooge's transformation critiques Victorian attitudes towards poverty (Malthusian "surplus population").
Name the three spirits that visit Scrooge.
1. Ghost of Christmas Past — childhood, lost love (Belle)
2. Ghost of Christmas Present — Cratchits, Ignorance & Want
3. Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come — Scrooge's death
(Preceded by Jacob Marley's ghost.)
2. Ghost of Christmas Present — Cratchits, Ignorance & Want
3. Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come — Scrooge's death
(Preceded by Jacob Marley's ghost.)
Who wrote An Inspector Calls and what is its political message?
Written by J. B. Priestley (1945, set in 1912).
A socialist critique of capitalism. The Inspector's message: "We are members of one body" — we are responsible for each other.
A socialist critique of capitalism. The Inspector's message: "We are members of one body" — we are responsible for each other.
What is dramatic irony? Give an Inspector Calls example.
When the audience knows something the characters don't.
Example: Birling calls the Titanic "unsinkable" and dismisses war in 1912 — the audience (post-WWII) knows both predictions were wrong.
Example: Birling calls the Titanic "unsinkable" and dismisses war in 1912 — the audience (post-WWII) knows both predictions were wrong.
What does the green light symbolise in The Great Gatsby?
Gatsby's hopes and dreams — specifically his idealised love for Daisy and the unreachable American Dream.
It is across the bay at Daisy's house: visible but always distant.
It is across the bay at Daisy's house: visible but always distant.
In Romeo and Juliet, what is the prologue's key phrase?
"A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life."
This introduces fate as a major theme — the audience knows the ending from the start, making everything dramatic irony.
This introduces fate as a major theme — the audience knows the ending from the start, making everything dramatic irony.
What is an iambic pentameter?
A line of verse with 10 syllables in 5 pairs (feet), each unstressed-stressed (da-DUM).
Example (Shakespeare): "Shall I / compare / thee to / a sum / mer's day?"
Example (Shakespeare): "Shall I / compare / thee to / a sum / mer's day?"
What is a soliloquy?
A character speaking their inner thoughts aloud while alone on stage.
Different from a monologue (which is to other characters). Famous example: Macbeth's "Is this a dagger which I see before me?"
Different from a monologue (which is to other characters). Famous example: Macbeth's "Is this a dagger which I see before me?"
These 10 cards are a free starter deck — a companion for memorising the core facts, not a complete course. In the Recall app you can also paste your own class notes and have AI build decks for the topics your exam board covers.