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.
How will this fadge? my master loves her dearly; And I, poor monster, fond as much on him; And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me. What will become of this? As I am man, My state is desperate for my master's love; As I am woman,—now alas the day!— What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe! O time! thou must untangle this, not I; It is too hard a knot for me to untie!
(a) Who speaks these lines, and what has just happened to prompt them? (4 marks)
(b) Explain the "knot" the speaker describes, identifying the three characters involved and how each feels. (6 marks)
(c) Identify TWO features of the language of the extract and explain how EACH reveals the speaker's state of mind. (8 marks)
(d) "Disguise in Twelfth Night causes pain as well as comedy." 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)
"The subplot of Malvolio's humiliation is the funniest part of Twelfth Night, but also the most disturbing."
Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. In your answer you should:
- explain why Sir Toby, Maria and their companions decide to trick Malvolio
- show how the trick is carried out and how Malvolio reacts
- consider how an audience might respond to his treatment and to his final words
- evaluate how the subplot relates to the main plot of the play. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 3
Anansi (Alistaire Campbell)
"Every trick Anansi plays reveals something about the characters he tricks."
With close reference to at least TWO episodes in the play, discuss how the playwright uses Anansi's deceptions to expose the weaknesses of other characters, such as greed, pride or foolishness. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 4
Anansi (Alistaire Campbell)
You are directing a school production of the play. Choose ONE scene and explain how you would stage it to bring out its humour and its meaning. In your answer, refer to the use of the playing space, movement, voice and Creole speech, costume or mask, and the audience's response. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Section B — Poetry (35 marks)
Answer ONE question from this section.
Question 5
"Sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge" (William Wordsworth). Read the poem below carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty: This City now doth, like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie Open unto the fields, and to the sky; All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. Never did sun more beautifully steep In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! The river glideth at his own sweet will: Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!
(a) What is the situation of the speaker, and what time of day is described? (4 marks)
(b) Explain how the city is made to seem part of the natural world. Support your answer with close reference to the poem. (8 marks)
(c) Identify TWO features of the form or structure of the poem and explain the effect of EACH. (8 marks)
(d) "The poem celebrates the city only because, for a moment, it is not behaving like a city." Discuss this view. (15 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 6
"Poems on the prescribed list show people facing forces far more powerful than themselves."
With reference to "Dulce et Decorum Est" (Wilfred Owen) and "An African Thunderstorm" (David Rubadiri), discuss how each poet presents people confronted by a powerful force. In your answer you should:
- identify the force in each poem and what it may represent
- discuss how each poet uses imagery, movement and sound
- compare how the people in each poem respond
- say which poem conveys its force more effectively, and why. (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 chapters in which the windmill is planned, built, destroyed and rebuilt.
(a) Briefly describe how the idea of the windmill first divides the farm. (6 marks)
(b) Explain how Napoleon and Squealer use the windmill to strengthen Napoleon's power. (9 marks)
(c) Show how the windmill becomes a symbol in the novel. (8 marks)
(d) "The animals' labour on the windmill shows that the revolution has changed nothing for them." Discuss, with reference to the novel as a whole. (12 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 8
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
"In Animal Farm, fear does more than persuasion to keep the animals obedient."
Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. In your answer, consider the role of Napoleon's dogs, the confessions and executions, Squealer's speeches, the sheep, and the threat that Jones will return. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 9
For the Life of Laetitia (Merle Hodge)
"For the Life of Laetitia shows that a young person's family can be both a support and a burden."
Discuss this statement. In your answer you should:
- describe Laetitia's relationships with the family who raised her and with her father's household
- explain how family affects her schooling and her sense of herself
- consider the family situation of at least ONE other young character
- evaluate what the novel finally suggests about family. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 10
For the Life of Laetitia (Merle Hodge)
Discuss how Merle Hodge uses Laetitia's first-person narration to present her experiences. In your answer, consider what the narrative voice allows the reader to understand, the use of Trinidadian speech and the contrast between how Laetitia sees events and how adults see them. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 11
Compare the ways in which "The Two Grandmothers" (Olive Senior) and "Berry" (Langston Hughes) present a young person's place in a world shaped by colour and class. In your answer, consider the main character in each story, the adults around them, the key events, and what each writer wants the reader to recognise. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks
Question 12
"Many short stories end at a moment of change in the main character."
With reference to TWO short stories from the prescribed list, discuss how the writers lead up to that moment of change and how the endings make the change clear to the reader. (35 marks)
Total 35 marks