More Paper 2 Questions (English A: Literature)

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Answer one essay question only. You must base your answer on at least two of the Part 3 works you have studied and compare and contrast these works in response to the question. Answers which are not based on a discussion of at least two Part 3 works will not score high marks.



Drama 

1. Extended speeches by individual characters, either alone on the stage or with others present, are used in plays with various purposes and outcomes. Using at least two plays you have studied, show how playwrights use such speeches to achieve purposes particular to their plays.

2. Plays employ various kinds of structural divisions such as prologues and epilogues, act and scene divisions, even carefully placed intermissions. In at least two plays in your study, discuss how some of these divisions have been used to underscore or complement the materials of the plays.


3. Dramatic tension in many plays arises from the conflicting goals of a protagonist and those of an antagonist. Using at least two plays you have studied, show how such fully apparent or subtle conflicts provide the foundation and interest of the plays.




Poetry

4. Poems are often meant to be heard, not just seen. In the work of two poets you have studied, consider those aspects of the poems that appeal to the ear in addition to other aspects of reader pleasure.

5. The metaphor, based on analogies between things, is a common and expected element of poetry. Show how at least two poets in your study have heightened meaning or interest in their poems by the use of metaphor.

6. Contrasts of many kinds are used by poets to sharpen their expression of ideas or feelings or both. In the work of at least two poets you have studied, explore the ways contrasts have been used to achieve particular effects.




The Novel and Short Story

7. Writers of fiction do not always relate events in the order in which they seem to occur in the worlds of their novels or short stories. Choosing two works by writers you have studied, show how variations of chronological order can be seen to serve the purposes of the stories.

8. Often, the memorable impact of short stories and novels arises from the careful and often brilliant creation of detail by their writers. Using two writers you have studied, explore the role and impact of some significant details in the narratives.

9. Who tells the story is often an essential feature in how far a reader finds a novel or short story credible, but sometimes it seems not to matter at all. Using two works you have studied, say how far the impact of the voice which tells the story is important to the success of the work.




Prose other than Fiction

10. Separating various stages of an autobiography or travel narrative is a challenge for writers in these forms. Choosing two works you have studied, discuss the way the writers have structured their works to make their material clear and interesting to their audiences.


11. Personal history as well as the backdrop of events surrounding that personal history are both significant to many works of prose other than fiction. In two works of this kind, discuss the handling of these two realms of existence.


12. Sometimes what is implied in a work of prose other than fiction is very important. Considering the work of two writers you have studied, explore the treatment of some issues and agendas that are only implied or treated briefly, but are, nevertheless, important aspects of the works.