A Christmas Carol: Key Vocabulary from Staves 1-5

Flashcards focusing on key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things using like or as; used in Stave 1's 'Solitary as an oyster' to describe Scrooge's isolation and hidden potential.

Solitary as an oyster

A simile describing Scrooge's emotional isolation; the oyster's shell suggests hardness and greed, while its pearl hints at potential redemption if opened.

Pearl

Symbol of hidden worth and potential for redemption within Scrooge's hard exterior (the oyster metaphor).

Malthusian viewpoint

Belief influenced by Thomas Malthus that the poor are surplus population; used by Dickens to critique the Poor Law Amendment Act (1834).

Irony

A rhetorical device where outcome or appearance contradicts expectation; used when Scrooge claims to enjoy darkness, which signals his moral decay.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses; seen in 'This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.' in Stave 3.

Allegory

A narrative technique in which abstract ideas (Ignorance and Want) are personified as characters to critique social evils.

Ignorance

Personified lack of education representing social evil; one of the emaciated children in Stave 3.

Want

Personified extreme poverty representing social evil; one of the emaciated children in Stave 3.

Tiny Tim

Symbol of the vulnerable poor; his survival demonstrates the impact of Scrooge's transformation and the consequences of neglect.