Examiners’ commentaries 2021

Examiners’ commentaries 2021

EN1021 Explorations in Literature

Advice to candidates on how Examiners calculate

marks

It is important that candidates recognise that in all papers, three questions should
be answered in order to get the best possible mark (ensuring that the rubric for the
paper has been followed accordingly).
Examiners follow a simple mathematical formula when awarding a final overall
mark: they give each answer a mark out of 100 (up to three answers only, as
required by the examination paper); they then total all available marks; and finally
they divide the total by three, thus giving an average overall mark.
So, if your first answer is given 57%, your second answer is given 56%, and your
third answer 50%, then the calculation will look like this:
57 + 56 + 50 = 163
163 ÷ 3 = 54.3
Overall mark: 54%
Two good essays and no third essay will always bring the mark down. So, if in the
example above a third answer was not given, the calculation would look like this:
57 + 56 = 113
113 ÷ 3 = 37.6
Overall mark: 38%
In this case, even if the candidate had written a ‘poor’ third answer getting a mark of
40% their overall mark would be higher than not attempting an answer at all:
57 + 56 + 40 = 153
153 ÷ 3 = 51
Overall mark: 51%
Note in the example above how the 40% mark, while low, still enables the candidate
to achieve an overall mark in the Lower Second category, which is in keeping with
their first two marks of 57% and 56%. Not answering a third question would see the
candidate lose considerable marks and drop two whole classes. It could also mean
the difference between a pass and a fail.
Candidates are thus strongly advised to give equal attention across the paper, plan
their time accordingly, and attempt to provide three answers of roughly the same
length and as full as possible. Candidates are also reminded that it is totally
unnecessary to copy out the question again into the answer book; a question
number in the margin is sufficient enough, and this will also save valuable minutes.
Candidates are further reminded to pay strict attention to the advice and guidance
that appears in the handbook and the subject guides regarding examinations and

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methods of assessment, particularly the following cautions regarding the use

of pre-prepared material:
as advised in the handbook section ‘Examination preparation and answering
examination questions’, ‘it is not a good idea to prepare model answers to possible
examination questions […] there is likely to be a greater sense of engagement with
your ideas and material if you are writing an argument which you have genuinely
just constructed in the examination room (even if all the information contained in
that argument is material you have prepared and remembered from your revision)’;
as advised in the subject guides, simple regurgitation in the examination of
illustrative material in the subject guides will be regarded as plagiarism and heavily
penalised. Examiners will always look unfavourably at examinations that are
composed of answers that draw solely on the illustrative material provided in the
subject guides.
All candidates are further advised to consult Appendix B of the Regulations for a full
description of the Assessment Criteria used by for the English programmes.

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 Examiners’ commentaries 2021

Examiners’ Commentaries 2021

EN1021 Explorations in Literature

General remarks

Candidates taking the examination for the Explorations in Literature

course are required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the
ways in which particular themes and concepts are addressed and explored,
in culturally significant texts from different periods and backgrounds. You
need to demonstrate a sophisticated critical engagement with the texts and
communicate your ideas clearly through the correct use of key theoretical
terms, linguistic terminology and reference to major critical interpretations
and ideas. In this, it is important to show some engagement with, and
sensitivity to, the continuities that can be observed through historical
contexts, as well as the thematic and conceptual fractures and evolutions
exemplified through the selection of texts studied on this course, which has
been designed to provide a broad historical overview of western literature
from the classical period to the present day. You are advised to pay
particular attention to:

• why the texts studied on this course have been deemed culturally
significant.
• the historicity of any given text; understanding its socio-political and
historical contexts, as well as its continuing relevance, accessibility
and cultural influence/reception.
• the cultural diversity that has informed and continues to inform
‘English’ literature.
• the ways in which literary form, language and genre function to
create meaning in a text.
• what the continuities and experimentations with literary form,
language and genre might indicate about the relationship between a
text and the literary ‘canon’/western literary traditions.
• the uses of ‘exploration’ as a literary device.

Candidates are assessed on their facility with close textual analysis in

support of a clear, cogent argument, and their ability to draw appropriate
conclusions that are consistent with, and well supported by, their analysis
and interpretation/s of the text/s under consideration. When undertaking a

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comparative question, it is important that you give equal space and attention
to all texts under consideration and that you attempt to compare and
contrast the texts consistently throughout your answer. You need to write
legibly and be as clear and concise as possible. Good clarity of expression,
including accurate spelling, correct syntax, grammar and a professional,
academic tone are essential components of a good examination
performance.
Finally, you are reminded that you are being examined on the extent of your
knowledge of, and engagement with, texts spanning the entirety of the
historical period covered on this course; in this, you should pay special
attention to the chronological structure of the syllabus and are advised to
follow all rubric guidelines. You must ensure that you are adequately
prepared to answer questions on texts from all historical periods.
Candidates should only write on the prescribed texts set for this course, as
listed in the ‘Subject Content’ pages of this guide (pp. 5-6). You must
attempt all three questions (one from each Section A, B and C) and must
not use a text in Section C, if they have already written on it in Sections A
or B. Failure to write on the requisite texts, number of texts, and/or sections,
constitutes a violation of rubric that will incur a substantial penalty.

Comments on specific questions

Section A
Question 1
Discuss the view that values of xenia – hospitality, generosity, guest-
friendship, and respect for the gods – define the difference between
civilisation and barbarism in Homer's Odyssey.

Approaching the question

This question asks students to present a critical discussion that assess the veracity
of the statement that the depiction of xenia in the Odyssey is being used to define
and delineate civilisation and barbarism in the poem. Good answers are able to
demonstrate some knowledge and awareness of the concept of xenia, and its
cultural significance. While you may find briefly defining what is meant by
‘civilization’ and ‘barbarism’ useful, please be aware that some of the weakest
answers were those that got very booged down in defining these terms. A
postcolonial reading of the power dynamics at work here is certainly possible, but
be aware that the Ancient Greek definition of civilisation was exceedingly narrow;
being everything that was Greek as opposed to anything that was not being
barbaric. There is also clearly a juxtaposition between the civilisation of home and
nostos vs. the monstrous, wild and barbaric outside world at work in the poem and
good answers are often able to recognise this. While some of the strongest answers
recognised that the Odyssey – in the way in which it is structured by an exploration
of xenia and its ambigutites and subversions – often finds ways of complicating and
blurring the dichotomy between the civilised and the barbaric.

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There were a wide range of successful approaches to the question, and candidates
were not expected to address every aspect of this depiction. The best answers
were able to narrow the scope of their responses and focus on two or three key
aspects. These might include but are not limited to the juxtaposition good
(civilization) and bad xenia (barbarism); subversions and perversions; links between
xenia and storytelling (structurally and thematically); depictions of cannibalism; role
of the gods; or a text based focus on key characters and their different experiences
of xenia through examination of key episodes.
Some of the most sophisticated answers extended the discussion of xenia further,
and looked at the belief in Theoxenia, ritualistic and taboo elements of the depiction
of xenia in the text, and the connections between Athena and the testing of xenia in
the poem. Some of the best answers were able to point to potential weaknesses or
problems with the view expressed in the question; pointing to the barbarity and
cruelty shown by supposedly civilized characters and peoples such as the
behaviour of the suitors, or the actions of Telemachus and Odysseus at the end of
the Odyssey. Some excellent answers similarly pointed to the performative aspect
of xenia in the poem, suggesting an attempt to cover up past wrongs, failures and
rejections of xenia and war crimes through an outward display of opulent xenia. See
for example, the xenia offered to Telemachus by Helen and Menelaus in Bk II.
Other strong approaches looked at the failures of xenia in the poem, or looked at
the presence of subversions and perversions of the guest-host relationship and
ritualistic aspects of xenia such as where the giving of food, and asking no
questions of the guest until they have eaten and rested, turns into figurative and
sometimes literal ‘eating the guests,’ an overstaying of welcome and cannibalising
the wealth and resources of hosts, or the imprisonment or confinement of guests
against their will. In this, episodes such as Circe, Cyclops, or the behaviour of the
suitors on Ithaca (see, Bks II and XXIV, especially) provide excellent examples. See
also Calypso and the lotus eaters episodes in which guests are offered high
hospitality but are then prevented from leaving.
Whichever depictions you choose to examine, you should try to contextualise and
situate these episodes and their significance within the wider text, and provide
some argument on the wider significance of these depictions, perhaps linking the
depiction of xenia to things like post-war reconstruction; reassertion of patriarchal
power; the changing depiction and characterisation of the heroic in The Odyssey; or
you might relate discussion to other relevant key classical concepts such as kleos,
and nostos. Candidates should be able to select at least three appropriate
episodes, and discuss them with accuracy and attention to the text. Candidates
should attempt to provide a critical analysis of key episodes and avoid simply
retelling the narrative of the poem.

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Question 2
Examine the depiction of sisterhood and/or kinship in Sophocles’ Antigone.

Approaching the question

This question requires the candidate to present a critical discussion of the theme/s
of kinship and sisterhood in Antigone. You could choose to respond to both of these
themes or to the themes of ‘sisterhood’ and ‘kinship’ individually. While, these are
obviously interconnected, the question suggests that the aspect of ‘sisterhood’
functions slightly separately from some of the broader themes of kinship at work in
the play. The importance of the relationship between Ismene and Antigone, and the
significance of Ismene is often overlooked but can be seen as pivotal in setting up
the key conflicts of the play.
Weaker answers are those that simply discuss examples of kinship or sisterhood
that are found in the play without considering the wider significance and function of
this depiction. There were a number of strong responses to this question. You might
undertake a close reading of the argument between the two sisters in the opening
scenes of the play, suggesting some broader implications, and/or look at the
tension between the bonds of sisterhood that move Ismene to ultimately support her
sister, even where they hold entirely different views and represent conflicting
ideologies. Another interesting approach looked at the dark/light imagery associated
with the two sisters and the depiction of a strained relationship, linked to the central
conflict of polis vs oikos; Antigone and her rebellion representing the dark threat to
the state, whereas Ismene represents a return to stability, traditional and the new
birth of a state. Another strong response considered of the role of gender, and the
way in which the dichotomies of the sister’s characterisation is used to explore
ideals of womanhood.
Alternatively, you might focus on ideas and explorations of kinship more broadly
and explore the classical concepts of fate and doomed/cursed family at work in the
play. One way to do this might be to investigate characterisation in the play,
discussing the extent to which the characters of Ismene, Antigone, Creon and
Haemon, as members of the same family, appear to be doomed, or find themselves
in impossible situations, no matter what decision they make. Another way to do this
would be to focus on the different relationships and ties of kinship between
characters which are evident in the play. i.e., father-son relationship, Creon’s
attitude towards his obligations of kinship in regard to Oedipus’ remaining children
vs. his obligations to the newly created state. Does the depiction of kinship in the
play ultimately uphold or question the idea of a cursed family, who can never atone
for the sins of their fathers?
The most sophisticated answers are able to situate the play within the context of
incest in the Theban myth cycle/ Theban plays, and show some understanding of
ancient Greek concepts of fate and generational curse or punishment for taboo, or
unforgivable acts. Strong answers often linked their discussion to wider classical or
structural concepts such as conflict between different kinds of authority, Aristotelian
conventions of tragedy; polis and oikos, generational conflict, or how the play deals
with gender.

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Question 3
Consider the link between violence and transformation in Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, with reference to at least three episodes.

Approaching the question

This question offers students the opportunity to examine the formal and thematic
links between violence and transformation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The question
suggests a further connection between transformation or metamorphoses as either
a final insult after violent punishment, metamorphoses as escape from violence,
often enacted through pity, or metamorphoses as an act of violence in itself.
As with question 1, candidates should be able to select three appropriate episodes,
and discuss them with accuracy and attention to the text. Candidates should take
care to contextualise these episodes, offer some argument on the significance of
the repeating thematic patterns associated with these relationship between violence
and metamorphoses. There are a number of fruitful approaches to the question.
Many of the most sophisticated answers were able to offer some argument on the
nature and broader function of violence in the poem. You might usefully look at the
depiction of sexual and physical violence in the poem, the use and function of
grotesque and excessive, often bloody violence in the poem, the power dynamic
between gods and mortals, the different kinds of violence associated with
punishments inflicted for different acts against the gods, i.e., rebellion, creativity,
violence as an act of silencing etc. Some of the most sophisticated answers
demonstrate an awareness issues of gender, and how the poem is thematically
structured in relation to the depiction of violence. Almost any selection of key
episodes could work. But the strongest answers often chose key episodes that are
related, or link or foreshadow each other in some way, allowing a strong overall
argument and thesis to come through. Some good examples might be depiction of
sexual violence in Europa, Philomela, Daphne, Diana and Acteaon; Orpheus,
Arachne and Prometheus as enactors of artistic rebellion; or the carnival of battle
violence, blood and gore that is to be found in the Cadmus, Pentheus and Bacchus
Perseus sequence of Bks III-V.
Ideally, candidates should demonstrate good overall knowledge of the text by
choosing examples spanning the entire poem and should avoid simply retelling the
narrative. The strongest answers are able to offer some argument on the way in
which individual stories might be said to have thematic doubles or might be said to
‘mirror’ or ‘reverse’ each other. Some of the most sophisticated answers
demonstrate some knowledge of cultural and historical context in their arguments
on the significance of Ovid’s depiction of violence and the way in which it relates to
the use of metamorphoses in the poem. Answers that offer some argument on the
relationship between this depiction and the narrative structure of the poem; i.e.
exploring its tripartite structure; the movement from gods, to mortal heroes, to
historical figures, or large to small, strongest to weakest, would do very well.

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Question 4
With reference to at least three episodes, comment on the use and function of
monstrosity and/or the grotesque in Dante’s Inferno.

Approaching the question

This question is asking candidates to produce an argument accounting for the use
and purpose or ‘function’ of monstrosity and/or the grotesque in Dante’s Inferno.
Candidates should include a detailed analysis of at least three key
episodes/examples, which they should be able to discuss with accuracy and
attention to the text. Think carefully about your choice of episodes. Stronger
answers are often able to draw out thematic links between episodes, or compare
and contrast them. Stronger answers are often able to reference some of the
religious, social or historical contexts of these episodes. There were some very
strong and interesting responses to this question. While weaker answers tended to
simply describe key depictions of monstrosity and/or the grotesque, stronger
answers had a strong thesis on how and why Dante used such grotesque and often
violent imagery, beyond its uses as spectacle and entertainment or moving the
narrative forward.
There were a number of very good, sophisticated answers that argued that
grotesque and monstrous imagery was being used, through repetition of different,
connected examples, to build an argument on the gravity and seriousness of our
sins and their self-destructive consequences. Other excellent arguments took this a
little further, linking the use of the grotesque contrapasso as Dante the Pilgrim’s
(and perhaps the reader’s) forced confrontation with his darkest self, which the
pilgrim must confront, accept responsibility for and repent before continuing to move
through hell, into purgatory and finally to paradise. A very different but equally as
effective, an impactful approach discussed the grotesque depiction of monsters,
mythological creatures and demons in the Inferno, culminating in a detailed close
reading of the appearance of Satan in the ninth circle of hell, arguing that the
function of these disgusting, monstrous and grotesque images is to make evil and
the devil real and sensorially tangible to his contemporaries, reading the inferno as
Christian allegory. In any approach you will find it useful to support your argument
with close attention to the text. So much as is possible when working with
translations, look carefully at how these images are created and emphasised
through use of language, imagery, colour and textures particularly in relation to the
bodily. i.e., description of flesh, wounds, decay, eyes, hair, claws, skin etc.

Question 5
Illustrate the use and function of imagery associated with the body in The
Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale.

Approaching the question

This question has been designed to get students to consider the entirety of The
Wife of Bath when addressing the question. Understanding the relationship
between the prologues and tales, the pilgrims and the tales they tell is essential to
understanding The Canterbury Tales. It is therefore essential that candidates
address both the prologue and the tale in their answer. Only through analysis of
the prologue can candidates fully and accurately and critically discuss the
significance, use and function of imagery associated with the body in the text. The
weakest of answers often fail to do this, or do not present a well-balanced answer. It
is also common for weaker answers to simply give examples of imagery associated

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with the body or bodily without considering or explicitly addressing its function and
potential changes in function as the text progresses. Some good approaches to the
question looked at the use of sexualised imagery, or misogynistic imagery and
language associated with the female body. The more sophisticated of these
arguments were able to relate this to the context of anti-feminist tracts and made
some argument on whether the text confronts or propagates misogyny. Other
effective approaches to the question looked at the likening of the female body,
sexuality and virginity to bread, flour/flowers pun, More sophisticated responses,
discussed the ambiguity of this imagery and its double association with sex and
fertility and the body of Christ, while others looked at the Wife’s commodification of
the female body here. Others interpreted the question slightly differently, looking at
images of the body itself; with a focus on hands, or comparing and contrasting the
use of nature, bird and animal imagery associated with the male and female
sexualised body. Students should be careful not to make problematic and sweeping
generalizations about ‘medieval times’. If you wish to make a contextual argument,
try to make your use of historical or cultural context as specific as possible.

Question 6
In Part IV of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain blames women for the
sins of men: ‘But it is no wonder if a fool behaves foolishly and is brought to
grief through the wiles of women…Now since [Adam, Samson, David] were
brought to grief by the wiles of women, it would be far better to love them well
and trust them never, if one only could. For these…[men] pre-eminently
favoured by fortune…were deceived by women with whom they had relations.
If I am deluded, it seems to me, I ought to be excused’. [Trans. W. R. J
BARRON, 2414–28]. To what extent does this poem find ways of challenging
the misogyny it depicts?

Approaching the question

While not strictly necessary, the strongest answers are often those that show some
direct engagement with the quotation in the question. Weaker answers also tend to
give examples of the representation of women, without considering or explicitly
addressing how this depiction is misogynistic, or presenting an argument and
discussion of the extent to which the text challenges or propagates these ideas.
Students should also be careful to maintain an objective academic tone and avoid
making problematic and sweeping generalizations about male and female,
‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ behaviour, and should avoid conflating gender, sex and
sexuality in their answers.
Candidates might usefully choose to look at Gawain’s famously ‘anti-feminist’ rant
(11.2411-28) discussing the extent to which this represents the character’s own
feelings and attitudes, or whether it is coded as a rhetorical performance, setting up
a recognized cultural argument and attitude that is going to be challenged; the link
between chivalric codes of behavior and the treatment of women; the intersection of
class and gender; objectification of women; coding of women as the property of
men; the extent of female agency in the poem; use of religious imagery to condemn
and blame women, for male lust and infidelity; characterization of lady Bertilck; the
extent of male and female agency in the poem.
Good answers are often able to link their discussion to specific socio-historical and
religious contexts such as anxieties regarding female influence, power and sexuality
as evinced in anti-feminist tracts of the period. The most sophisticated answers are
often able to link their argument to some discussion of form, content and structure.

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For example, students might usefully consider the significance of imagery and
symbol, the function of colour, or the significance of the bob and wheel structure.
Candidates should try to present a detailed discussion centred around key episodes
or examples, looking at them analytically and critically and should avoid simply
giving examples of misogyny, or retelling the narrative of key episodes.

Question 7
With attention to at least three examples, critically analyse the use and
function of comedy in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Approaching the question

The key here is to present a critical assessment of the text, supporting your reading
with key examples and evidence. Weak answers tend to retell the narrative of the
play, simply giving examples of comedy in Hamlet without presenting any real
argument on how or why it is used. The strongest answers are those which offer
some argument on the wider significance and implications of the use and depiction
of comedy in the play. Good answers were able to identify the different kinds of
humour and made some argument as to their different functions in the play., i.e.,
dark humour, humour associated with madness, i.e., Hamlet and Ophelia, linguistic
humour and puns, barbs/battle of wits on a theme, i.e., medicinal herbs and
remedies.
Successful answers argued for the cathartic or processing function of ‘comic relief’
in the play, considering the structural placement of comedic elements; read
Hamlet’s humour as a coded depiction of his education and status as a ‘scholar’
marking his difference and otherness from other members of the court; while others
focussed on the caustic, satirical or misogynistic elements of humour in the play.
Some of the most sophisticated answers noticed a link between the four medical
humours and the depiction of humorous characters in Hamlet i.e., Hamlet being
unbalanced ‘hot’ and having too much bile while Horatio is balanced and the
choleric Laertes and Claudius. The best of these understood this in the wider
context of Shakespeare’s writing. Other excellent answers were able to situate their
argument in the context and conventions of using humour as structural markers in
the Jacobean revenge tragedy and theatre practice. You might even consider the
text in performance. It is recommended that you look at, at least three episodes or
examples in detail. Some important and relevant examples include but are not
limited to Hamlet’s initial dark humour and barely controlled anger towards Gertrude
and Claudius (1:2); the unconscious humour of Polonius (2:1); the fishmonger
scene (2:2); the nunnery scene (3:1); the gravediggers scene (5:1); Hamlet and
Osric (5:2).

Question 8
Examine the use of interrogatives and/or imperatives in metaphysical poetry.
Discuss with reference to at least two poems by two different authors.

Approaching the question

This question offers candidates the opportunity to consider a selection of
metaphysical poems. It is not enough to simply point out examples of the use of
imperatives and interrogatives here. Candidates need to make some attempt to
discuss, and preferably compare and contrast, their use and the function in the
poems under consideration. Candidates should be able to make detailed reference

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to two or more poems from the collection Metaphysical Poetry, using close textual
analysis, with particular attention to issues of form and figurative language, image
and symbol linked to the use of imperatives and/or interrogatives.
You may focus on any of the appropriate poets and poems in the collection.
However, an example of a good combination might be the use of interrogatives in
the poetry of John Donne specifically in the poems ‘The Good Morrow’, imperatives
and interrogatives in Canonization’ and “Woman’s Constancy’ and the use of
imperatives in ‘The Sun Rising’ and ‘Twicknam Gardens’ provide particularly good
examples. Any of these might then be successfully compared to the spiritual
questions raised of George Herbert’s interrogations of the nature of physical
objects, or his use of interrogative openings in poems such as ‘Jordan (I)’, or the
combined use of imperatives and rhetorical questions in ‘The Collar.’ You will also
find the poetry of John Milton, Andrew Marvell and Henry Vaughan particularly
relevant to the question.
Many answers very successfully compared and contrasted the use of imperatives to
interrogatives. However, if you chose to take this approach, please take care to
make reference to the required number of texts and authors. It is always a great
shame to see really lovely, and otherwise well considered answers that have not
looked at the correct number of texts.
It is important that discussion of examples are specific, detailed and well supported
by reference to the text. The most sophisticated answers are able to present points
of comparative analysis between the two poems. Some of the strongest answers
demonstrate understanding of the religious, philosophical and cultural contexts and
can link discussion to the significance and use of the metaphysical conceits at work
in these poems.

Question 9
‘Others apart sat on a hill retired,/In thoughts more elevate, and reasoned
high/Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate; /Fixed faith, free will,
foreknowledge absolute,⁠/And found no end, in wandering mazes lost’ (557 –
61). Discuss Milton’s concept of free will in Paradise Lost.

Approaching the question

This question is asking you to explain and critically discuss Milton’s concept of free
will as depicted in Books I & II of Paradise Lost. Students might usefully look at the
depiction of God, issues of extent of omnipotence and existence outside of time,
rejection of forced obedience, conflict between Milton’s rejection of Calvinism and
predestination and his depiction of a god who orchestrates the fall, and allows
Satan’s escape, differences in the freedom and free will afforded to Humans and
Angels. Some of the most sophisticated arguments linked their discussion of free
will in the text to the depiction of democracy and Satan’s argument against a god
who restricts their freedom. In this, some close discussion of Beelzebub’s speech in
Book II, and the way he serves as Satan’s mouthpiece against predestination in
which he advocates free will.
While not strictly necessary, some engagement with the quotation and its
implications can make for a stronger response to the question. The most
sophisticated answers are often able to relate their argument and discussion to
issues of form, style, voice, tone, and conventions, use of blank verse, enjambment,
and the play/reworking of epic simile. Essays that focus on the detailed examination

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of 2 or 3 key examples/episodes tend to be stronger. However, it is not enough to

simply give examples of free will in the poem.
The strongest answers are able to make some argument on the wider cultural,
religious or historical significance and contexts of this depiction, often arguing for an
allegorical reading of the poem as a critique of the failure of monarchy and
revolution and the corrupting nature of absolute power. While candidates should
focus on the first two books, the most sophisticated and nuanced answers are able
to comment on and situate their argument in the context of the entirety of the poem
and could discuss how Milton’s exploration of free will develops or changes
throughout the poem.

Question 10
Examine the role and function of Pope’s ‘supernatural machinery’ in The
Rape of the Lock.

Approaching the question

Most candidates were aware that this question refers to Pope’s statement that
supernatural machinery refers to the prescience and function of gods, angles,
demons, nymphs or other supernatural beings in a poem. Pope links his use of
supernatural machinery is based on his understanding of the Rosicrucian doctrine
of spirits in which the four elements are inhabited by sylphs, nymphs, gnomes and
salamanders. Some very good answers looked at the satirical function of
supernatural imagery in the poem, while others argued that it was used to critique
the moral bankruptcy, frivolity and superficially of high society and culture.
Most answers are able to identify the use of supernatural machinery correctly, with
reference to a good range of key examples. Good answers are often able to
comment upon issues of form, linking supernatural machinery to the use of the
‘mock-epic’ and the ways in which, and to what ends, Pope uses heightened
language, personification and quotation here. Some sophisticated answers went
further and linked the depiction of ‘supernatural machinery’ to this technical artifice
and ‘machinery’ of the poem.
The most sophisticated answers are able to make some argument on the wider
significance of Pope’s depiction, with reference to historical and social context. It is
not sufficient to give examples and a summary of key examples of supernatural
machinery, without offering some argument on its role and function.

Question 11
Comment on Fielding’s experimentations with genre in Joseph Andrews.

Approaching the question

This question is asking you to come up with an argument commenting on the use
and function of experimentations with genre in Joseph Andrews. Good answers will
be able to correctly identify the genres used, and comment on the nature of the
experimentations with genre here. Student’s might usefully discuss the use of
picaresque, and burlesque and comedic elements, or focus on elements of chivalric
romance. While other very good answers might look at the use of parody or the
satirical function of genre experimentations and changes in the novel, or examine
the function and purpose of Fielding’ s adaptations of the mock epic to prose form.

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The most nuanced answers are able to link their arguments to a consideration of
Fielding’s attempt to blend the mock heroic with Augustan sentiments. Strong
arguments are able to demonstrate a good understanding of the novel and its
cultural, historical and religious contexts and connotations. They will also be able to
identify and comment on key episodes of the text, in close analytical detail and
should avoid simply listing key examples or retelling the plot of the novel.

Section B

Question 12
‘Frequently noted by critics is the extraordinary passivity of the Mariner.
Wordsworth first said that the Mariner “does not act, but is continually acted
upon”. Not only does the Mariner rarely act…usually he expresses no
reaction to events’. (HAROLD BLOOM) With close reference to the text, to
what extent do you agree with this assessment of the Mariner’s character in
Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Approaching the question

While not strictly necessary, candidates will find it useful to engage with the Bloom
quote and to explore some of the assumptions, and strengths and weaknesses of
argument it provokes. Remember that this is a ‘to what extent…’ question and as
such you need to present an argument that assess the extent to which the Mariner
is passive in the poem. There is a strong argument on both sides, and either side
can be successfully argued. However, the most sophisticated arguments are those
that take a more nuanced approach to the question and are able to identify the way
in which the Mariner reacts differently to the natural, human and supernatural world.
Stronger answers are those that are able to consider the use of imagery, language,
allusion, and metaphor and might also make reference to social and historical
contexts. Candidates should avoid retelling the narrative and are advised to
demonstrate knowledge of a number of key episodes spanning the entirety of the
poem by providing close analysis of the text, with some attention to form.

Question 13
Examine the ways in which the young female characters in Emma act as a foil
by which we judge Emma’s character and actions.

Approaching the question

Some students found the phrasing of this question quite difficult and misinterpreted
what the word ‘foil’ means or did not recognise it as a literary narrative term. In this
context a foil is a character who is created to contrast another character, typically
the main protagonist, so as to draw out or highlight particular qualities and
characteristics of the protagonist through their contrasting absence or presence in
the foil character. Emma is perhaps unique in its number of foil characters, each of
whom might be said to highlight a different quality or deficit in Emma’s character.
This is true to such an extent that it might be possible to argue that the contrast
between Emma and her foil characters actually structures the narrative. Almost all
of the female characters in Emma might be said to act as a foil, but students may

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find it particularly fruitful to look at the character of Mrs Elton especially, and Harriet
Smith, and Jane Fairfax to a slightly lesser extent.
Good answers were able to demonstrate how these characters represent aspects of
Emma in extremis and showed, that after the introduction of these characters, these
negative aspects of Emma’s personality are somehow redeemed. The most
sophisticated answers were able to link this to Austen’s use of free indirect
discourse and changes in POV (Point of View). Others went for a more contextual
reading and were able to link their arguments to issues of gendered behaviour and
expectations, marriage, class and wealth, societal structures, or the toxic,
oppressive relationships between women in highly patriarchal society.
It is common for weaker answers to give examples of where female characters act
as a foil or are used to question, or contrast Emma’s character and behavior without
offering some argument on the wider function and significance. Candidates should
avoid retelling the narrative and are advised to focus on three or four key episodes,
selected from across the entire novel, Sophisticated answers are often able to link
their argument to issues of form, narrative voice and structure. Or they might link
their argument to socio-historical contexts.

Question 14
Analyse Dickens’s use of a first-person retrospective narrative in Great
Expectations.

Approaching the question

Being able to outline and write confidently on what a first-person retrospective
narrative is and an ability to demonstrate how it functions is central to answering
this question well. Weaker answers are often those that struggle to understand or
show an awareness of the two Pips; the child Pip who sees or focalises and the
adult Pip who retrospectively remembers, curates, structures and tells the story.
Very good answers are those that can use key narratological terms accurately.
Good answers will also demonstrate some awareness of the debates surrounding
the extent to which Pip can be considered and unreliable narrator, and can
comment upon the slippages and changes between the two narrative voices in
Great Expectations and the effects Dickens is able to create using these
techniques. Good strong answers are those that are able to back up and
demonstrate their argument through closes analysis of key textual examples and
episodes, examining qualities of narrative voice, tone and register. Some of the
weaker answers tend to retell the narrative rather than present an analysis of the
text, or otherwise lack detailed examples to support their arguments.
Some of the strongest and most sophisticated answers are able to present a
broader argument on the wider significance, function and implications of Dickens’s
use of the first-person retrospective narrative, arguing that Dickens’s uses this POV
to explore and critique the nature of memory and how humans experience time and
trauma.

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Question 15
Critically examine the depiction of hysteria in Miss Julie.

Approaching the question

This question is inviting you to choose a number of key examples or depictions of
female ‘madness’ or ‘hysteria’ in the play and critically examine and comment their
representation and significance. Good answers often showed some understanding
of the negative cultural and historical connotations and history of the term hysteria
or linked the depiction of hysteria in the play to Strindberg’s intensely misogynistic
attitudes towards women, and his attitudes towards class. Candidates might
usefully look at the use of imagery in the play, language associated with hysteria or
female madness, especially that relating to animals, blood, menstruation and the
moon. Other very good answers took a more literal approach and looked at key
scenes depicting Jean’s cruel parodying and performances of hysteria, Miss Julie’s
mental illness and suicide linked to her anxieties and shame regarding sexual
activity, and mirrored in her mother’s mysterious illness, bizarre behavior and
ultimately the failure of both of their feminist beliefs.
Some of the most sophisticated responses were those that were able to integrate
some discussion of historical and social context’; Strindberg’s naturalism; use of
naturalistic language, imagery; dialogue, movement and staging and the rejection of
‘theatricalization’ or looked at the relationship between form, structure and content
or the text in performance. Some use or reference to the semiotics of theatre could
also provide some interesting and nuanced answers to the question.
Whichever approach to the question you chose, remember that the terms of the
question require you to ‘critically examine’ the text. In practical terms this means
that you need to present a balanced and objective examination of how the theme of
hysteria is presented and treated in the play, looking at the extent to which it is
problematic, or possible strengths and weaknesses of this depiction in the play. You
should also come up with some argument on the broader significance and
implications of this depiction. This should be well supported by a detailed analysis
and examination of the text.

Question 16
Discuss the use of Irony in Hardy’s Jude the Obscure.

Approaching the question

This question is asking students to offer some critical discussion on the use or uses
of irony in Jude. In this, students should offer some discussion of the wider function
of irony and might offer some consideration of what Hardy might be critiquing here.
Students might usefully look at Hardy’s use of coincidental and situational irony; the
naming of places; Irony in characterization and character’s relationships with each
other; irony and dark humour; irony and the themes of marriage and education. For
example, Jude’s attempts to keep Sue near him ultimately push her into Phillotson’s
arms; the way in which Jude’s idealism is constantly thwarted by his interaction with
cynical and avaricious people; Jude’s death in Christminster; or Jude and the
pregnant Sue working on a restoration of a stonework ten commandments.

Candidates should choose at least three episodes or examples from throughout the
novel in order to demonstrate the knowledge of the text and demonstrate how these

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uses of irony play out in Jude. The most sophisticated answers are often those that
pay particular attention to issues of form, imagery and narrative structure.

Question 17
Examine Eliot’s treatment of change in Prufrock and Other Observations. Your
answer should pay close attention to issues of both form and content. You
must address at least two different poems in your answer.

Approaching the question

Candidates attempting this question will find it beneficial to have a good grasp of
the principles and socio-historical contexts of modernism and should be aware of
the strategies of modernist writing and its experimentations with form, and
fragmented language and imagery. In their discussion, students should offer some
argument as to the broader significance and function of this theme in this collection.
This question provides a good opportunity to use your close reading skills,
examining the relationship between form and content.

Some of the most sophisticated answers took a more structural approach to the
question, looking at changes in form, language, tense, rhythm, structure and sound
patterning in Eliot’s poetry and the way in which form, theme and content are
interacting to create meaning here. It is a common error for candidates to only look
at Prufrock or to place more emphasis on it than the other poems in question.
Please remember that you must refer to at least two poems in your answer. While
Prufrock is the obvious choice for this question asking, as it does if change is
possible. However, many of the poems in this collection could also be looked at for
this question, exploring, as the collection does, the subjective and painful process of
change. The poems: ‘Portrait of a Lady’ with its changes in setting; ‘Preludes’ with
its links between changing states of consciousness and temporal change, the
nature of memory and experience may be of particular interest. Alternatively, you
might undertake a broader survey of the depiction of change in this collection.
Perhaps linking your argument to Eliot’s preoccupations with isolation, or the
broader concerns and preoccupations of modernism. Candidates should be able to
offer some argument and comment on the broader significance and implications of
the representation of change in these poems.

Question 18
Discuss the role of women in Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Approaching the question
As with the Eliot question, candidates attempting this question will find it beneficial
to have a good grasp of the principles and socio-historical contexts of modernism
and should be aware of the strategies of modernist writing and its experimentations
with form, and fragmented language and imagery. Students should try to offer some
broader argument on the wider significance of Joyce’s depiction of women. The
most sophisticated answers are able to integrate some analysis of things like form,
context of the Bildungsroman and Künstlerroman, language, imagery or context into
their argument and discussion. Student’s should pick around two or three key
episodes and discuss them in detail.

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Students might usefully look at the way in which female characters are used as a
mirror, reflecting back on the character of Stephen Daedalus; links between women
and nationhood and ‘the batlike soul’ of emergent individual and national identity;
role of authority figures such as Dante and Stephen’s mother compared to the role
of younger girls and women as sexual objects; the issue of a matriarchal society
having internalised patriarchy and colonialism; women and religion.

Question 19
Examine the motif of illness and disease in Mrs Dalloway.

Approaching the question

As with the questions on Eliot and Joyce, candidates attempting this question will
find it useful to have a good grasp of the key aims, principles, concerns and socio-
historical contexts associated with modernist literary movements. They should be
aware of the strategies of modernist writing and its experimentations with form,
language and imagery, and be able to engage with these issues in their
examination of the ways in which Woolf uses motifs of illness and disease in Mrs
Dalloway. Some weaker answers had not fully understood the literary term ‘motif’
and wrote more on the general themes of illness and disease rather than focussing
on motifs per se. Motifs might include looking at reoccurring images, repeated
language or phrasing, changes in structure, a reoccurring action or situation, as well
as the thematic expression of the topic. Some of the strongest answers looked at
the language and imagery related to disease and infection; depiction of shell shock,
impact of the 1919 flu pandemic; and a comparison of language and other
character’s perceptions of Clarissa and Septimus’s illnesses; connections between
language of illness and Woolf’s experimentations with language and form.

Many answers fell into the trap of trying to explain the motifs and depictions of
disease and Illness to an overly simplistic discussion of Woolf’s own experiences of
mental health. Other answers focussed on a too generalised discussion of
Septimus’s ‘shell shock’ or ‘PTSD’ without paying adequate attention to the
depiction, use of motifs, language, symbol associated with disease and illness in
the rest of the text. An effective way to expand your argument, might be a
comparison of this in different characters, looking at differences and similarities in
their representation. A comparison of Clarissa and Septimus is the obvious choice,
but also remember to look at the depiction of other characters, even more ‘minor’
characters such as Miss Kilman and Elizabeth, Peter and Hugh, as there are more
interesting arguments to be had here that go beyond a simple discussion of the
explicit representation of illness and disease here.

Some of the most sophisticated answers are able to integrate some discussion of
things like issues of form and structure, the use of flashbacks, tunnelling, ‘time
pockets’, punctuation and sentence structure and the way in which these function to
emphasize or reflect depictions of illness and disease or their consequences in the
novel. Stronger answers are often those that consider some of the wider
implications or broader significance of the use of these motifs.

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Question 20
Is Beckett’s Waiting for Godot a play about hope or hopelessness? Your
answer should evaluate both interpretations of the play and present a close
analysis of the text.

Approaching the question

This question is asking students to decide between the two opposing interpretations
of the play, by evaluating both of them through a close examination of the text.
Either side could successfully be argued. Some students went for a slightly more
nuanced argument suggesting that there were aspects of both hope and
hopelessness in the play. Some sophisticated responses took this idea even
further, successfully arguing that the tension and play between hope and
hopelessness structures the play.

Good answers present a detailed examination and analysis of a number of key

scenes or examples and are able to comment on their significance to the wider text.
Some good examples to look at might be: the friendships and relationships between
characters, significance of repetition, use of imagery, power dynamics, freedom and
slavery, purpose/lack of purpose, the significance of waiting among other
possibilities.

The most sophisticated and nuanced answers to this question demonstrate good
understanding of critical discourses on the ‘theatre of the absurd’ and the play’s
thematic and conceptual links to existentialist philosophical thought. Candidates
might also find some interesting and detailed arguments through a consideration of
form and its relationship with the content of the play, or through an exploration of
the text in performance with reference to the semiotics of theatre.

Question 21
Explore Carrington’s The Hearing Trumpet as a critique of institutions and/or
authority

Approaching the question

The critique of institutions and authority is a central theme of the novel and as such
there are a lot of interesting and important key examples that you could look at. The
central narrative can be read as an exploration and confrontation with patriarchal
institutions and figures of authority in which Carrington explores the way in which
old women are treated and seen as useless, expendable, a nuisance, and quite
threatening to a patriarchal and misogynistic society that does not value women
past childbearing age. Marian is cast out of her family, and put into institutional care
in a nursing home, despite not needing or requiring care, in this institution she
uncovers he corruption and sinister practices of the Gambits, and critiques the cult
like practices of the Well of Light Brotherhood. This fraternal and patriarchal
organisation is critiqued via Marian discovery of the female led Venusian cult of
Donna Rosalinda. After which these elderly forgotten women, become the leaders
of humanity and set out on a grail quest, travelling over the arctic tundra of a new
ice age that has swept away all of these damaging and controlling patriarchal
institutions.

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Students might choose to present an analytical account of this narrative, or they

might prefer to look at the use of imagery and language, use of surrealistic
elements, representations of gender and gender conventions, use of biblical and
mythical allusions and the critique of a repressive Christian religion, religious
institutions and beliefs and the rejection of a ‘revengeful father God’ in favour of a
pagan matriarchal belief system.
Strong answers are able to link their discussion to the use of magical realism, use
and subversion of quest narratives, and the use of postmodern literary techniques
of bricolage, metanarrative, pastiche and parody. Some of the strongest answers
are able to relate their arguments to biographical contexts and artistic movements
or relate their arguments to Carrington’s feminist challenges to, and questioning of,
patriarchal authority and institutions.

Question 22
‘Down here everyone arrives with a sack, like the sacks used to keep the
winds in, but each of these sacks is full of words — words you’ve spoken,
words you’ve heard, words that have been said about you’. Critically explore
the tension between truth and lies in The Penelopiad.

Approaching the question

In order to answer this question effectively students need to have good, detailed
knowledge of the plots of both the Odyssey and The Penelopiad. While it is not
strictly necessary, engaging with the quotation, usually makes for a stronger essay.
In the The Penelopiad, all acts of storytelling, male and female, written and oral are
describes as a ‘low art’ full of lies, half truths and deceptions. One approach to the
question would be to look at this as a technique of Atwood’s feminist rewriting
project in which she creates a tension between truth and lies to question, challenge
and rewrite the Odyssey from a feminist perspective. The more sophisticated
answers took this idea further and were able to critically assess the extent to which
such a rewriting practice is problematic. Other strong answers looked at the tension
between truth and lies in the difference between Atwood’s Odysseus’s version of
events and the doubt or unreliable narratives created by Penelope’s questioning of
the veracity of his account of monsters and supernatural beings, while suggesting a
shared element of truth in both versions. i.e., Cyclops and Calypso. Another very
good answer looked at the tension between truth and lies created through the
alternating structure of Penelope’s first person novel chapters, and the multi genre,
contradictory narratives of the maids; A different and interesting approach to the
question very effectively looked at the tension between truth and lies as depicted in
the relationship Penelope has with Helen of Troy, while another looked at the
historical subjectively of truth and lies as explored in the chapters ‘The
Anthropology Lecture’ and ‘The Trial of Odysseus.’
Strong, sophisticates answers were able to discuss and compare the differences
between Penelope’s first person novel chapters and the various genre forms of the
maids’ chorus chapters such as the lament, rope jumping rhyme and the
anthropology lecture. Students might usefully discuss the ways in which, and
suggest a reason why these conflicting narratives are used to undermine and
question the ‘truth’ or official version of events as depicted in the Odyssey even as
they simultaneously underminine Penelope’s version of events as a different series
of lies, untruths, deceptions and cover-ups. Answers that undertook a close
analysis of the text and were able to consider questions of form, rewritings of quest

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narratives and epic conventions, gender, narrative reliability, representations of

storytelling, female relationships and/or voice did particularly well.

Section C

Remember that your answer in this section should refer to TWO texts,
EACH by a DIFFERENT author. Candidates are reminded that SECTION C
answers must be sufficiently comparative and that equal attention should be
given to the analysis and examination of both of their chosen texts.
Candidates are reminded that they may ONLY write on the set texts
prescribed for this course.

Question 23
Discuss the nature and treatment of one of the following in two works by
different authors on the course:
(a) epiphany
(b) nationhood
(c) isolation
(d) loss.

Approaching the question

Each of these themes works well with a range of texts, and selection will depend on
the approach taken by the individual candidate. The nature and treatment of
epiphany, most obviously suggests the modernist texts of Joyce, Woolf and Eliot
and is also a significant trope of the of the metaphysical poets. A comparison of the
poetry of Eliot and Donne, or other metaphysical poets, while challenging, could
make for a very interesting and excellent answer. A comparison of the use and
function of epiphany in Mrs Dalloway and Portrait, would work very well. The
Hearing Trumpet would also work very well as a point of comparison with these
other modernist texts. However, you could also make and argument for the
significance of moments of epiphany in less obvious texts such as a comparison of
Jude and Great Expectations. In the context of the Bildungsroman, there is the
potential for an interesting essay on sexual awakening and epiphany.

Students found the question of nationhood quite difficult and hard to find as an
obvious theme in the texts studied on this course. In fact, there are quite a few texts
with themes of nationhood and nation building, including texts that can be read
allegorically in this way. This question is quite an interesting one for some of the
older texts. Issues of reunification, rebuilding and creating society after war are
central to the Odyssey and Antigone; you could link the conflict between polis and
oikos, and Creon’s attempt to maintain order and privilege the state over individual
to the theme of nationhood. Joyce’s Portrait offers a clear, strong exploration of Irish
nationhood and identity, with interesting links to the depiction of women and
Stephen’s growth and identity as an artist. Alternatively, an historical and political
reading of Dante’s Inferno, with its interest in politics and religion, and conflicts over
the sovereignty of Florence as a nation state and desire to limit the power of Popes
and other religious and political figures, could work well. While Gawain and the

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Green Knight and The Wife of Bath could both be read in the context of responses
to the codifying of regional, national and cultural identities in the 14th Century.

The themes of isolation and loss are present in many texts and there are too many
combinations to discuss them here, rather I have attempted to point to some
interesting combination of texts here: the sense of isolation appears particularly
strong in Mariner and Eliot’s Prufrock; Great Expectations and Jude both explore
the psychological impact of loss and self isolation on their protagonists; Mrs
Dalloway provides a fascinating depiction of post-war isolation and loss in the
contexts of modernism that could easily be compared to other modernist texts,
while the impact of isolation on characters in Miss Julie provides an interesting
counterpoint to Waiting for Godot.

Whichever combination of texts you choose to look at, make sure that you give
equal weight to both texts. The strongest answers are often those that are able to
make some argument and links to the wider significance of these depictions,
perhaps linking to issues of genre, social and historical, or allegorical readings of
the text.

Question 24
Compare and contrast the use of mythical allusion in TWO texts by different
authors studied on the course.

Approaching the question

This question invites candidates to discuss the use of mythical allusion in two texts
of their choice. Mythical allusions can be direct intertextual allusions to mythical
texts, indirect allusions or might more broadly include structural allusions, genre
allusion or indirect uses of mythical images and symbols. Given that texts like
Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and Homer’s Odyssey are the source for most of these
mythical allusions in later literature and rewritings and that these texts have no
direct ur source, it might be best to avoid them for this question. However, you
could use your knowledge of these sources and look and the use of allusions and
intertextual references to them in two other texts and this could make for a very
good and sophisticated answer to the question. The Penelopiad was a popular text
for this question, it can work well but be aware that this is not an easy text for this
question, and as discussed, cannot really be compared to the Odyssey here. Texts
such as Mariner, Metaphysical Poetry, Wife of Bath, Inferno, Rape of the Lock, as
well as later texts such as Jude and Great Expectations, or modernist texts such as
Mrs Dalloway, Portrait or the poetry of Eliot could work very well. The use of
mythical elements in the quest and grail narratives such as Gawain and The
Hearing Trumpet might also make for a strong and interesting answer.
However, it is not enough to simply demonstrate or list the presence of mythical
elements in these texts. The essay should compare and contrast both texts and
have some argument and conclusion as to the use and function of myth in both
texts. Candidates should avoid retelling the narrative and are advised to
demonstrate knowledge of a number of key episodes spanning the entirety of the
poem by providing close analysis of the text, with attention to figurative language
and form.

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Question 25
Explore the intersection of gender and class in TWO texts by different authors
studied on the course.

Approaching the question

Many candidates had difficulty with this question because they misunderstood or
ignored the use of the key term ‘intersection’ in the question. This referred to the
key critical concept of intersectionality. This can be used as a critical approach to a
text, that allows us to investigate how aspects of a character’s social and political
identity, race, sex, gender, or class can combine to depict different modes of
privilege or discrimination. Therefore, this question is asking you to look at how the
combination of class and gender are treated in two different texts. The strongest
answers are those that are able to link this discussion to the broader implications
and significance of this depiction.
Some of the best answers looked and the intersection of class and gender in Emma
and The Rape of the Lock. These are indeed, very good examples of conscious
attempts by their authors to examine and critique the way society treats women of
different social classes, linking discussions to issues of social and historical
contexts, such as the growth of middle class wealth, or the class stratification and
marriage market in Emma, or the satire on the frivolity and absurdity of a wealthy
and bored aristocracy in The Rape of the Lock.
Alternatively, you might look at the links between masculinity, class and the
depiction of the chivalric knight in The Wife of Bath, and Sir Gawain. Or look at the
depiction of gender and class in Jude and Great Expectations, with its links to
industrialisation, or attitudes towards gender and sexuality linked to class in Miss
Julie and The Wife and Bath.

Question 26
Compare and contrast depictions of the hero and/or the heroic in any TWO
texts by different authors studied on the course.

Approaching the question

This is another very open question that asks candidates to compare and contrast
tropes and conventions which are common to many of the texts studied on this
course and have had an enormous impact and influence on the western cannon (a
term which I do not use unproblematically here). Students might choose to examine
the use, function and literary influence of the hero from classical epic quest and
journey narratives such as the Odyssey or you might look at the hero of medieval
literature and might usefully consider a comparison of the knight in grail/quest
narratives in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Wife of Bath’s prologue and
tale. Another interesting take might be to look at Christian adaptations of the hero
and or the heroic in texts such as Paradise Lost, The Ancient Mariner or The
Inferno.
Another interesting approach was to compare conventional ideals of the hero and
the heroic with more modern adaptations and interpretations of what a hero is.
Issues of gender representation and setting were of particular interest here. Some
good essays came from a comparison of the Penelope and Odysseus as heroic

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figures in the Odyssey and The Penelopiad, with consideration of the changes and
subversions of the heroic and the hero’s journey from external to internal, worldly
and domestic. The most sophisticated answers were those that were able to
consider the problems and implications of such depictions. There were also some
very good essays that discussed The Hearing Trumpet in relation to classical
conventions of the hero and the heroic, which worked very well.
It is also possible to answer this question with reference to 19th and 20th century
texts. Candidates might consider looking at the more figurative, internal and
psychological depictions of the hero and the heroic in the context of the
bildungsroman and Künstlerroman; perhaps comparing and contrasting Jude or
Great Expectations with Portrait of the Artist. The impact and influence of the
classical epic and the heroic on modernist literature is significant. In this, answers
comparing and contrasting the depiction of the hero in texts such as Portrait, Mrs
Dalloway and Prufrock would work particularly well.

Question 27
Compare and contrast the use and function of any ONE first-person narrative
with any ONE third-person narrative studied on this course.

Approaching the question

This question could be answered in relation to any prose text studied on the course.
It may be possible to discuss point of view in some poetic texts, but these key
narratological terms are more often used in the analysis of prose texts, and cannot
be applied to dramatic texts. The correct use of key narratological terms, while not
strictly necessary can be very useful and the most sophisticated essays tend to
demonstrate a good understanding of them, and can correctly identify different
kinds of point of view, and narrative voice, distance and tone. i.e., first, second and
third person, omniscient, objective, familiar, limited etc.
The key to answering this question effectively is to clearly show that you understand
the difference between different kinds of POV and that you understand the
particular effects that can be created using them. Remember that you MUST
compare and contrast one first person POV to one third person POV, answers that
do not do this can incur a significant penalty.
Texts such as Portrait of the Artist, Great Expectations, Jude the Obscure or texts
such as Emma, Mrs Dalloway, The Penelopiad – those that have either clear or
unusual or interesting experimentations, changes and intersections of different
kinds of point of view tend to make for the strongest answers and do very well.
Candidates need to present a comparative analysis in which they discuss and
analyse examples from both texts, and must come up with some argument on their
broader use and function. Essays that can situate their answers in broader literary
contexts and movements would do very well.

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