INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION

1. Read these instructions carefully before you begin to answer the questions.
2. Do not attempt to read the entire question paper. Consult the table of contents on the next page and mark the numbers of the questions set on texts you have studied this year. Thereafter, read these questions and choose the ones you wish to answer.
3. This question paper consists of THREE sections.
   SECTION A: POETRY (30)
   SECTION B: NOVEL (25)
   SECTION C: DRAMA (25)
4. Answer FIVE questions in all: THREE in SECTION A, ONE in SECTION B and ONE in SECTION C as follows:
   SECTION A: POETRY
   PRESCRIBED POETRY – Answer TWO questions.
   UNSEEN POEM – COMPULSORY question
   
   SECTION B: NOVEL
   Answer ONE question.
   
   SECTION C: DRAMA
   Answer ONE question.
5. CHOICE OF ANSWERS FOR SECTIONS B (NOVEL) AND C (DRAMA):
   Answer questions ONLY on the novel and the drama you have studied.
   • Answer ONE ESSAY QUESTION and ONE CONTEXTUAL QUESTION. If you answer the essay question in SECTION B, you must answer the contextual question in SECTION C.
   • If you answer the contextual question in SECTION B, you must answer the essay question in SECTION C.
     Use the checklist to assist you.
6. LENGTH OF ANSWERS:
   • The essay question on Poetry should be answered in about 250–300 words.
   • Essay questions on the Novel and Drama sections should be answered in 400–450 words.
   • The length of answers to contextual questions should be determined by the mark allocation. Candidates should aim for conciseness and relevance.
7. Follow the instructions at the beginning of each section carefully.
8. Number your answers correctly according to the numbering system used in this question paper.
9. Start EACH section on a NEW page.
10. Suggested time management:
    SECTION A: approximately 40 minutes
    SECTION B: approximately 55 minutes
    SECTION C: approximately 55 minutes
11. Write neatly and legibly.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

*NOTE: In sections B and C, answer ONE ESSAY QUESTION and ONE CONTEXTUAL question. If you answer an essay question from SECTION B, you must answer a contextual question from SECTION C. If you answer a contextual question from SECTION B, you must answer an essay question from SECTION C.

CHECKLIST
Use this checklist to ensure that you have answered the correct number of questions.

NOTE: In SECTIONS B and C, answer ONE ESSAY and ONE CONTEXTUAL question.

QUESTION 1: PRESCRIBED POETRY – ESSAY QUESTION
somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
– ee cummings

1. somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
2. any experience, your eyes have their silence:
3. in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
4. or which i cannot touch because they are too near
   
   
5. your slightest look easily will unclose me
6. though i have closed myself as fingers,
7. you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
8. (touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose
   
   
9. or if you wish to be close to me, i and
10. my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
11. as when the heart of this flower imagines
12. the snow carefully everywhere descending;
    
    
13. nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
14. the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
15. compels me with the colour of its countries,
16. rendering death and forever with each breathing
    
    
17. (i do not know what it is about you that closes
18. and opens; only something in me understands
19. the voice of your eyes is deeper than all the roses)
20. nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

Cummings once commented that ‘love is the mystery-of-mysteries’.
Critically discuss to what extent this view of love is evident in the poem by referring to the paradoxes, imagery and tone.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 250–300 words (1–1½ pages).          [10]
OR

QUESTION 2: PRESCRIBED POETRY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
VULTURES – Chinua Achebe

1. In the greyness
2. and drizzle of one despondent
3. dawn unstirred by harbingers
4. of sunbreak a vulture
5. perching high on broken
6. bones of a dead tree
7. nestled close to his
8. mate his smooth
9. bashed-in head, a pebble
10. on a stem rooted in
11. a dump of gross
12. feathers, inclined affectionately
13. to hers. Yesterday they picked
14. the eyes of a swollen
15. corpse in a water-logged
16. trench and ate the
17. things in its bowel. Full
18. gorged they chose their roost
19. keeping the hollowed remnant
20. in easy range of cold
21. telescopic eyes...
22. Strange
23. indeed how love in other
24. ways so particular
25. will pick a corner
26. in that charnel-house
27. tidy it and coil up there, perhaps
28. even fall asleep ̶ her face
29. turned to the wall!
30. ...Thus the Commandant at Belsen
31. Camp going home for
32. the day with fumes of
33. human roast clinging
34. rebelliously to his hairy
35. nostrils will stop
36. at the wayside sweet-shop
37. and pick up a chocolate
38. for his tender offspring
39. waiting at home for Daddy's
40. return...
41. Praise bounteous
42. providence if you will
43. that grants even an ogre
44. a tiny glow-worm
45. tenderness encapsulated
46. in icy caverns of a cruel
47. heart or else despair
48. for in the very germ
49. of that kindred love is
50. lodged the perpetuity
51. of evil.

2.1 How does the alliteration in line 2 contribute to the atmosphere? (2)
2.2 What does the speaker find ‘Strange’ in line 22? (2)
2.3 Comment on the contrast between the physical description of the Commandant and his interaction with his child. (3)
2.4 Refer to lines 48–51: ‘for in the very germ of that kindred love is lodged the perpetuity of evil’.
Critically comment on the parallel drawn between the vultures and the Commandant at Belsen. (3)
[10]
OR

QUESTION 3: PRESCRIBED POETRY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
A HARD FROST – Cecil Day Lewis

1. A frost came in the night and stole my world
2. And left this changeling for it – a precocious
3. Image of spring, too brilliant to be true:
4. White lilac on the windowpane, each grass-blade
5. Furred like a catkin, maydrift loading the hedge.
6. The elms behind the house are elms no longer
7. But blossomers in crystal, stems of the mist
8. That hangs yet in the valley below, amorphous
9. As the blind tissue whence creation formed.
10. The sun looks out, and the fields blaze with diamonds.
11. Mockery spring, to lend this bridal gear
12. For a few hours to a raw country maid,
13. Then leave her all disconsolate with old fairings
14. Of aconite and snowdrop! No, not here
15. Amid this flounce and filigree of death
16. Is the real transformation scene in progress
17. But deep below where frost
18. Worrying the stiff clods unclenches their
19. Grip on the seed and lets our future breathe.

3.1 Why does the speaker refer to the frost as ‘precocious’ in line 2? (2)
3.2 How is the brilliance of that Winter morning captured in lines 7–10? (2)
3.3 Critically discuss the effect of the image in lines 11–14. Refer to the tone in your response. (3)
3.4 ‘Real transformation’ (line 16) is extraordinary. Critically comment on how this is shown in the poem. (3)
[10]
OR

QUESTION 4: PRESCRIBED POETRY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
AN AFRICAN THUNDERSTORM – David Rubadiri

1. From the west
2. Clouds come hurrying with the wind
3. Turning
4. Sharply
5. Here and there
6. Like a plague of locusts
7. Whirling
8. Tossing up things on its tail
9. Like a madman chasing nothing.
10. Pregnant clouds
11. Ride stately on its back
12. Gathering to perch on hills
13. Like dark sinister wings;
14. The Wind whistles by
15. And trees bend to let it pass.
16. In the village
17. Screams of delighted children
18. Toss and turn
19. In the din of the whirling wind,
20. Women –
21. Babies clinging on their backs –
22. Dart about
23. In and out
24. Madly
25. The Wind whistles by
26. Whilst trees bend to let it pass.
27. Clothes wave like tattered flags
28. Flying off
29. To expose dangling breasts
30. As jagged blinding flashes
31. Rumble, tremble, and crack
32. Amidst the smell of fired smoke
33. and the pelting march of the storm.

4.1 How does the simile in line 6 contribute to your understanding of the poem?(2)
4.2 Explain the use of the capital letter in the following line: ‘The Wind whistles by’ (lines 14 and 25).(2)
4.3 Critically discuss how the use of the short lines convey the effect of the wind. (3)
4.4 The approaching thunderstorm with the promise of rain should be considered a blessing in African society. Critically comment on how this idea is subverted in the poem. Refer to the tone in your response. (3)
[10]
AND

UNSEEN POETRY: The following question is compulsory.
QUESTION 5: UNSEEN POETRY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
a teaching fantasy ̶ Margaret Hatcher

1. I teach.
2. Ideas and words are my business.
3. I toss them into the air
4. and watch them float
5. softly
6. as autumn leaves
7. (though with much less color
8. and grace)
9. They float around your heads.
10. drift in piles on your desk tops.
11. glide along your sleeves
12. and whisper ̶ dance
13. around your ears.
14. Someday
15. one may catch your attention
16. and inspire you with its colour ̶
17. at least for a season

5.1 Explain the comparison used in the stanza 1. (2)
5.2 Suggest how the structure of the poem is appropriate to the season of autumn. (2)
5.3 Refer to stanza 2. Explain critically how the diction reveals the speaker’s attitude. (3)
5.4 Refer to the last line of the poem and comment on its appropriateness in the context of the poem. Consider the tone in your response. (3)
[10]
TOTAL SECTION A: 30

SECTION B: NOVEL
Answer ONLY on the novel you have studied.
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – Oscar Wilde
Answer EITHER QUESTION 6 (essay question) OR QUESTION 7 (contextual question).
QUESTION 6: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – ESSAY QUESTION
In his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde explores how the relentless pursuit of youth and pleasure becomes a destructive power.
In a carefully planned essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages) in length, critically discuss to what extent you would agree with this statement.   [25]
OR
QUESTION 7: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT A

7.1 Briefly explain the circumstances of the meeting between Lord Henry and Dorian Gray. (3)
7.2 Refer to line 4: ‘They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever’.
To what extent does Lord Henry’s attitude to women revealed here influence Dorian’s relationship with Sibyl Vane? (3)
7.3 ‘… he murmured, flushing at his own boldness …’ (lines 8–9) Critically comment on what these lines reveal about Dorian’s attitude towards Lord Henry at this stage. (3)
7.4 Refer to lines 21–22: ‘It was certainly a wonderful work of art, and a wonderful likeness as well’. Comment on the irony of Lord Henry’s observation in the light of later events. (3)

AND
EXTRACT B

7.5 How do the images in lines 1–5 reflect Dorian’s state of mind at this stage of the novel? (3)
7.6 ‘His soul, certainly was sick to death’ (line 7). Comment on the appropriateness of this utterance in the context of the novel as a whole. (3)
7.7 Refer to lines 12–13: ‘… what right had Basil to have spoken to him as he had done?’ Explain whether Dorian’s indignation here is justified. (3)
7.8 Critically discuss how Basil’s exclamation in Extract A: ‘It is quite finished’ (line 18) could be considered prophetic of the journey Dorian takes in Extract B.  (4)
[25]
OR

LIFE OF PI – YANN MARTEL
Answer EITHER QUESTION 8 (essay question) OR QUESTION 9 (contextual question).
QUESTION 8: LIFE OF PI – ESSAY QUESTION
Life of Pi challenges the reader to embrace ‘a better story’ and sacrifice ‘dry, yeastless factuality’.
In a carefully planned essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages) in length, discuss to what extent you would agree with this statement with close reference to the novel.            [25]
OR
QUESTION 9: LIFE OF PI – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT C

9.1 What has sparked ‘a new beginning’ (line 1) for Piscine? (3)
9.2 Pi states that ‘Repetition is important in the training not only of animals but also of humans’ (lines 2–3). How does this knowledge ensure his survival while at sea? (3)
9.3 Consider the exchange between Pi and his brother Ravi (lines 11–16). Comment on Ravi’s change in attitude towards his brother. (3)
9.4 Critically comment on Pi’s observation that he found ‘refuge’ in an ‘irrational number’ (lines 17–19). Refer to later events in the novel in your response. (3)
AND

EXTRACT D

9.5 Discuss the ‘irony’ (line 1) that Pi refers to here. (3)
9.6 Explain how Richard Parker had acquired his name and how this could establish a connection between the tiger and Pi. (3)
9.7 Comment on the significance of the ‘hyena’ (line 8) in the context of the novel as a whole. (3)
9.8 In Extract C, Pi uses the analogy of a choir to describe an event while in Extract D he introduces the reader to the ‘prusten’ sound. How do these sound analogies contribute to the mood in each of these extracts? (4)
[25]
TOTAL SECTION B: 25

SECTION C: DRAMA
Answer ONLY on the drama you have studied.
OTHELLO – WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Answer EITHER QUESTION 10 (essay question) OR QUESTION 11 (contextual question).
QUESTION 10: OTHELLO – ESSAY QUESTION
Iago describes Othello as having ‘… a free and open nature, that thinks men honest that seems to be so, And will as tenderly be led by th’nose As asses are’.
In a carefully planned essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages) in length, discuss to what extent Iago’s observation leads to Othello’s demise. [25]
OR
QUESTION 11: OTHELLO – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT E

11.1 Place this extract in context. (3)
11.2 Comment on the appropriateness of the image that Iago uses in lines 9-10: ‘O, you are well tuned now, But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music’. (3)
11.3 Refer to lines 26–27: ‘… base men being in love have then a nobility in their natures more than is native to them’. How is Iago’s attitude to Othello shown in this line? Refer to diction in your response. (3)
11.4 Describe the relationship between Roderigo and Iago. (3)
AND

EXTRACT F

11.5 What is the dramatic effect of Othello entering with a light at the start of this scene? (3)
11.6 In line 1 Othello refers to ‘the cause’. How does this contribute to how Othello portrays himself as a figure of Justice as he prepares to take Desdemona’s life? (3)
11.7 Refer to line 26: ‘Have you prayed tonight, Desdemona?’
If you were the director of a production of Othello, how would you instruct the actor to deliver these lines? Pay special attention to body language and tone. Motivate your instructions. (3)
11.8 Refer to both Extracts E and F: Critically discuss the change in Othello’s attitude towards Desdemona. (4)
[25]
OR

HAMLET – WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Answer EITHER QUESTION 12 (essay question) OR QUESTION 13 (contextual question).
QUESTION 12: HAMLET – ESSAY QUESTION
Hamlet is no ‘sweet prince’. In pursuit of his revenge he becomes increasingly ruthless, callous and cruel.
In a carefully planned essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages) in length, discuss to what extent you would agree with this assessment of Hamlet’s character.
[25]
OR
QUESTION 13: HAMLET – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION

EXTRACT G

13.1 Refer to the stage instructions ‘A flourish of trumpets. Enter CLAUDIUS, GERTRUDE, ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN with others’ at the start of the extract. What impression of King Claudius and his kingdom is created with this instruction? (3)
13.2 Refer to line 5: Explain how Hamlet has been ‘transformed’. (3)
13.3 Why does Claudius feel compelled to ‘remedy’ (line 18) Hamlet’s strange disposition? (3)
13.4 To what extent is Gertrude’s concern shown here sincere? Comment by referring to the drama as a whole. (3)
AND

EXTRACT H

13.5 Place this extract in context. (3)
13.6 Consider Polonius’ aside in line 22. How is this typical of his character? (3)
13.7 Refer to line 23: ‘Lady, shall I lie in your lap?’
If you were the director of a production of Hamlet, how would you instruct the actor to deliver these lines? Pay special attention to body language and tone. Motivate your instructions.  (3)
13.8 Refer to both Extracts G and H. Critically comment on how friendship and loyalty are contrasted in each of the extracts.  (4)
[25]
OR

THE CRUCIBLE – ARTHUR MILLER
Answer EITHER QUESTION 14 (essay question) OR QUESTION 15 (contextual question).
QUESTION 14: THE CRUCIBLE – ESSAY QUESTION
John Proctor may have found his ‘goodness’ in the end but he must take responsibility for the conflict and destruction in Salem.
In a carefully planned essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages) in length, discuss to what extent you would agree with this statement.   [25]

OR
QUESTION 15: THE CRUCIBLE – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT I

15.1 Comment on the stage direction in line 4: ‘holding back a full condemnation of her’.  (3)
15.2 Account for Mary Warren’s change in attitude towards her employers. (3)
15.3 Refer to lines 24–26 (‘and where she walks … in jail for bewitchin’): Comment on the appropriateness of the image used to describe Abigail’s character. (3)
15.4 Consider Elizabeth’s suggestion to Proctor that he should ‘tell them it is a fraud’ (line 29). How does this not have the intended outcome? (3)

AND

EXTRACT J

15.5 What is the dramatic impact of Hathorne’s utterance, ‘The sun is soon up’ (line 1)? (3)
15.6 Explain the irony in Hathorne’s excitement at Proctor’s willingness to confess. (3)
15.7 Refer to lines 18–19: ’Do as you will, do as you will!’
If you were the director of a production of The Crucible, how would you instruct the actress to deliver these lines? Pay specific attention to body language and tone. Motivate your instructions.  (3)
15.8 Refer to both Extracts I and J: How is Elizabeth’s character presented in each of these extracts?  (4)

[25]
TOTAL SECTION C: 25
GRAND TOTAL: 80