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A-level English Literature Specification B

A2 Exam Preparation

Unit 3 LITB3 Resources

Spring 2012 Version 1

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Contents Page

Section A Resources:

Lesson Plan – Lady Macbeth 5

Lady Macbeth – Who is she? 7

Key Quotations Lesson 8

Script 1 June 2011 13

Script 2 June 2011 15

Section B Resources:

Script 3 January 2012 17

Script 4 January 2012 19

Section B Activities 21

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Lesson plan – Lady Macbeth This would work for any character based question – a number of which have been set previously in Section A

1. Remind students of the importance of establishing and sustaining a debate – in many ways it is through AO3 that the other AOs can be accessed.

2. In order to do this, they need a secure grasp of alternative interpretations and the confidence

to contest meanings

3. Lady Macbeth – Who is she??

• In pairs/small groups give students no more than 10 minutes to come up with as many different interpretations of Lady Macbeth as possible. They have to be supported by the text.

• Points are then awarded for each interpretation that the group contributes. A ‘buzzer’ system

can be used for groups to indicate they want to contribute.

• Use a ‘random’ starter question to decide the first group to contribute – e.g. Where is Macbeth’s castle?

• First group give their ‘interpretation’ and supporting evidence (point awarded) – another group

can then contribute either by developing this point OR by challenging it (points awarded accordingly)

• When a line of argument has been exhausted, ask another starter question (where does

Donalbain flee to?) and begin the process again

• The end result should be a board covered in alternative interpretations and textual support. These arguments will inevitably require students to think about how meaning is constructed and about context.

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E.g.

Lady Macbeth is represented as unnatural and demonic

She uses language which is graphic, bloodthirsty and violent and which parallels the gory descriptions of the battle in Act I, scene 2

I have given suck, and know How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you

The contrast between the image of maternal devotion and brutal violence is shocking and suggests a fundamental transgression of the female role

However, while Lady Macbeth’s is brutal and savage in language, there is little evidence that she is capable of matching this in deed. In fact, she is made incapable of direct participation in the murder of Duncan because, “he …resembled/My father as he slept”

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Key Quotations Lesson

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Script 1 June 2011 Section A, Question 2 In Macbeth, it can be argued that Lady Macbeth who “chastises [Macbeth] with the valour of [her] tongue” causing him to commit “deeds” of violence and brutality, fully embodies the assumption of Malcolm that she is indeed a “fiend-like queen”. However, the struggle that Lady Macbeth undergoes, both physically (with gender) and psychologically ( as her guilt torments her mind) to full fill her role as accomplice to Macbeth suggests that she does not entirely suit the label “fiend-like queen”. The presentation of Lady Macbeth as “fiend-like” allows the notion of being possessed by a devil or demons. Curry’s opinion of the sleep walking scene at the end of Macbeth is that what occurs is “demonical somnambulism”. This opinion may have been shared with a Jacobean audience, as the concept of making a pact with the devil ( which Lady Macbeth did immediately after hearing the “weird sisters” “perfect it report”) would be regarded as having severe consequences. In Lady Macbeth’s case, the guilt which she had tried to repress by stopping “up th’ access and passage to remorse,” is destroyed by the treacherous words of the fiend within her as her guilt is revealed. The opinion that Lady Macbeth’s “somnambulism” is the possession of her body by “spirits” is in alignment with the view that she is “fiend-like”. Additionally, Shakespeare draws a noticeable contrast between Macbeth’s slow, caustic deliberations in deciding to commit the “deed” and Lady Macbeth’s immediate desire to listen to the “imperfect speakers”. Macbeth even comes to the conclusion after his first soliloquy that he “will proceed no further in this business”. Therefore, it is Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth as almost the “poisn’d chalice” herself as she becomes the “spur” which Macbeth lacks to control his “vaulting ambition, which o’er leaps itself, / And falls on th’ other”. By portraying Lady Macbeth as the “spur” which encourages Macbeth to murder Duncan is to suggest that she is indeed fiend-like as her manipulation of Macbeth is able to overcome his logic. Shakespeare employs the use of irony in “Macbeth” to illustrate the cognitive dissonance of the characters; Macbeth is aware that his actions will lead to a “fall” and Lady Macbeth realises “these deeds must not be thought, it will make us mad”. Therefore, the notion that Lady Macbeth who “fears [Macbeth’s] nature: /It is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness” and consequently pleads that demons “take [her] milk for gall” (milk being the metaphor of “human kindness” and representative taking into account its network of analogies of maternal instincts and naturalness) demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s fiend-like nature. Similarly, L.C. Knights view of ‘Macbeth’ is that is a “statement of evil” and a “play about damnation”. The occult remains a key area of exploration for all gothic writers, with the unknown being in both death and the alternatives to death (such as immortality through damnation). Lady Macbeth and her husband both feel trapped by the end of the play physically (in the castle), but primarily mentally in a cycle of torment. They feel “cabbind, cribbed, confined” and the repetition through alliteration of “c” and words representing the same motif: imprisonment and claustrophobia (another hallmark of the gothic) suggest that for the Macbeth’s, just as the three words have become interchangeable and mean the same thing, life has also come to “signify nothing”. This sense of entrapment culminates in Lady Macbeth killing herself and her husband hoping for death. Shakespeare provides insight into Lady Macbeth’s desire to escape as during her sleep walking she cries out that “hell is murky!” The “fog” and confusion of the supernatural world has descended on

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Lady Macbeth and she is already in hell, where morality is undefinable, ambiguous and “murky”. Therefore, through Lady Macbeth’s own fears of damnation Shakespeare alludes to the fact that in her dealings with “spirits” she herself has become “fiend-like”. This may be seen as Shakespeare’s clever homage to James 1 (monarch of the time), who had recently been threatened by the Gunpowder plot, as Shakespeare reinforces the notion that regicide (defying the natural order), is “fiend-like” and leads to damnation. On the contrary, Coleridge’s view is that Lady Macbeth is not “fiend-like”, but that her constant bullying of her conscience and stifling of her conscience with fantasies and spiritual agencies in evidence of the exact opposite. Arguably, Lady Macbeth can be interpreted as condemnable in her desire to be “fiend-like”, but her continuous failed attempts to remove the “damn’d spot” of guilt from her conscience (presented through imagery of blood on her hand) is evidence that Shakespeare does not present her as a “fiend-like queen”. The differing perspectives of Lady Macbeth can be taken into account, as to Malcolm, Lady Macbeth entirely fulfils her own advice of looking “like the innocent flower but (being) the serpent under it”. She employed the concept of appearance and reality (an important feature of gothic literature, where things are never as they seem) and like Satan (with the serpent being reminiscent of Satan on the garden of Eden) according to John Carey, whose “habitual mode is dissimulation”, beguiled with “fiend-like” ability Malcolm and the natural world into thinking she was a flower. However, to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the audience, Shakespeare demonstrates that Lady Macbeth is forced to be “unsex’d” to commit the deed, she had “filled with direct cruelty” as even she is not evil enough to murder the vulnerable and saintly “silver-skinned” Duncan. Lady Macbeth is presented by Shakespeare as the “author” of Macbeth’s fall at certain moments of the play (most noticeably when “chastising” him for being “unman’d in folly”) and thus arguably as a “fiend-like queen”. However, despite moments of Lady Macbeth assuming the role as a “fiend”, punctuating the play, gothic writing is traditionally focussed on the concept of appearance and reality. Lady Macbeth becomes the “serpent” in order to be Macbeth’s “spur”. As remarked on by Coleridge, she is required to bully her conscience to fulfil her requirements and so although she invokes “fate and metaphysical aid” and the presence of “spirits” within her, her eventual and inevitable psychological unravelling is illustrative that Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth, like all aspects of the gothic as undefinable and ambiguous.

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Script 2 June 2011, LITB3 Section A Question 11 In Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ it can be argued that in the Forest of Arden women appear empowered, however male dominance is restored at the end of the play, and there are a number of factors to account for when considering the play in respect of this. Firstly, the role of the Forest of Arden within the empowerment of the female characters is very significant. Arden is not a naturalistic pastoral environment, but an enchanted forest harbouring creatures such as lions (such as that which attacked Orlando), with its characteristics influenced by Arcadian paradises. Due to this unrealistic environment, it appears that female characters are able to express themselves in ways that would simply not be acceptable at court, with Rosalind becoming the character dominant over every other within the forest. Although the forest is providing an environment for female empowerment to take place, it is so unrealistic that it is hard to see how the events within it can be seen as anything other but false, therefore perhaps male dominance in the forest is falsified, however in light of Rosalind’s character this point loses is creditability. Rosalind is arguably Shakespeare’s greatest female leading role, displaying qualities not often portrayed by Shakespearian women such as courage and determinism, especially when it comes to matters of love. Once Rosalind enters the forest, after being banished by the ruthless Duke Frederick, the dynamics of the play change dramatically as Rosalind becomes the disguised male ‘Ganymede’. The plot then begins to pivot around Rosalind, making her dominant over every other character, however this all takes place while Rosalind is disguised as Ganymede. It can be argued that this implies that Rosalind’s dominance is only valid when she is thought of as a male, but when her true identity is revealed in the final scenes, her submissive female nature is restored. Although this may be the case, the actions that Rosalind imitates within the play are far too significant to be ignored. Rosalind is empowered enough to imitate the ‘love-prate’ as Celia describes it, with Orlando using her male pretence to shape Orlando into the type of husband she wishes him to be, educating him about love and females. These actions simply would not be acceptable in court, but the Forest allows for the freedom to act in a totally unrestricted manner. Compared to Rosalind’s sharp wit, Orlando is left looking less like the dominant male and more like Rosalind’s subservient. Rosalind openly mocks the poetry Orlando pins around the trees for her, she is empowered through her realistic view of love and the process of falling in love. Rosalind is very aware that love, although it may be in the forest, is not always a romanticised pastoral idea, for in reality ‘men are April when they woo, December when they wed’. This attitude does not, however, stop Rosalind enjoying her youthful love for Orlando, she remains empowered by taking advantage of her current happiness, whilst being aware that it may not last. It is clear to see here how a female character holds empowerment, however there are aspects in the play where even Rosalind is portrayed as a typical ‘weak’ female. In the forest scene where Oliver brings news to ‘Ganymede’ and ‘Aliena’ (Celia’s disguise), at Orland’s violent lion attack, Ganymede faints at the sight of blood. This scene emphasises the idea of women as the weaker sex, in need of the protection of a male, and although Ganymede claims counter-feited ‘tell him how I counter-feited’, suspicions are raised as to whether Ganymede has the same amount of strength as first thought, perhaps a reminder of the weakness women will return to once back in court, for the forest is not real. Following this, two women that permanently reside in the Forest of Arden, do not seem empowered at all, their characters being Audrey and Phoebe. Although Phoebe is strong willed against marrying

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Silvius, she does so in the end, and Audrey portrays a typical giddy woman, ecstatic when Touchstone wishes to marry her, although it is clear to the audience and other characters that this is merely for sexual purposes. However, although these two characters appear to be dominated by the males in the play, this may not be the case. Phoebe is in fact dominated by Rosalind, although this is while disguised as Ganymede, emphasising how it is only possible to empower a man whilst being a man. Phoebe falls in love with Ganymede, but Ganymede harshly states ‘sell while you can, you are not for all markets’, harsh words that are only acceptable for a man to say to a woman. Rosalind’s disguise becomes more and more instrumental to her dominance, falsifying her empowerment. This may be the case for Phoebe, but can Audrey be considered as an empowered female? Audrey may be stupid, but she is a realistic woman, aware of her position in society, ‘I am not a slut, but thank the Gods that I am foul.’ Without the forest of Arden, Touchstone would never wish to marry Audrey, it would be unheard of, so perhaps Audrey is empowered in that she has the opportunity to marry a man from Court, no matter what the purpose of their marriage is. This is, of course, debatable. Within this discussion, it is important not to forget the role of Celia, Rosalind’s cousin, within the play. Although Celia is also disguised, as Athena, she is still a female character throughout, and significantly less empowered than Rosalind, spending most of her time following in Rosalind’s shadow. Whereas Rosalind orders Orlando to woo her, and shapes him into a lover, Celia waits for a man to come along (Oliver) falling in love with him and accepting him as the man he is. It is becoming more and more obvious that although Rosalind is most definitely empowered within the play, more so than any other female, her male disguise as Ganymede appears to be aiding her an awful lot. Therefore, without the disguise, male dominance would prevail throughout the play, and not just at the end. In regards to the end of the play, all disguises are unmasked and all couples wed, then, significantly, they return to court. The forest has provided the atmosphere necessary to build relationships and allow female empowerment, but in the end the dominance is restored, as disguises and female to male mockery simply would not be acceptable anywhere other than the forest of Arden. The forest is not real, neither is the female empowerment. Bur surely the effects of Ganymede upon Orlando will stay with him throughout their marriage, meaning Rosalind has the type of husband she wishes to have? She may no longer have the power she had within the forest but the effects of the power she previously had will surely have lifelong effects?

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Script 3 January 2012 – Section B Question 20 In Dr Faustus, the duped horse seller explains that he has traded “forty dollars for a bottle of hay”. Indeed, much of gothic literature conceivable has a fable like or minatory value. One can see that in Dr Faustus, Faustus is punished by being sent to hell for his disruption of the natural order of things. The same is conceivably true for ‘Frankenstein’ in which Victor Frankenstein finds his life being torn apart by the monster he has created, with deep, dark, death like solitude ”being his only “consolation”. In ‘Dracula’, an alien being is brought to Victorian England. In this regard the novel seems to portray the reaction of a group of Victorian Englishmen to a being that is disrupting the natural order of their lives; most significantly through his declaration that “all your woman will be mine“. Gothic literature, therefore, does seem to very much illustrate the consequences of the disruption of the natural order of things. Perhaps the first example of a disruption of the natural order in ‘Dr Faustus’ comes when Dr Faustus attempts to sign over his soul to the devil. He cuts himself in order to use his blood as make-shift ink, only for his blood to “congeal” in a rejection of the sin he is about to commit. In a gross violation of nature, Mephistopheles fetches “hot coals” and melts Faustus’ blood, allowing him to reject God. Despite committing such a grave crime against the natural order of things, Faustus never in fact uses his power for anything particularly unnatural. He desires “fancy fruits”, “orient pearl” and brings “grapes” (out of season in January) to impress a queen. Faustus even exclaims “thou art deceived” on realising that just as the horse seller has traded “forty dollars for a bottle of hay”, so has he traded his soul for far less than it’s worth. Faustus, in his actions therefore, never really does disrupt the natural order of events. Despite the constant talk of heaven and the divine, he never does anything divine or heavenly, he does very manly things. However, Faustus does disrupt natural order simply by rejecting God and his conscience repeatedly. He dismisses hell as “old wives tales” and a “fable” comically telling Mephistopheles to learn of his “manly fortitude” in order to deal with his suffering. Faustus rejects his conscience, first by melting his own blood but frequently in a schizophrenic manner declaring “o what buzzeth in mine ears?” Whilst calling for “Christ my saviour” he then instantly says that he will “burn his scriptures” and “ransack his churches”. Faustus’s ultimate punishment for falling in “….. damned art” is to be dragged off to hell. Marlowe, therefore seems to have intended a morality like story as ‘Dr Faustus’ clearly warns of the consequences of disrupting the natural order through arrogance and vanity. The chorus, at the beginning of the play compare Faustus to “Icarus” and this indeed seems a very apt comparison, especially in regard to the disruption of nature. From a psychoanalytic point of view, ‘Frankenstein’ seems to be an example of the consequences parents can have on their children or “creation”. Shelley’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, once wrote that “much of the misery that wanders the world today in hideous forms is allowed to arise from the negligence of parents”. This seems entirely applicable to ‘Frankenstein’. It is conceivably the death of Frankenstein’s mother that constructs the strange, obsessive character who spends “two years” in near total isolation creating a monster. The effect of his Mother’s death is most notable in his dream in which on “imprinting” the first kiss on Elizabeth” she turned “livid with the hue of death” and Frankenstein was left holding the corpse of his mother. Yet this is conceivably not the most important parental bond. It is Frankenstein that creates the monster in a birth like scene. He describes an “anxiety that amounted almost to agony”. This “agony” seems very reminiscent of the “agony” of childbirth and indeed it does seem as though Frankenstein is the parent of the monster. He is frequently described as “creator” in God like comparisons in which the monster calls himself Adam.

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However, what is conceivably most significant about the relationship between Frankenstein and the monster, is the effect of Frankenstein’s negligence. The monster claims that he “began life with benevolent intentions” and indeed, his virtuous appreciation of the beauty of nature would seem to support this. Yet he soon descends into wretchedness. He states that he had “no property, no possessions, no friends” and that “misery made me a wretch”. The reason behind the monster’s sadness is Frankenstein’s rejection of him, and quite literally Frankenstein creates a wandering, miserable “hideous form”, very similar to the one spoken of by Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein’s ultimate punishment is death and misery. The novel seems to be a minatory tale, aimed to warn of the dangers of disrupting the natural order of parenthood. In ‘Dracula’, Stoker demonstrates the effect of the plaque like count, who comes in the form of cats, wolves and bats, to Victorian England. “The Crew of Light” go from being a group of “good English chums” to crucifix wielding “thor like” “moral Vikings” on a crusade of destruction arrived to restore the natural order of middle-class Victorian England. Whilst Arthur and Seward initially ask Van Helsing, “is this a game?” and “are you mad?” they too are soon “crucifix wielding” and stalking “voluptuous” female vampires. ‘Dracula’ therefore seems to demonstrate the clash of two very different mind-sets. From a rather anti-Semitic point of view the Count can be seen as representing the influx of Jews to England from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century. He is depicted as having, “pale skin” and a “hooked nose” and when attached by Harker at one point he appears to bleed money. The fact that he comes in the form of plaque carrying animals, most notably rats, seems to suggest the idea that the influx of Jews into England would destroy the cultural order of Victorian England like the plaque did. However, if should be recognised that the novel can also be seen as being a simple clash of cultures. The natural order of English life is clearly disrupted by the Count, and the consequences are clearly shown through the reactions of the “knights of the old cross”. To conclude; it seems very much conceivable that Gothic literature tends to demonstrate the consequences of the natural order of things. This can come in the form a minatory tale such as ‘Frankenstein’ or ‘Dr Faustus’. However it can also come in the form of entertainment such as in ‘Dracula’.

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Script 4 January 2012 – Section B Question 24 In some pastoral writing friendship plays a significant part. This is akin to the harmony between shepherd and shepherdess that is central to the traditional pastoral gene. Brideshead Revisited greatly reflects this statement: their friendship is strongest throughout the pastoral, Oxford days and gradually weaker as they leave and drift apart. To a certain extent it is reflected in the poetry, as friendship is of great importance is some of the poem like Tintern Abbey and the Deserted Village. However, on the other hand there are some pastoral poems which enjoy and celebrate Arcadian life for its very solitary nature. In As You Like It too, friendship plays a minor, although not central part since many of the characters really seek love within the Forest of Arden, not friendship. It is probably fair to say that friendship plays a significant, although not total role in pastoral writing in general. In Brideshead Revisited the friendship of Charles and Sebastian is key to the pastoral Arcadian which they “find at Oxford” and Brideshead house. Whenever, Charles recollects days of great happiness they are with Sebastian; “first with Sebastian, more than twenty years ago, on a doubtless day in June, when the ditches were creamy with meadowsweet and the air heavy with all the scents of the summer, it was a day of peculiar splendour”. Charles feels that his friendship with Sebastian gives him “what I had never experienced, a happy childhood.” At Oxford, they are inseparable, and when, eventually Sebastian is sent down, Charles calls himself “the loneliest man in Oxford”. Their harmony of friendship extends into the holidays and to Brideshead house itself. He writes that “I felt myself very near to heaven during those languid days at Brideshead.” Together they get drunk and taste wine shy “like a gazelle.” But perhaps the greatest illustration of the importance of Charles and Sebastian’s friendship to the pastoral idyll, is that as one dies away so does the other. They gradually drift apart after they leave Oxford and eventually separate entirely as Sebastian goes to Morocco, and becomes an alcoholic. Charles acknowledges that the pastoral idyll, the “enchanted garden” is going as their friendship breaks under the strain. “I had come to the surface, into the light of common day and the fresh sea-air, after long captivity in the sunless coral palaces and waving forests of the ocean bed.” In Brideshead Revisited Sebastian and Charles’ friendship isn’t just significant, but essential to the pastoral and Arcadian life they find themselves leading while at Oxford. Without one, the other cannot survive. To a certain extent the importance of friendship is reflected in the pastoral poetry. In the Deserted Village, the bucolic life is a community thing, for all to enjoy, and resting upon bonds of friendship and trust. “The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade, for talking age and whispering lover made,” reflects the social element of the pastoral. Furthermore, the harmony of friendship extends to the bucolic lives of the peasants, “The swain responsive as the milk-maid sung the sober herd lowing to their young.” Friendship also plays a part in Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey, as nature; “the deep and gloomy woods their colour and their forms,” can be enjoyed in the company of another. The poet is observing the pastoral scene around him, “once again I see these hedge rows, hardly hedge rows, little lines of sportive wood run wild,” in the company of his sister. However, not all of the pastoral poems stress the importance of friendship. In Collins’ Ode to Evening the poet is totally done with nature, he views it from a “small hut” on his own. This more romantic view of the pastoral stresses the insignificance of humanity is comparison with nature and therefore the insignificance of human friendships. “Views wilds and swelling floods” and “hamlets brown and dim-discovered spines” reflects the grandeur of the natural in comparison with the human. This theme of solitariness is addressed in Grey’s Elegy written in a Country Churchyard. The poet is very decidedly alone: “The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea/ and leave the world to darkness and to me.” But, in both of these

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poems, the narrator is friends with nature itself, and it is this non-human relationship which is important to the pastoral. Collins is “lead” by a “calm Votress”, “meekest Eve” who symbolises nature and the evening. Furthermore, there are animals and mythical creatures all around; “the beetle” with its “small and sullen horn,” and the various “Nymphs” that live amidst nature. In a sense there is a harmony of friendship between the poet, and all these things, that replaces the need for a solely human band. Similarly, the narrator in Daman the Mower has this sort of relationship with nature: “and if at noon, my toil me heat./ The sun himself licks off my sweat./ And while going home the evening sweet. / In cowslip water bathes my feet.” Therefore, the harmony of friendship is significant in pastoral poetry, even if it is between man and nature, not just between men as in Brideshead. In As You Like It, friendship plays a minor, but not especially significant part in the pastoral. The greatest friendship in the play is that between Rosalind and Celia; however that was forged in the court, not the country. The pastoral, Arcadian setting is more conducive to love than friendship. Love cannot function in the court, “what passion hangs there weights upon my tongue?” bit it blossoms in Arden. But, the forest does appear to be the setting for the reconciliation of Orlando and his brother Oliver who were deeply hostile at court, as Oliver even tried to kill his brother. But in the calm settings of the forest of Arden they manage to rekindle their friendship. This happens after Orlando saves Oliver from the “green and gilded snake” and the “lioness”. Despite this friendship playing a role is the pastoral idyll, it is not as significant as other themes, like love, solitude and liberation from “the envious court”. In conclusion, the harmony of friendship is significant to pastoral writing, even if it is not as important as other themes, like love and solitude. In Brideshead Revisited, however, the friendship of Sebastian and Charles is central to the Arcadian life that they lead at Oxford. When they begin to drift apart, the pastoral idyll, the “enchanted garden”, the “illusion”, breaks down. But, Brideshead is unusual for placing such importance on the harmony of friendship. The poems stress escape from “the din of towns and cities” as more significant to the pastoral landscape than friendship. In fact solitude is often praised; “society is all but rude/ to this delicious solitude.” However, the harmony of friendships is of great significance if it is taken to mean the relationship between man and nature too. This is typified by Collins’ Ode to Evening. In As You Like It, friendship is only a minor importance, even if it does play a role in the play. Other themes are more important to the Arcadian way of life, like love. Therefore, it is fair to say that friendship is significant is pastoral writing, although maybe not of the greatest significance.

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Section B – Suggested Revision Activities

1. Killer Quotations You can do this activity with all 3 or 4 texts combined but I usually do it text by text. In pairs choose 3 killer quotations from your set text(s). They need to be brief, memorable and as multi-functional as possible The teacher gives a possible question focus (e.g. the supernatural, death, unnatural, good vs evil for the gothic; harmony, sentimentality, friendship, rural vs urban for the pastoral). Each pair decides how many of their chosen quotes they could legitimately use to support a response to the given focus. Points are awarded for each relevant and apt point made but deducted for inappropriate or tenuous points. This can be repeated for as many potential question topics as can be provided.

2. Lesson Starters It is worth starting lessons with a focused debate on a Section B type Q. So, in a recent lesson on Macbeth we interrupted our study of Act 3 to bounce some preliminary ideas around relating to “To what extent do you agree with the view that, in gothic writing, death is the punishment for sin?” – students very quickly teased out the implications of ‘sin’ and the idea that life rather than death is experienced as ‘punishment’. The more confident students feel about debating ideas around a particular question the less they will feel the need to rely on pre-prepared material.

3. Interrogating the Question Work closely with students on unpacking the question. Again this can be a quick starter activity. Give small groups/pairs a flashcard (or alternatively put a section B type Q on the whiteboard). Ask them to decode it, ensuring that they grasp the implications of all parts of the question and can identify the debate to be had.

4. Choosing the right question It is really important that students make the right choice in section B. Given that there will always be 3 questions; they need to identify what will work best with their combination of texts. Try playing ‘lucky dip’ – students pick a section B question out of a ‘hat’. Give them 5 minutes to bullet point response – are they struggling? If so, it may be because the question itself does not suit the texts they have studied. This can often be the case when students have only studied a narrow selection of poems from the anthologies or a limited number of short stories from The Bloody Chamber.

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