Anthology Poetry You should spend 40 minutes on this question. You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems. AO2 - Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects. (15 marks) AO3 - Explore links and connections between texts. (15 marks) • The response is a cohesive evaluation of the interrelationship of the language, form and structure used by the writer and their effect on the reader. • The response compares and contrasts the poems perceptively with a varied and comprehensive range of similarities and/or differences between the poems. • Discriminating use of relevant examples to support the response. Compare: theme, tone, voice, attitude, character, diction, imagery including figurative language, poetic form/structure including rhythm, line length, enjambement. War Photographer: Cyclical Structure – emphasizes how futile his efforts were. Third person – shows detachment from society, it could be anybody. Free verse poem with 4 stanzas in sestets + ABBCDD rhyme scheme – rigid and regular to represent the control attempted to impose on the chaos of war and the developing routine for the photos. ‘as though this were a church’ + ‘priest’ + ‘intone a mass’ – simile likens him to a priest preparing for Mass, religious imagery demonstrates his work is sacred, showing the holy and peaceful atmosphere, contrasting to the harsh realities of war, though he is isolated we still feel sorry for him as his job is holy, while ‘All flesh is grass’, the Biblical reference to death and the afterlife depresses him. ‘A hundred agonies’ – hyperbole illustrates the vast amount of suffering the photographer sees on his global travels, though the ‘editor will only pick out five or six for Sunday’s supplement’, and sibilance shows it will all be whittled down to a few images for a newspaper, a sense of guilt that the pictures are just for a spectacle, despite all the trauma of the photographer and vast brutalities of war, shows his isolation and he feels disillusioned, powerless and defeated. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night The form of the poem has a very formal, set structure of a villanelle. A villanelle would often have a happy tone but here it is used for more serious reflections. The villanelle’s structure lends itself to somewhat obsessive, relentless treatment of its subject. The use of this formal structure reinforces the intensity of the son’s plea and demonstrates the depth of love he has for his father. ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ and ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light’ – repetition of the imperative sentence shows he is adamant that we should challenge and rebel against death rather than surrender to it although death cannot be avoided, it also desires for life to be fierce, metaphors ‘good night’ and ‘dying of the light’ make the writer’s view ambiguous as euphemisms are used rather than the harshness of the word death. ‘Curse, bless’ – paradox shows his conflicting feelings towards his father’s impending death, death is both a blessing and a curse, the writer is pleading with his father not to die without a fight and this emphasizes the strength of his feelings. Remember: Petrarchan Sonnet with an ABBA ABBA octave and CDD ECE sestet – in the octave, she is concerned with being remembered and in the sestet she is contemplative, contrasting with the octave and this shift in tone is demonstrated by the volta ‘Yet’. Iambic pentameter – control contrasts with the lack of control you have in death. ‘Remember’ – the anaphoric reference and repetition of the negative, sad tone in the title shows they are anxious about being remembered and loved by their lover, this demonstrates their fear of being forgotten when they die, however she later mentions it is better to ‘forget and smile’ than to ‘remember and be sad’ as the oxymoron and shift in tone from ‘forget’ to ‘remember’ and ‘smile’ to ‘sad’ could suggest she doesn’t want his life to stop once she dies, and the tone is reconciliatory. ‘silent land’ and ‘darkness’ – the writer’s view of death is also ambiguous as euphemisms are used rather than the harshness of the word death to lessen the sadness, although ‘silent land’ increases the sadness, as an emphasis is placed on loneliness, ‘silent land’ could also demonstrate a vast boundary between life and death. Prayer Before Birth: Free verse poem written as a dramatic monologue – presented as a powerful incantation highlighting the power of the commands, the stanza shapes are distinctive with an opening plea or imperative followed by a detailed list, which builds in pace as the lines shorten – demands protection from God, two short stanzas perhaps sum up the concerns about society, while the final short line ‘Otherwise kill me.’ shows the strength of the desperate desire to have control of destiny. ‘Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the club-footed ghoul come near me’ – the use alliteration and assonance in the polysyndeton listing ghoulish creatures refers to the evil in the world to emphasise the horrific nightmares and menacing threats the child will face in life, the enjambment makes it a complex sentence which heightens his wishes for his future. ‘forgive me’ + ‘for the sins that in me the world shall commit’ – the imperative tells the reader that the speaker feels that they will also be capable of great sin and committing grave crimes so they are asking forgiveness before being born to demonstrate his innocence, religious language ‘sins’ makes it seem like a prayer, the writer gives a pessimistic view of human nature.

Of Mice and Men You should spend 40 minutes on this question. You must consider the context of the novel in your answer. AO1 - Demonstrate a close knowledge and understanding of texts, maintaining a critical style and presenting an informed personal engagement. (20 marks) AO4 - Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written. (20 marks) • Assured knowledge and understanding of the text. • The response shows assured personal engagement and a perceptive critical style. • Understanding of the relationship between text and context is integrated convincingly into the response. • Discriminating use of relevant examples in support. George First Impression: George's character  and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction. George's physical description could also suggest how he is inside: 'small' suggesting that he just needs small, simple things to be happy and 'quick' suggesting that he is clever and alert. George's 'dark' face suggests that he works outside in the sun, but it could also hint that he has 'dark' moods. His 'restless eyes' could suggest that he is alert and his mood can change quickly. The fact that he was 'defined' means that you can see his features clearly and accurately perhaps suggesting that, unlike Lennie, he also sees the world clearly and accurately. Steinbeck's descriptions of hands often reveal aspects of character. Here, 'small' could suggest George is insignificant in the world but he is also 'strong' and can work. The description suggests that George is physically and mentally strong and agile. Although he is just an ordinary guy, the description suggests that he is clever and determined to survive. Lennie First Impression: Lennie’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction. Lennie is described as ‘huge’, in contrast to George. His size is also emphasized by the fact that he is described after George. ‘Shapeless’ refers to Lennie’s face but it could also imply that he is an unknown quantity and therefore unpredictable. Again, this description emphasizes Lennie’s size but ‘sloping’ and ‘dragging’ also suggests that he is slow, mentally and physically. Lennie is likened to ‘the way a bear drags his paws’. He is big and strong and potentially dangerous. The description of Lennie contrasts to that of George. We get the impression that although he is big and strong, he is not very clever and could be dangerous. People with mental health issues at the time were potentially vulnerable and were viewed as a burden on society. BREAK Lennie is a dreamer, that believes in the American Dream. George’s voice became ‘deeper’ and ‘he repeated his words rhythmically’ when talking to Lennie about the dream. This reveals how important the dream is to Lennie, as he has been told about it many times by George. Lennie wants ‘different colour rabbits’, and the ‘rabbits’ symbolize a simpler, peaceful life, and the varied colours illustrates the freedom which Lennie desires. However, the dream is difficult to come true because of Lennie's mental illness causing him to get into trouble, which seems likely to happen again. Also, they're financial insolvency and social struggles mean they will never get a high pay, especially during the Great Depression. The American Dream is a natural ethos of US in which freedom includes a promise of possibility and success. During America's Great Depression, many people lost their jobs and life savings. Therefore, the concept of dreaming of a better existence became an important part of surviving and persevering. BREAK Lennie is dependent on George. He is aware of this and deeply cares for George. Lennie relies very heavily on the guidance of George, always following his lead. This can be seen through the way the two characters walk, with George ahead and Lennie following from behind as they walk in 'single file'. Lennie also relies on George to get him out of trouble, which is evident when Lennie waits for George to say 'Get 'im Lennie' before retaliating. Although Lennie isn't always able to control himself and therefore often finds himself in trouble, upsetting George is one of his biggest worries. Whenever Lennie does something that he realises is 'bad', his first worry is that George will be 'mad' at him. During the Great Depression, it was very unlikely for two people to be going around together, so Lennie is very lucky to have George for companionship. BREAK Although Lennie has immense physical strength, he can't control it. We can see that he doesn't have the same emotional capacity as others and can lash out. At the beginning, Lennie accidentally kills the mouse he has been petting in his pocket, and he seems to have a history of killing mice: 'you always killed 'em' Lennie also kills the puppy that Slim gives him by playing with it too roughly, telling the pup 'I didn't bounce you hard' Lennie breaks Curley's wife's neck while trying to make her stop screaming, and her body had 'flopped like a fish', showing Lennie's excessive strength. Although Steinbeck presents Lennie as a good-natured character, there are a few times when we see flashes of aggression in his behaviour. For example, Lennie shows aggressiveness towards Crooks as he 'grew mad' and 'walked dangerously', when Crooks suggests George has abandoned him. Though Lennie is physically strong, he is weak mentally which could foreshadow his death in the time when the fittest had the best chance of survival. Curley First Impression: Curley’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction. Curley fills this ‘work glove’ with Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his wife. This could represent a secret side of Curley, perhaps showing his insecurities. He wants to protect his hand like he wants to preserve his image. Curley’s ‘high heeled boots’ show his status as the Boss’ son, but also represent his insecurities, as he is not very tall. Curley comes across as being ‘cold’ and uncaring. ‘Glanced’ could suggest that he feels uneasy, he doesn’t look them in the eye at first. This description shows Curley is aggressive and looking for a fight. ‘Gradually’ suggests his anger builds up slowly and he is unable to control it. Curley is the villain in this novel. He comes across as being unfriendly and aggressive, but he might be like this because he feels he has to prove himself. Candy First Impression: Candy’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction. ‘Tall’ suggests that Candy used to be big and strong like Lennie, but ‘stoop-shouldered’ suggests that he is no longer as fit and able as he used to be. Candy’s clothes are plain and functional as he is ‘dressed in blue jeans’, there is nothing special about the way he looks. This suggests he is just an ordinary man. The ‘broom’ is mentioned twice in this description to emphasise that he is the ‘swamper’ and has to clean up after everyone else. Candy’s lost one of his hands – ‘a round stick-like wrist, but no hand’. This reinforces the idea that Candy is no longer the man he used to be. He can’t do the type of ranch work he used to and has been demoted to cleaning the ranch. Candy represents what will happen to the men on the ranch. He represents the opposite of the American Dream – that instead of working to make their lives better, they’ll work till they can’t work anymore. Ironically, it was his job that left him without his hand. Curley’s Wife First Impression: Her character and personality is immediately revealed in her introduction. ‘Sunshine’ and light can be seen to represent hope. Curley’s Wife blocks the light, and later in the novel, destroys George and Lennie’s hope of having a farm. ‘Wide-spaced eyes’ suggests that Curley’s wife is still young and innocent, while ‘heavily made up’ could suggest that she is trying to hide that innocence and look more mature and sexually attractive. ‘Red’ is repeated and can be seen to represent sexuality and danger. On the ranch, she is seen as being dangerous because she is sexually attractive. In ancient Egyptian mythology, ‘ostrich feathers’ represent truth and justice, so Curley’s wife could be truthful and harmless. Curley’s wife is portrayed as being flirtatious and sexually dangerous. She is the reason that the dream is destroyed. However, she comes across as being quite innocent and naïve later on in the novel, which could also make her dangerous. Slim First Impression: Slim’s character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction. ‘Majesty’ and ‘royalty’ could show he is the leader and compared to a ‘prince’. His ‘ageless’ face means Slim is seen like a God-like figure. He is ‘ageless’ and seems to understand things instinctively. His ‘large and lean’ hands show that he is strong and hardworking. This could also suggest an emotional or spiritual strength. His hands are also ‘delicate’, suggesting he is sensitive and careful. Slim is the leader of the men. He is strong and hardworking but also sensitive and caring. Everyone else seems to look up to him as a God-like figure or ‘prince’. Crooks First Impression: Crooks’ character and personality is immediately revealed in his introduction. Crooks is crippled with his body ‘bent over to the left’. Steinbeck portrays him this way to make the reader feel sorry for him. However, his ‘crooked spine’ could also represent his crooked character as he’s mean to Lennie at first. When it is mentioned ‘his eyes lay deep in his head’, it could show he usually keeps thoughts to himself so his true feelings rarely get the chance to come out. The ‘glitter’ in Crooks’ spine and their ‘intensity’ could suggest that he is very clever, but also that his feelings are extreme because he can’t speak openly. Crooks’ lips are ‘pain tightened’ because he is in physical pain, but this could also show the pain of loneliness and not being able to speak to anyone openly. Crooks represents racial inequality in America but he is not a sympathetic character. He has become bitter and twisted because of his loneliness.

An Inspector Calls Mr Birling: 'heavy-looking, rather portentous man' who is 'rather provincial in his speech': stage direction, adjectives 'provincial' + 'portentous' - middle class, likes his own voice, arrogant, thinks he is more important, shows social class (older, upper class generation) 'unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable': adverb 'absolutely' - thinks he knows better, clueless and ignorant, dramatic irony, shows unreliability, makes the audience dislike him and his capitalist views (foolish) 'like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense': simile - criticises socialism, bees work together equally to create something and share a home, helping others is 'nonsense', socialism vs capitalism (dangers of capitalism) 'the famous younger generation' cannot 'even take a joke': mocking language - no change, mocking younger generation, thinks they aren't worthy of having own opinions, lack of responsibility, old vs young generation (unwilling to change or learn from actions) Mrs Birling: 'a rather cold woman and her husband's social superior': stage direction, adjective 'cold' - marriage superior in class, cold-hearted and could suggest mean behaviour, shows social class (cold-hearted + role in the family) 'a girl of that sort': euphemism - prejudiced against lower class, convinced that anyone with less money would try to take money wherever, shows capitalism and weak behaviour of upper class (uncaring upper class) 'Please don't contradict me like that': imperative - in charge, sees children as inferior, tells family how to behave, thinks they aren't worthy of having own opinions, lack of responsibility, old vs young generation and her superiority (role in the family) 'they'll be as amused as we are': pronoun - finds it amusing, nonchalant, does not care, once again refuses to be responsible, no change, has misleading views on young generation, old vs young generation and no responsibility (accepts no blame and doesn't change) Sheila: 'early twenties, very pleased with life and excited': stage direction, adjective 'pleased' - young and happy, looks forward to engagement, shows young generation attitudes to the future (beginning) 'these girls aren't cheap labour': euphemism in the declarative - caring about others, sympathetic, more of a socialist view in a capitalist society, encourages Mr Birling to change, shows Sheila's socialism (growing socialism in a capitalist society + encourages others to change) 'Don't interfere, please father': noun 'father' + imperative - she has become more mature from 'daddy' to 'father', she has changed, contrast from beginning, shows young generation (changing relationship with her family + rising importance of women) 'we drove that girl to committing suicide': pronoun 'we' - she is critical of her family, sympathetic towards Eva, accepting responsibility for herself and family, understands the negative effects of capitalism (hope for future generations + accepts responsibility and learns from actions) Gerald: 'easy, well-bred, young man-about town': stage direction, adjective 'well-bred' - upper class, carefree, looks forward to engagement, could suggest selfishness like upper class, shows his social class (social status) 'You're just the kind of son-in-law I've always wanted': direct address 'you're' - getting along well with Mr Birling, could suggest he is also capitalist, know each other well, shows his capitalism (link to the Birlings + capitalists) 'I didn't feel about her as she felt about me': pronouns - they are separated, blaming Eva, not accepting blame, not taking any responsibility (selfish upper class + remorseless) 'hoax': euphemism - feels Inspector is deceiving them, not taking any blame, knows his actions are wrong but doesn't want to show everyone, lack of responsibility, young generation but selfish so lets the audience down (doesn't change) Eric: 'early twenties, not quite at ease, half-shy, half-assertive': stage direction, adjectives 'half-shy' + 'half-assertive' - shy and uneasy, suggests he's treated like a child, suggests he has secrets and doesn't want to reveal them (beginning + represents cracks in family + treated like a child) 'Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?': probing question - shows socialist views, contrasts with family, old vs young, understanding the needs of other people (socially aware + goes against social norms) 'you killed her': declarative + repetition + harsh verb 'killed' - critical of family, separation, old vs young, accepts responsibility for his mother, emphasis on the brutality (becomes stronger + learns from the experience) 'The girl's still dead, isn't she?': tag question + adverb - criticizing family, sympathetic towards Eva, accepting responsibility for herself and family, understands the negative effects of capitalism (hope for future generations + shows remorse) Inspector: 'impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness': stage direction + nouns - imposing figure as he combines all three, above everyone else, authoritative, seems to be an ordinary police inspector (authoritative) 'And you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant things?': tag question - (hypocrisy + treatment of Eva) 'taught in fire and blood and anguish': emotive language - (consequences of selfish attitudes + message about wars) 'a chain of events': noun 'chain' - (consequences)

Of Mice and Men You should spend 40 minutes on this question. You must consider the context of the novel in your answer. AO1 - Demonstrate a close knowledge and understanding of texts, maintaining a critical style and presenting an informed personal engagement. (20 marks) AO4 - Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written. (20 marks) • Assured knowledge and understanding of the text. • The response shows assured personal engagement and a perceptive critical style. • Understanding of the relationship between text and context is integrated convincingly into the response. • Discriminating use of relevant examples in support. George First Impression: George's personality is immediately revealed in his introduction. George's physical description could also suggest how he is inside: 'small' suggesting that he just needs small, simple things to be happy and 'quick' suggesting that he is clever and alert. George's 'dark' face suggests that he works outside in the sun, but it could also hint that he has 'dark' moods. His 'restless eyes' could suggest that he is alert and his mood can change quickly. The fact that he was 'defined' means that you can see his features clearly and accurately perhaps suggesting that, unlike Lennie, he also sees the world clearly and accurately. Steinbeck's descriptions of hands often reveal aspects of character. Here, 'small' could suggest George is insignificant in the world but he is also 'strong' and can work. The description suggests that George is physically and mentally strong and agile. Although he is just an ordinary guy, the description suggests that he is clever and determined to survive. Lennie First Impression: d