Total marks: 105 · Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes
Instructions to candidates
- This paper has THREE sections: Section A (Drama), Section B (Poetry) and Section C (Prose Fiction).
- Answer THREE questions: ONE from Section A, ONE from Section B and ONE from Section C.
- Each question is worth 35 marks. Spend about 40 minutes on each answer and use the remaining time to plan and check.
- Questions are set on the texts prescribed for the June 2023 – January 2027 examinations. Answer only on the texts named in the question you choose.
- In the January 2027 sitting this paper is "hybrid": you read the questions on screen and write your answers in the answer booklet.
- Marks are awarded for knowledge of the text, for relevant and accurate illustration, for analysis and argument, and for the organisation and expression of your answer.
Paper
Section A — Drama (35 marks)
Answer ONE question from this section.
Question 1
Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare). Read the extract below carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. That strain again! it had a dying fall: O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odour! Enough; no more: 'Tis not so sweet now as it was before.
(a) Who speaks these lines, and at what point in the play? Briefly explain the situation of the speaker at this moment. (4 marks)
(b) What do these lines reveal about the speaker's attitude to love? Support your answer with close reference to the extract. (6 marks)
(c) Identify TWO literary devices used in the extract and explain the effect of EACH. (8 marks)
(d) "Orsino's love for Olivia is more about himself than about her." With reference to the play as a whole, discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. (17 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 2
Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare)
"Characters who challenge the expectations of their society drive the action of Twelfth Night."
With reference to Viola and ONE other character, discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. In your answer you should:
- explain the expectations each character challenges
- show how their actions shape the events of the play
- discuss the consequences for each character
- evaluate how important each is to the play as a whole. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 3
Anansi (Alistaire Campbell)
"Anansi's cleverness is both admired and condemned."
With close reference to at least TWO episodes in the play, discuss how the playwright presents Anansi as a trickster figure, and whether the audience is invited to admire him, condemn him, or both. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 4
Anansi (Alistaire Campbell)
Discuss how the playwright uses elements of Caribbean folk tradition, such as storytelling, song, movement and Creole speech, both to entertain the audience and to teach it. In your answer, refer closely to specific moments in the play and comment on how they would work on stage. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Section B — Poetry (35 marks)
Answer ONE question from this section.
Question 5
Compare the ways in which death is presented in "Dulce et Decorum Est" (Wilfred Owen) and "Death be Not Proud" (John Donne). In your answer you should:
- explain the attitude to death that each poet challenges
- discuss how each poet uses imagery, sound and structure to present death
- compare the tone of the two poems
- say which poem you find more persuasive, and why. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 6
"Poets use images from the natural world to explore human emotions and experiences."
With reference to TWO poems from the prescribed list, discuss how the poets use images of nature to convey meaning. In your answer you should:
- identify specific examples of nature imagery in each poem
- explain what human emotions or experiences these images represent
- comment on the effectiveness of these images
- compare how the two poets use nature imagery. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Section C — Prose Fiction (35 marks)
Answer ONE question from this section.
Question 7
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Refer to the part of the novel in which the animals begin to notice that the Seven Commandments painted on the barn wall have been changed.
(a) Briefly describe the events that lead the pigs to alter the Commandments. (6 marks)
(b) Explain the part Squealer plays in persuading the other animals to accept the changes. (9 marks)
(c) Show how Orwell uses irony in his presentation of the altered Commandments. (8 marks)
(d) "Animal Farm shows that power corrupts those who hold it." Discuss, with reference to the novel as a whole. (12 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 8
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
"Boxer is the most tragic character in Animal Farm."
Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. In your answer, consider Boxer's qualities, how they are exploited, the manner of his end, and what Orwell suggests through his story. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 9
For the Life of Laetitia (Merle Hodge)
"The settings of For the Life of Laetitia are not merely backdrops; they shape the characters and the events."
Assess the validity of this view. In your answer you should:
- describe the main settings of the novel
- explain how the settings influence Laetitia and at least ONE other character
- discuss how the settings contribute to key events
- evaluate whether the move between settings is central to the novel's meaning. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 10
For the Life of Laetitia (Merle Hodge)
"In For the Life of Laetitia, education brings both opportunity and pain."
Discuss this statement, referring closely to Laetitia's experiences and to those of at least ONE other young character. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 11
Compare the ways in which the relationship between a young person and a family member is presented in "Raymond's Run" (Toni Cade Bambara) and "To Da-duh, in Memoriam" (Paule Marshall). In your answer, consider the narrators, the conflicts between the characters, how each relationship changes, and what each writer suggests about family. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 12
"Many short stories show a young person learning a painful lesson."
With reference to TWO short stories from the prescribed list, discuss how the writers present a young character learning a difficult lesson, and how the lesson is conveyed to the reader. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks