Paper 2 - Section A Reading

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Edexcel IGCSE English Your notes

Language A: Paper 2: Poetry and
Prose Texts and Imaginative Writing
Paper 2: Section A Reading
Contents
How to Answer Question 1 (Poetry or Prose)
Question 1 Skills: Analysing a Poem
Question 1 Skills: Analysing Prose
Disabled
"Out, Out-"
An Unknown Girl
The Bright Lights of Sarajevo
Still I Rise
The Story of an Hour
The Necklace
Significant Cigarettes (from The Road Home)
Whistle and I'll Come to you (from The Woman In Black)
Night
Question 1: Model Answer
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Your notes
Question 1 is the only reading question in Paper 1 and is worth 30 marks. It is a long answer question related
to one of the fiction texts (poetry or prose) contained in the Pearson Edexcel IGCSE English Anthology. It
tests AO1, which is your ability to read and understand texts as well as your ability to select and interpret the
information, ideas and perspectives contained in a text. It also tests AO2, which is your ability to understand
and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects. You should support any points you
make with close textual references and brief quotations from the text itself.
The number of marks available for each assessment objective is:
AO1 = 12 marks
AO2 = 18 marks
The following guide includes:
Breaking down the question
Steps to success
Exam tips
Breaking down the question

As you have two, equally weighted, 30-mark tasks to complete on this paper, you should split your time
evenly and allow 45 minutes for this question. You will be given three bullet points in this question that you
should use as guidance as to what to include in your answer. It is therefore important that you read the
question carefully and highlight:
The focus of the question (what you are being asked to analyse)
The focus of each bullet point
For example:
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Your notes
How to answer Paper 2 Question 1
Steps to success
Following these steps will give you a strategy for answering this question effectively:
1. Read the question and highlight:
1. The key instructions
2. The focus of the question (what specifically you are being asked to look for in the text)
3. The focus of each bullet point
2. Re-scan the poem or text given:
1. You should know each text well enough for this to be a quick reminder
2. Exam time is not time for a “first read”
3. Annotate your thoughts in the margins:
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1. This should not be just writing down the techniques the writer has used
2. Instead, think about what is shown in the text about the focus of the question Your notes
4. Start your answer using the wording of the question and an overall summary statement:
1. Make sure that this actually says something the examiner can award you a mark for
2. For example, writing, “The writer presents strong feelings through the use of descriptive language”
is not specific enough to obtain a mark
3. Whereas, writing, “The writer presents strong feelings by starting the poem with sensory
description of a traditional setting” would
5. Go into detail:
1. Start each paragraph with a key point
2. Then, use close textual reference and short quotations from the text as evidence for your point
6. Sum up:
1. Finish your answer with a “So overall…” statement
Exam tips
To obtain the highest level in this question (Level 5: 25–30 marks), you should:
Demonstrate that you know and understand the poem or text
Select ideas, textual references and quotes that are directly relevant to the focus of the question
(rather than just writing everything you know about the text)
Avoid “feature spotting”, which means simply pointing out the techniques a writer has used without
exploring why they have used them
Your supporting quotations should be brief and embedded into your sentences:
This means not “introducing” your quotations separately, using statements such as “This is shown by
the quote…” or just putting a quote on a separate line
Instead, the quotation forms part of your sentence
For example: “The writer describes time passing ‘relentlessly’, suggesting she feels…”
Integrate the bullet points in the question in your answer:
Do not leave an analysis of language and structure as an “add on” at the end
Avoid simply “re-telling” the poem or text:
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You need to drill down into the poem or text to examine the more nuanced ideas explored by the
writer
Ensure you cover the whole of the poem or text Your notes
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Your notes
Question 1 will be based on one of the fiction texts in your Edexcel anthology. The anthology consists of ten
texts, of which the following are poems:
‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen
‘Out, Out—’ by Robert Frost
‘An Unknown Girl’ by Moniza Alvi
‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ by Tony Harrison
‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou
It’s important to prepare for this question in the exam by studying the ten texts in advance. The following
guide is designed to help you in your study of poetry. It includes:
Overview
Form
Structure
Language
Meanings and ideas
Perspective and tense
Quoting from a poem
Overview
Poetry presents its readers images that are not always realistic, and which need to be interpreted. It is
important to remember that the choices a writer has made in terms of how the poem is set out and the
language they have used are all deliberate — a poem is a crafted piece of work. It is therefore useful to
consider not only the language choices a writer has made, but also what decisions they have taken in terms
of structure and form.
What to do when analysing a poet’s methods
Take a whole-text approach to the poem:
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This could involve commenting on structure: “at the start”/“this changes when”/“in contrast…”
This could involve commenting on a poet’s choice of form: Your notes
How have they conformed to, or subverted, the form of sonnet/dramatic monologue etc.?
What deliberate choices has the poet made with their verse form? Are there reasons there is a
regular or irregular rhyme structure?
Think about how tone is presented and develops: why has the poet chosen to present this tone?
Why have they included a tonal shift?
Are characters in the poem presented differently from each other? Why? What does each
represent?
Do characters’ relationships with each other change? Why might a poet have chosen to do this?
Remember that personas, and characters in a poem, are constructs, not real people:
Think about what each character’s function is in the poem
What does the poet use their persona, or characters, to say about the theme?
Why has the poet chosen to write their poem in first, or third, person?
Is the first-person narrator reliable or unreliable?
Always frame your essay with the poet in mind:
As the examiners say: “writers use methods, including language and structure, to form and express
their ideas — the choices the writer makes are conscious and deliberate”
Therefore, write that a poet “highlights X”, “suggests Y”, “challenges Z”
And always use the poet’s (last) name in your essay
Use the words “so” and “because” to push you to explain your own ideas further
Zoom out to big ideas in your analysis:
Go from analysing language, or other writer’s choices, to a poet’s overall intention or message
This should also link to your thesis, and argument, throughout
You can begin these “zoom out” sentences with “The poet could be suggesting that because X,
then Y” or “The poet could be using the character of X to challenge contemporary ideas about Y”
Use modal language to present sophisticated ideas:
Using words like “could”, “may” or “perhaps” shows that you are thinking conceptually
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Form
The form of the poem can be thought of as “genre”. Poetry itself is a form of text, as are prose and drama. Your notes
Within the form of poetry, there are many sub-forms. It’s important that you know what genre your
anthology poems are in, as you can gain valuable marks for commenting on a text’s form.
When writing about form in poetry, it is important to consider why the poet has chosen that particular form,
especially if they have altered the rules of that particular form. It is also useful to consider how the form
reflects the themes of the poem.
Let’s take a look at an example. The following poem is called ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley:
‘Ozymandias’ Analysis of form
I met a traveller from an antique The form of this poem is a sonnet, made up of 14 lines
land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless
legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on However, Shelley blends elements of the Petrarchan and
the sand, Shakespearean sonnets
Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies,
whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold
command
Tell that its sculptor well those It is Petrarchan in that the poem is structured as an octave and a
passions read sestet, but Shelley alters the rhyme scheme
Which yet survive, stamp’d on
these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d them and
the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words This could reflect the idea that the fleeting nature of human power
appear: is overwhelmed by the power of nature
“My name is Ozymandias, king of
kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and
despair!”
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Nothing beside remains. Round

the decay Shelley breaks away from the traditional sonnet form to imply that
power doesn’t last and can be broken Your notes
Of that colossal wreck, boundless
and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch
far away.
How to apply this in an exam response:
Exam question Incorporating analysis of form in your response
Explore how Shelley Shelley conveys ideas of power in ‘Ozymandias’ by taking the traditional form
conveys ideas of of a sonnet and subverting it. He blends Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet
power in forms, and alters the rhyme scheme. This reflects the fleeting nature of human
“Ozymandias” power when compared to the overwhelming power of nature, and implies that
power does not last and can be broken down and re-arranged.
Structure
The structure of a poem refers to how the poem has been put together in its particular form. The choices a
poet can make in terms of how to structure their poem includes stanza length, the use of repetition and
refrains, a circular structure, and the use of particular types of punctuation, such as caesura, or a lack of
punctuation at the end of a line, called enjambment. Structure also includes rhyme scheme and changes in
line length. The poet’s choices regarding structure can affect a poem’s meaning or message.
Let’s look at an example of structural choices made by a writer and how these shape meaning. The
following stanzas are taken from John Agard’s poem ‘Checking Out Me History’:
‘Checking Out Me Analysis of structure

History’
Dem tell me bout 1066 Agard deliberately structures the stanzas into two distinct styles through the
and all dat use of italics to emphasise the separation between the history he was taught at
school and Black history
dem tell me bout Dick
Whittington and he cat
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But Toussaint The poet also juxtaposes sometimes frivolous British and white history taught
L’Ouverture in colonial schools with powerful Black history
Your notes
no dem never tell me
bout dat
The stanzas dealing with the history the speaker was forced to learn use simple
rhyming couplets
Toussaint
a slave This emphasises the superficial nature and lack of relevance of this history to
with vision the speaker
lick back
Napoleon Each of these stanzas also start with “Dem tell me” — the repetition suggesting
a frustration with the colonial control that has dominated the speaker’s life, and
battalion which now dominates these stanzas of the poem
and first Black
Republic born The stanzas in italics are longer and use an unconventional structure, to suggest
these are unconventional ideas
Toussaint de thorn
to de French
The lines in these stanzas are shorter and written in free verse to sound more
Toussaint de beacon
like speech and in contrast with the nursery-rhyme rhythm of the “white history”
of de Haitian stanzas
Revolution
Exam question Incorporating analysis of structure in your response
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How does Agard Agard structures his poem to show a clear distinction between the white,
strikingly convey the colonial history he was taught at school, and the history that is more important
Your notes
differences in personal to him that he was not taught. He does this by deliberately changing the font
experiences of history of the poem between the stanzas. In addition, the stanzas containing “white”
in “Checking Out Me history are structured using simple rhyming couplets, giving them a nursery-
History”? rhyme and simplistic quality, while the stanzas written in italics and dealing
with his history are written in free verse and are longer, suggesting they deal
with more complex and unconventional ideas.
Language
When analysing language in a poem, you need to consider the specific choices of words and phrases the
writer has used, as well as the imagery they have created and the language techniques they have used, all of
which contribute to the themes and meanings in the poem.
In order to do this, you should consider both the denotation and the connotations of particular words:
Denotation = the literal meaning of a word or phrase
Connotation = the associations or implied meanings of the word or phrase
When commenting on words and phrases from the text, you should always try to consider why you think the
writer has chosen that particular word to use. Below are some questions that you might ask yourself when
analysing the words and phrases in a poem:
Denotations and Emotional impact Charactеrisation Formality and

connotations informality
How do these layеrs How do the words evoke Do the words rеvеal aspеcts Do the words
of mеaning add еmotions or fееlings in thе of the narrator's pеrsonality, make the text
dеpth to thе poem? rеаdеr? Do thеy crеatе joy, background or еmotions? morе rеlatablе or
sadnеss, fеar or еxcitеmеnt? distant?
Once you are able to identify particular words and phrases within a text, you need to develop this skill
further by considering why the writer has chosen to include these within their writing.
Rеmеmbеr thе goal of analysing words and phrasеs is to uncovеr layеrs of mеaning, to understand thе
writer’s intent and to explore how languagе contributes to the ovеrall impact of thе poem.
Knowing the names of sophisticated language techniques will not gain you any more marks in the exam,
especially if these techniques are only “spotted” and the writer’s intentions are not explained. Once you are
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able to identify and understand different literary techniques (see our Literary Devices Glossary for more
details), you need to develop this skill further by considering why the writer has chosen to include these
techniques in their writing. Your notes
Exam question Incorporating analysis of language in your response
How does Hughes The poem begins with the hawk as the narrator, personifying it with the human
create such a quality of dreams, as it describes dreaming “about killing my prey perfectly and
compelling portrait eating them”. Hughes gives the hawk the powers of conscious thought, but
of the hawk in ‘Hawk juxtaposes this with the lack of human qualities such as mercy and remorse. This
Roosting’? leads to a contradiction that runs throughout the poem: the hawk’s natural
instinct is the non-human one to kill, yet it can only express this nature through
human language
EXAM TIP
It is more important to explore the effects of the writer’s choices than it is to use over-complicated
terminology. You can be just as successful in writing about the effect of a specific word choice as
you are in writing about complex language features.
Meanings and ideas

A sensitive and personal response to a poem comes from reading the poem closely and knowing the poem
thoroughly: what it means and what the poet is trying to say. You should think critically about meanings and
interpretations, and use quotations and references to support your response.
When you consider your response to a poem, it is essential that you provide evidence to support your
interpretation. This will make your response well-informed. However, it’s important that your analysis isn’t
led by the evidence.
You should therefore begin your analysis of the given poem with an exploration of the poet’s meaning and
ideas, rather than the methods they have used. This will automatically mean that you are developing a
personal response to the poem, rather than just “spotting” the techniques a poet has used. It is also a good
idea to consider how the poem’s title helps you understand its content. Then, depending on the focus of
the question, find the evidence that supports your understanding and interpretation of the poem.
Ideas and themes, not methods
Examiners warn against structuring your analysis based on the poet’s methods:
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They do not reward well when students identify a poet’s method first, and then analyse what it
means
Your notes
For example, spotting that a poem includes sibilance, or caesura, and then attempting to say
something relevant about that method
Often, this won’t work because students will fail to identify a convincing link between the method
and the theme of the question
Instead, examiners suggest students focus their responses on meaning and ideas, and use the poet’s
methods as a means of illustrating meaning:
So your argument should start with the poet’s overarching ideas in terms of the question, and then
find evidence from the poem that illustrates these ideas
For example, if the question is about how the poet conveys ideas about marriage, you would not
start a point like this:
“The poet uses caesura in line 13. This caesura could show how…”❌
But instead, like this:
“The poet presents marriage as something challenging, which requires mutual respect. The
poet shows this when…”✅
Tone
Another way to understand the meaning and ideas of a poem is to consider its tone.
In poetry, tone is the “mood” of a poem:
This could be the mood that:
A speaker expresses in a poem
A poet has towards their speaker
The poet creates in terms of the setting of the poem
The poet creates in terms of the poem’s subject matter
The tone of a poem reflects its ideas and meaning:
It is therefore something you should consider when thinking about how a poet expresses their
ideas and meaning
Because a poem’s mood is created by the poet’s language, pace and rhythm, symbolism and
grammar, it works perfectly as evidence in your essay:
So think: what is the tone the poet is trying to convey in their poem?
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And how — via their choices — do they create this effect?

Another sophisticated way to explore ideas and meanings presented by a poet is to consider whether
the tone of a poem changes: Your notes
Think: why has the poet created this tonal shift?
And how — via their poetic choices — do they create this shift?
This also enables you to say something relevant about structure
So think first about why a poet has created a certain tone, and what its effect is, before thinking about
what methods they have used to create it:
For example, you would not start a point like this:
“The poet uses imagery in line 1. This creates a tone of …”❌
But instead:
“Macrae explores ideas about being contented within your own self through her use of
metaphor, “while inside his heart was fat with sun”, which suggests Harry’s life is one that is
filled to the brim with joy and pleasure, which…”✅
EXAM TIP
You do not get more marks for addressing language, structure and form separately. In fact, if your
analysis is irrelevant to the question you have been set, you could lose marks. Always begin with the
question, and make sure everything you consider in the poem relates back to the focus of the
question.
Perspective and tense

Considering perspective is another sophisticated way to explore a poet’s intention and messages:
Perspective in poetry is the point of view from which the poem is being told:
It could be narrated in the first person (using the pronoun “I”)
It could be narrated in the third person (“he”; “she”; “they”, etc.)
Poems often also contain a persona:
A persona, or speaker, is the invented character through which the poem is narrated
Remember, the persona of a poem is not the same as the poet themselves, and this separation allows
poets to explore ideas with more nuance and subtlety
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Poets often create a fictional narrator (a persona) when writing in the first person
Sometimes, writing in the first person can give a poem more immediacy
Your notes
Perspective is therefore a very deliberate choice made by the poet in order to better get across their
ideas and message:
As such, it counts as a writer’s method
Just like tone above, it is directly linked to a writer’s intention, and so serves as excellent evidence
for a poet’s meaning and ideas
Considering the tense of the poem also contributes to the speaker’s perspective
Different tenses will create a different tone and perspective, and the poet will have made a deliberate
choice over which tense they are using and why:
For example, is the speaker looking back (past tense), speaking about now (present tense) or
looking forward (future tense)?
How to quote from the poem in your essay

The ability to support your interpretation means selecting relevant quotations from the poem
However, it is the skill of precisely unpicking and selecting textual references, rather than using
quotations, that’s important
Therefore, references don’t always need to be direct quotations:
They can be references to things that happen in the poem
They can be references to the choices and methods the poet uses (“this idea is expressed when
the poet uses first-person narration/a tonal shift/symbolism relating to X in order to…”)
Examiners repeatedly stress that textual references are just as valuable as direct quotations:
The most important thing is that these references are directly related to the ideas and themes you
are exploring in your essay, and provide evidence to prove your thesis
When using direct quotations, you should aim to select 6–7 relevant quotations that contain a range of
language and/or structure devices that you can comment upon and analyse:
A high-level response will incorporate these quotations into the explanations of meaning
Your quotations should also be embedded into your sentences, rather than separate. For example:
“The poet explores how power does not last by stating that ‘Nothing beside remains’, which
tells us that there is nothing left of this once-powerful ruler except a broken statue standing in
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the middle of a vast desert” ✅

Rather than:
Your notes
“The poet explores how power does not last. This is shown in the quote ‘Nothing beside
remains’. This shows…” ❌
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Your notes
Question 1 will be based on one of the fiction texts in your Edexcel anthology. The anthology consists of ten
texts, of which the following are prose:
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
Significant Cigarettes (from The Road Home) by Rose Tremain
Whistle and I’ll Come to You (from The Woman in Black) by Susan Hill
Night by Alice Munro
It’s important to prepare for this question in the exam by studying the ten texts in advance. The following
guide is designed to help you in your study of prose. It includes:
Overview
Perspective
Characterisation
Structure
Overview
Analysing a piece of prose involves not just looking at the language the writer has used. You might also wish
to consider:
Form Explanation
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Plot structure A plot can be linear:

This is when the events in the story unfold in chronological and sequential Your notes
order
Or it can be cyclical:
This means there could be a recurrent theme or motif
Or it could mean that the plot “circles back” to the beginning
Mood Mood describes the feelings or attitudes of the story or characters:

When setting a mood a writer is looking to make an emotional impact
Juxtaposition To place two things side by side to compare or contrast for effect:
This might include the use of foil characters
A foil is a character who contrasts with another character:
For example, Harry Potter and Voldemort are foils of one another
Foreshadowing This is a warning or a prediction of a future event in the story

The writer might also employ dramatic irony, where the reader might be
aware of what is coming, but the characters are not
In medias res This is when the story starts in the middle of the action
Flashbacks A scene set in a time earlier than the main story:

This device can be used to convey extra information about plot or character
Soliloquies/dialogue A soliloquy is a speech which a character makes to themselves:

It is a device in which a character’s inner thoughts can be made known to the
reader
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters in a novel or play
What to do when analysing the author’s methods
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Take a whole-text approach:

In this question, this could involve commenting on structure: “at the start”/“this changes when”/“in Your notes
contrast…“
Always frame your essay with the author in mind:
As the examiners say: “writers use methods, including language and structure, to form and express
their ideas — the choices the writer makes are conscious and deliberate”
Therefore, write that the author “highlights X”, “suggests Y”, “challenges Z”
Use the words “so” and “because” to push you to explain your own ideas further
Zoom out to big ideas in your analysis:
Go from analysing language, or other writer’s choices, to the author’s overall intention or message
This should always link to the focus of the question
What not to do when analysing the author’s methods
Do not just “spot techniques”:
Examiners dislike it when students use overly sophisticated terminology unnecessarily and without
analysis
Knowing the names of sophisticated techniques will not gain you any more marks, especially if
these techniques are only “spotted” and the author’s intentions for this language are not explained
Instead of technique spotting, focus your analysis on the reasons why the author is presenting the
character or theme the way they are
Do not just limit your analysis to a close reading of the author’s use of language:
You gain marks for explaining all of the author’s choices, not just their language
Instead, take a whole-text approach and think about the author’s decisions about:
Form
Structure
Characterisation
Setting
Never retell the story:
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“Narrative” and “descriptive” answers get the lowest marks

Move from what the author is presenting to how and why they have made the choices they have Your notes
Perspective
The narrative perspective of a piece of prose is the point of view from which the story is told. It is like a lens
through which we view characters and events; we interpret those characters and events based on what the
speaker shows and tells us.
There are two main types of narrative perspective:
First-person This means the story is told from the perspective of a character, most likely the
narrator protagonist
It is easily identifiable by the use of the word “I”
In a first-person narrative, the reader only has access to the experiences and
thoughts of the narrator, and we see and experience events through their eyes
This can lead to the reader feeling sympathy for the character, or exposing the
character as an unreliable narrator
Sometimes, the reader may know something the narrator does not seem to — this
is called dramatic irony
Third-person This means the story is told from a perspective that sits outside of the world of the
narrator story
The narrator refers to all of the characters by their names or pronouns
A third-person narrator is sometimes referred to as an omniscient narrator, which
means that the narrator knows everything about the characters and events
When considering the narrative perspective, ask yourself if the perspective shifts, or how the perspective
affects your understanding of the story.
Characterisation
It is important to remember that characters are constructs, not real people. You should therefore consider
what each character’s function is in the text, how they are presented, how they develop and how they
interact with each other. Some characters may also be “foil” characters — this means any two characters
who are opposites of each other. For example, Harry Potter and Voldemort are foils of each other: they
embody the idea of good versus evil. Foil characters therefore help establish important themes.
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There are two main types of characterisation:
Direct This means what we are told by the author about a character’s appearance Your notes
characterisation and personality
It might also involve the writer explicitly showing what characters think of
one another:
For example, a character might directly describe another character’s
traits
Indirect This involves implying what a character is like

characterisation
This could involve what a character says, how they say it or how they interact
with other characters
It might also involve their inner thoughts and feelings, and more subtle
indications of character, such as how they move and behave
Often, characters are symbolic of broader ideas or attitudes. It is therefore important to consider how a
character changes as a result of the events in a novel.
Structure
When considering structure, you should think about:
The way the writer has put the different parts of the story together
How they set up the world of the story
How they introduce characters
What conflicts there are and how they are resolved
The role of individual chapters or paragraphs in the story arc
How things change by the end of the story
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Disabled
Your notes
‘Disabled’ Analysis
Students studying the Pearson Edexcel IGCSE English Language A qualification will study all of the English
language poetry and prose texts in Part 2 of the Anthology for Paper 2 or for the coursework option (Paper
3). Students taking the full examination route will be asked to analyse one of the poems or prose texts,
which will be included on the question paper. You will have one question to answer about one of these texts
in the exam, and you will be asked to analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects.
The following guide to ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen contains:
‘Disabled’ overview
‘Disabled’ summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Disabled’
How does Owen present his ideas and perspectives?
‘Disabled’ overview
‘Disabled’ by British poet Wilfred Owen explores the trauma and alienation experienced by a soldier who
has suffered life-transforming injuries in World War I. It contrasts the young soldier’s pre-war and post-war
life and his subsequent loss of identity and purpose. Owen himself spent time in several military hospitals
and wrote ‘Disabled’ while at Craiglockhart Hospital in Edinburgh after sustaining injuries on the battlefield,
and the poem reveals Owen’s compassionate identification with soldiers in combat and in hospital.
‘Disabled’ summary
A soldier sits in his wheelchair waiting for night to fall. He is cold and alone, and he can hear the voices of
children playing in the park outside. The poem then moves to memories of the past, as the soldier
remembers happier times in which he danced with girls before he lost his legs. The speaker reflects that the
soldier will never again dance with girls. The reflection continues as the speaker compares the youth of the
soldier’s face with his now older countenance which has lost its life and vitality.
The speaker reflects that it was easy for the soldier to enlist after a football match when he’d been drinking.
The conscription officers readily lied about his age in order to sign him up, and the soldier at that point
thought that war was all glory and honour. The speaker considers that the cheers he received when coming
home were not as enthusiastic as the cheers when a footballer scores a goal. The poem finishes by
returning to the soldier in the hospital, bitter and alone, waiting for someone to come to put him to bed.
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Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Disabled’

Paper 2, Question 1 will ask you how the writer has presented a certain theme, idea or perspective in the Your notes
text, with a focus on analysing the language and structure the writer has used in order to convey this theme,
idea or perspective. You are expected to support your answer with close reference to the text, including
brief quotations.
What are the key themes in ‘Disabled?

Theme Analysis
Appearance of war The poem considers how the idea of war and fighting in World War I was
versus the reality of war romanticised by society:
It suggests that the young soldiers who signed up were sold a lie
He thought war would be “jewelled hilts/For daggers in plaid socks”
and create a feeling of pride in belonging to this privileged group
who get to serve
These preconceptions are contrasted with the reality of his life in the
trenches and his subsequent alienation and isolation from society as
an injured veteran
The tragedy of war remains a daily reality for the soldier, even while the
rest of society moves on:
His physical and psychological injuries prevent him from being able
to re-enter society and the world he loved before enlisting
Owen implies that the real tragedy of war is the way it leaves soldiers
feeling forgotten and alienated by society:
He suggests the state abandons those who manage to make it home
alive
This criticism is levelled at a society that fails to deal with the
consequences of the lie it sells
How does Owen present his ideas and perspectives?
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Wilfred Owen uses a variety of language and structural techniques to present his ideas and perspectives.
Technique Analysis Your notes
Title The title categorises the subject of the poem based on a set of cultural
assumptions about disabled people:
It is a label — and the soldier is unnamed — and so the title is dehumanising
Form The seven stanzas in the poem vary in length and the poem does not adhere to a
traditional form:
Owen may have done this to emphasise the lack of control the soldier now
has over his life
The shifting structure further reflects the soldier’s state of mind, as his
thoughts shift from past to present
Cyclical The poem starts and ends with the soldier alone in hospital:
structure
This emphasises the continuous nature of his isolation and alienation from
society
Rhyme and Rhyme is employed in the poem, but without a sense of consistency or fluidity:
rhythm
This unpredictability may reflect the soldier’s difficulty in coming to terms with
his new reality
He feels marginalised by, and alienated from, society
The use of iambic pentameter creates the sense of monotony the soldier now
feels as he “waits for dark”
Juxtaposition The poet juxtaposes the soldier’s life before and after his injuries:
Owen does this through the use of the soldier’s memories
He also uses contrasting imagery of darkness and loss of colour (signifying
the soldier’s loss of vitality and reason for being) with the light imagery used in
his memories of his life before the war
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Caesura The deliberate breaks in the middle of lines are reflective of the soldier’s disjointed
state of mind and train of thought:
Your notes
The use of caesura reflects how the man’s life has also been brought to a
sudden stop
Repetition Owen employs repetition in the form of anaphora in the closing lines of “Why
don’t they come?”:
As he waits for an answer that might never arrive, the reader is reminded of the
soldier’s lack of hope which now dominates his life
Metaphor At the start of the poem, the soldier is “waiting for dark”, and at the end he
implores for his nurses to “put him into bed”:
The “dark” can be seen to metaphorically symbolise death, which the soldier
is waiting for
Darkness and night symbolise oblivion and an absence of emotional and
physical pain, evoking pity from the reader
The loss of his youth and vitality to the war is metaphorically conveyed by how he
“poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry”
For more guidance on how to get top marks in your exam, check out our comprehensive revision notes on
Paper 2, Question 1:
Question 1 Model Answer
And see our guides for the other International GCSE English Language Anthology texts here:
‘Out, Out—’
‘An Unknown Girl’
‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’
Page 25 of 81
‘Still I Rise’
Your notes
The Necklace
Significant Cigarettes
Whistle and I’ll Come to You
Night
Page 26 of 81
"Out, Out-"
Your notes
‘Out,Out—” Analysis
The following guide to ‘Out, Out—” by Robert Frost contains:
‘Out, Out—’ overview
‘Out, Out—’ summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Out, Out—’
How does Frost present his ideas and perspectives?
‘Out, Out-’ overview

Robert Frost was an American poet who wrote ‘Out, Out—’ in 1916. It is a single-stanza poem about the
accidental death of a young boy whose hand is severed by a buzz-saw. The poem is based on a true story
and focuses on death and people’s reactions to it, how unpredictable and fragile life is and how life
ultimately goes on. It references Shakespeare’s Macbeth, especially in the title which is generally thought
to allude to the quote “Out, out, brief candle!”
‘Out, Out—’ summary

The poem begins by describing the buzz-saw and the mountain ranges beyond the sawmill yard. It is
nearing the end of the day, and the speaker wishes that they had finished early. The boy’s sister calls for
supper, and at that moment the saw severs the boy’s hand. The boy is in shock, and then panics at the
thought of losing his hand completely, not realising that it is already lost. A doctor puts him to sleep as he
dies from shock and loss of blood. The men then return to what they were doing.
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Out, Out—’

Paper 2, Question 1 will ask you how the writer has presented a certain theme, idea or perspective in the
brief quotations.
Page 27 of 81
What are the key themes in ‘Out, Out-’?

Your notes
Theme Analysis
Life and death The sudden and unremarkable death of the boy at the end of the poem is a
stark reminder of the fragility of life:
One moment the boy is about to go in for dinner, the next he is dead
This suggests that tragedy can happen to anyone at any time
The poem does not lament the death:

It suggests that life inevitably moves on as normal after people die
This makes death seem commonplace and routine
The poem suggests that there is little value placed on the boy’s life:
The boy’s age is not revealed, but the speaker tells us that he was “doing
a man’s work, though a child at heart”
The boy was employed doing dangerous work with little regard for his
safety
There is an implicit social criticism of the boy’s family and the other farmhands
for allowing a boy to work with dangerous machinery
Humans versus The poem’s personification of the buzz-saw emphasises how its role has
technology become more important than the boy’s life:
Advances in technology can also bring an increase in the possibility of
accidents
The poem highlights what can happen when the relationship between
people and technology goes wrong
Technology can wield deadly power, but it is indifferent to whether it is the

cause of harm
Page 28 of 81
How does Frost present his ideas and perspectives?

Robert Frost uses a variety of language and structural techniques to present his ideas and perspectives. Your notes
Technique Analysis
Title The poem’s title is widely believed to be a reference to the line in Macbeth: “Out,
out, brief candle!”:
Macbeth comments on the brevity of life
This links with the poem’s core idea of the unpredictability and fragility of life
Personification The buzz-saw is personified, Frost presenting it as alive and having a mind of its
own:
Its autonomy is conveyed as it “leaped out at the boy’s hand”
It is presented as a threat from the start of the poem, as though it is angry and
looking for a way to act on that anger
Juxtaposition Nature and industry are juxtaposed against one another:

The buzz-saw which “snarled and rattled” contrasts with the five mountain
ranges under the beautiful Vermont sunset
Life and death are also juxtaposed, as in the first part of the poem the boy is alive,
but at the end he dies and the poem finishes abruptly
Enjambment The lines referencing the five mountain ranges and the sunset use enjambment to
convey the endless beauty of nature:
The sunset could also be symbolic of the end of the boy’s life
The lack of punctuation in the lines “Since he was old enough to know, big
boy/Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart—” suggests the implicit criticism
of the situation the boy finds himself in, having to take on work not suitable for a
child
Alliteration The sibilance of “saw” and “snarked” combines with the “z” sound in “buzz” to
make the saw sound menacing and harsh:
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However, it is merely fulfilling its function of cutting wood

This implies that even the most mundane and functional of technology can be Your notes
harmful
When the boy’s hand meets the saw, Frost repeats the breathy “h” sounds in “He
must have given the hand. However it was” to indicate the shock and shortness of
breath the boy experiences
Foreshadowing The speaker informs the reader that the day “was all but done” and “call it a day, I
wish they might have said”:
This foreshadows the accident that follows, as if they had have called it a day,
the boy would have lived
This highlights the fine line between life and death, and how a simple decision
can have terrible consequences
Asyndeton This technique is used in the line: “Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it.”
This can be seen as representing the boy’s failing heartbeat:
The emphatic use of the full stop at the end of the line indicates the abrupt
end to the boy’s life
Free verse This is a narrative poem written in one long stanza, using unrhymed free verse:
The irregular rhyme scheme and uneven metre echo the sense of
unpredictability in life
'Disabled'
Page 30 of 81
‘An Unknown Girl’

Your notes
‘Still I Rise’
The Necklace
Night
Page 31 of 81
An Unknown Girl
Your notes
‘An Unknown Girl’ Analysis
language poetry and prose texts in Part 2 of the Anthology for Paper 2 or for Paper 3, which is the
coursework component. Students taking the full examination route will be asked to analyse one of the
poems or prose texts, which will be included in the question paper. You will have one question to answer
about one of these texts in the exam, and you will be asked to analyse how writers use language and
structure to achieve effects.
The following guide to ‘An Unknown Girl’ by Moniza Alvi contains:
‘An Unknown Girl’ overview
‘An Unknown Girl’ summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘An Unknown Girl’
How does Alvi present her ideas and perspectives?
‘An Unknown Girl’ overview

‘An Unknown Girl’ is a poem by Moniza Alvi, who was born in Pakistan but who grew up in England, and there
is a sense of being split between two worlds in the poem. Alvi focuses on themes of personal identity and
belonging through a description of a girl being paid a few rupees to henna the speaker’s hand. We are not
told where the speaker in the poem is from, and the poem retains an air of ambiguity, as the identity of the
speaker — and her relationship with India — remains a mystery.
‘An Unknown Girl’ summary

The poem is set in an evening market, with an unknown girl drawing a henna tattoo on her hand for a few
rupees. She is squeezing the henna from a tube and decorates the speaker’s palm with a peacock design.
The speaker describes the market, and then how she will scrape off the dried henna before she goes to
bed, revealing the brown peacock underneath, which will fade in about a week. But whenever the speaker
thinks of India, she will — with a sense of longing — attempt to connect again with the unknown girl in the
market.
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘An Unknown Girl’

Page 32 of 81
brief quotations.
Your notes
What are the key themes in ‘An Unknown Girl’?
Theme Analysis
Cultural identity In this poem, Alvi is suggesting that immigrants often experience a crisis of
and belonging identity and a longing for deep cultural connection to their original heritage:
Alvi probably inherited her own cultural identity from her parents, who lived
in an undivided India before moving to England after post-partition
Pakistan in 1954
The fact that the poem is set in India suggests a connection to India, a land
which she cannot truly call her own
This adds to the idea that the poem is set somewhere familiar and yet
foreign
The speaker’s outstretched hands at the end of the poem suggest that she feels
disconnected from her heritage and wants to feel connected to it once more:
Her fading or disconnected identity is represented by the henna peacock
on her hand, which will “fade in a week”
Culture clash The setting of the bazaar evokes a traditional feel, along with the speaker’s
kameez, the colourful balloons and cloth:
This clashes with the “neon”, the dummies in the shop fronts with “their
Western perms” and the banners for “Miss India 1993”
This hints at tension between Eastern and Western cultures, as well as
between tradition and modernity
This suggests that the increasing globalisation of modern life can lead to
increased and more meaningful cross-cultural connections
Page 33 of 81
The world becoming smaller makes it easier for us to connect with our heritage,
whatever that may be:
Your notes
However, the poet also reminds us that it is difficult to fully escape the
influence of the West
The fact that the henna cost just “a few rupees”, even though the drawing was
skillfully and beautifully done, further highlights how little the currency is worth
compared to the British pound or American dollar:
This may imply a devaluation of traditional culture, as well as possible
economic tension between visitors and locals
How does Alvi present her ideas and perspectives?

Moniza Alvi uses a variety of language and structural techniques to present her ideas and perspectives.
Technique Analysis
Title The “unknown girl” in the title can refer not only to the girl doing the henna
decoration, but also to the speaker herself:
It implies that the speaker and her own identity are unknown fully even to herself
Imagery The description of the bazaar as “studded with neon” creates a bright and festive
atmosphere:
The speaker describes the girl as “icing her hand”, implying that she is from a
more Western culture
Form The poem is written in 48 lines of free verse:

This suggests we are reading the speaker’s stream of consciousness and makes
the poem seem more conversational
The poem is centred on the page, indicating that the speaker is straddling two
different cultures and not ever settling on one
Symbolism The henna peacock symbolises the speaker’s connection to India:

Peacocks are the national bird of India
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The speaker “clings” to these peacock lines just like she is clinging to the world
she feels disconnected from
Your notes
The design becomes “new brown veins” suggesting that the speaker is
embracing her Indian identity
However, as the streets become quieter, her desire to cling to the culture around her
starts to fade, as she scrapes off the dried henna from her hands, leaving behind
lighter brown lines:
Therefore her connection to India is strong in the moment, but will fade as she
returns to her previous life
As she returns to her previous life, she will reach out to that past version of herself
still sitting in the marketplace
Repetition The speaker repeats several lines in the poem, interspersed with slightly different
details:
These repetitions evoke the sense that the speaker is repeating them in order to
remain in the present
The use of polyptoton in the repetition of the word “cling” also serves to convey the
speaker’s desperate desire to link to India
Enjambment The use of enjambment creates a fast rhythm, implying the speaker is being swept up
in the present moment of connection
Metaphor The poet uses metaphor in “colours leave the streets”, suggesting that the colours of
India leave to make way for the influence of Western culture
Page 35 of 81
'Disabled'
Your notes
'Out, Out---'
‘Still I Rise’
The Necklace
Night
Page 36 of 81
The Bright Lights of Sarajevo

Your notes
‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ Analysis
language poetry and prose texts in Part 2 of the Anthology for Paper 2 or for Paper 3, which is the
coursework component. Students taking the full examination route will be asked to analyse one of the
poems or prose texts, which will be included in the question paper. You will have one question to answer
about one of these texts in the exam, and you will be asked to analyse how writers use language and
structure to achieve effects.
The following guide to ‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ by Tony Harrison contains:
‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ overview
‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’
How does Harrison present his ideas and perspectives?
‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ overview

Tony Harrison is a British writer who wrote ‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ as one of three war poems from the
front line of the Bosnian War, which raged from 1992 to 1996. All three poems were published by the
Guardian, as Harrison had been sponsored by the newspaper to cover the conflict. Harrison therefore
witnessed the horrors of war first-hand, but also the determination of the citizens to keep on living despite
their circumstances. The message in the poem is that love and life continue and can thrive even in the most
terrible of times.
‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’ summary

The poem begins with the speaker listing the hardships of everyday life in war-torn Sarajevo, such as
people dodging snipers while queuing for gas or for their small food rations. The speaker reflects that
Sarajevo’s streets should be deserted at night, but that surprisingly they are not: young people go strolling
at night, the darkness of the nighttime blackout hiding their identities and differences. Their forms are not
defined, and all can collide and come to know each other.
The speaker observes boys who have to judge by the sound of the girls’ voices whether they are open to
flirting or not. One couple look as though they are about to go somewhere nicer to get to know each other
better, as they are currently standing on the craters of a fatal mortar attack. The couple go to have a coffee
until curfew dictates that they have to go home, and they sit behind sandbags that were once full of flour.
Page 37 of 81
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘The Bright Lights

of Sarajevo’ Your notes
brief quotations.
What are the key themes in ‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’?

Theme Analysis
Resilience and The visceral references to war are juxtaposed with the intimacy and the power
the power of love of love:
Love survives even under the most difficult of circumstances
In the Bosnian city of Sarajevo during the war, the people lived their daily lives
with the knowledge that they could be killed at any moment, either by bullets or
bombs:
Even so, the city’s youth come out at night to maintain some elements of a
normal existence together
The poem therefore portrays love and romance as a powerful, hopeful
force
The promise of love seems to transform the city at night, as the darkness does
not feel so threatening and instead becomes a means for the men and women
to flirt:
It gives them courage and can also be seen as an act of rebellion
Love, or the promise of it, embodies the resilience of the city’s people:
It does not remove the danger, or hide the reality of war, but it provides
spiritual solace and a sense of resistance, and therefore should not be
something to be shied away from
Page 38 of 81
The effects of The poem details the mundane routine of civilian life in a wartime city:
war
Daily acts are made frightening by the ever-present reminders and Your notes
possibility of death
War makes daily life more difficult, as the people queue for “meagre grams” of
rationed bread and have to struggle up “sometimes elevent flights/of stairs with
water”:
The reminders of war are everywhere, in the “streets Serb shells destroyed”,
the “blood-dunked crusts of shredded bread/lay on this pavement with the
broken dead” and the “two rain-full shell-holes”
These serve as an ever present wake-up call that their lives could be cut
short at any moment
How does Harrison present his ideas and

perspectives?
Tony Harrison uses a variety of language and structural techniques to present his ideas and perspectives.
Technique Analysis
Title The “bright light” of the title is symbolic of hope and defiance in the face of
adversity:
The light could also metaphorically be referring to the spark of romance
experienced between the young couples, again emphasising how hope and
love can overcome all
Form Harrison rejects a standard poetic form, instead sketching out his observations as
though he is despatching a report from the front line:
This reflects the chaotic and unpredictable situation in Sarajevo
Rhyme The poem follows a simple rhyme scheme:

The rhyming couplets create a quick and flighty pace, as though the poem
has been hurriedly written down from the heart of a warzone
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Enjambment The lack of punctuation in many of the lines of the poem convey the cumulation of
events and necessities the people of Sarajevo must endure:
Your notes
For example: “or queuing for the precious meagre grams/of bread they’re
rationed to each day”
This conveys the tension and exhaustion that result from seemingly simple
tasks
Symbolism The symbol of bread as life is introduced at the start of the poem:
Harrison then returns to it to convey the destruction of life after the bombing
of the bread line
The changing nature of the Sarajevans’ relationship with bread reveals the
impact the war has on every aspect of their lives, even for something as
commonplace as bread
The poet also uses bread to symbolise ethnic divisions, listing the word for bread
in Bosniak, Serb and Croatian:
The darkness of the evening can hide these divisions, which were the basis for
the war in the first place
Alliteration Harrison employs plosive “b” sounds and sibilance in “the bread shop queue/and
blood-dunked crusts of shredded bread/lay on this pavement with the broken
dead”:
The mix of sounds convey the chaos, surprise and violence of the massacre
Similarly, the alliterative “death-deep, death-dark wells” sounds relentless, just
like the relentless bombardment of the city
Juxtaposition The violent imagery in the poem is juxtaposed with more gentle and romantic
gestures, such as the boy who is about “to take her hand” to “share one coffee in a
candlelit cafe”:
This implies that such small, simple and gentle gestures can easily be taken for
granted
Language Harrison uses words to emphasise that there aren’t sufficient provisions for
choices everyone:
Page 40 of 81
For example, “empty”, “meagre” and “rationed”

The language reflects the people’s situation, as they are “dodging” and
“struggling” Your notes
Keeping the figures in the poem anonymous, such as “dark boy-shape” and “dark
girl-shape” gives an unreal impression and suggests the safety of the night:
This is ironic as most people assume that there is more safety in the light of
day
'Disabled'
'Out, Out---'
'An Unknown Girl'
‘Still I Rise’
The Necklace
Night
Page 41 of 81
Still I Rise
Your notes
‘Still I Rise’ Analysis
The following guide to ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou contains:
‘Still I Rise’ overview
‘Still I Rise’ summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Still I Rise’
How does Angelou present her ideas and perspectives?
‘Still I Rise’ overview

Maya Angelou was an American author, poet, actress, screenwriter and civil rights activist. This poem is
taken from a 1978 collection of poetry entitled And Still I Rise which explores themes of confidence,
strength, resilience and the courage of Black women. It can also be read as a critique of racism and how
marginalised people respond with dignity in the face of oppression.
‘Still I Rise’ summary

The speaker addresses an undefined audience challenging the fact that, even though “they” have the
power to shape how history remembers them, they will still rise above it all like dust rises from the ground.
The speaker then asks the listener a series of rhetorical questions, such as whether her confident attitude
offends them and why they are so miserable. The speaker suggests it is the confident way she walks, and as
she is like the sun and the moon, she will always keep rising above hurtful words, deeds and hatred.
The speaker suggests that the listener wants to see her crushed and broken, but although they may attack
her with words, or the way they look at her, she will continue to rise. She will rise out of the shame of slavery
and a painful past, leaving behind the terror and fear and rise up to honour her ancestors’ legacy.
Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Still I Rise’

Page 42 of 81
brief quotations.
Your notes
What are the key themes in ‘Still I Rise’?
Theme Analysis
Oppression and Angelou implies that the speaker of the poem is a Black woman:
defiance
It therefore presents the bold defiance of the speaker in the face of racism
and oppression, both current and historical
The “oppressor” is referred to throughout the poem as “you” and is directly

addressed:
However, despite all of the methods the oppressor might use to destroy her
in mind and body, she remains defiant
The primary message in the poem is that society continually tries to humiliate
and destroy marginalised people:
But the dignity the speaker shows in the face of these attempts speaks not
only to Black women, but to all people facing oppression
The message can be applied to anybody in a circumstance in which they
refuse to be broken by prejudice and hatred
Living life to the fullest, with love, joy, pride and dignity is in itself an act of
resistance against hatred and discrimination and the embodiment of triumph
over oppression:
This is a message that is still relevant today, as prejudice, discrimination and
hatred against individuals or groups in society still exists
The poem expresses hope that one day these things can be overcome
Angelou therefore speaks not only for herself, but for her entire race and
gender, and for anyone facing similar oppression
Power and The speaker in this poem can be seen as symbolic of the Black community as a
beauty whole, but also as a celebration of Black womanhood’s power and beauty:
Page 43 of 81
The poem implies that Black women’s bodies and lives are perceived as
less worthy than others
Your notes
The speaker compares herself to symbols of wealth and value, such as gold
mines and diamonds:
The speaker therefore assigns high value to her body and gives it power and
beauty, regardless of what society dictates
Her strength comes from her identity as a woman of colour
How does Angelou present her ideas and

perspectives?
Maya Angelou uses a variety of language and structural techniques to present her ideas and perspectives.
Technique Analysis
Title The poem’s title is an emphatic declaration against the oppressors who try to
dominate and suppress the speaker:
The speaker in this poem represents the Black community as a whole
Form Angelou deliberately changes the stanza length as the poem progresses:
The poem therefore subverts the reader’s expectations of form just like her
speaker subverts her oppressor’s expectations
She further subverts expectations with shifts in rhyme scheme
The poem can also be considered an ode to oppressed Black womanhood:
The speaker celebrates Black women in mind, body and soul
Symbolism Angelou uses symbols of wealth and things desired by society to indicate the
inherent worth and value of her speaker:
She references her speaker’s sexuality to assert that her speaker is just as
capable of being loved and desired as anyone else
The poet also refers to the ocean as a symbol of a powerful force of nature:
Page 44 of 81
It therefore represents the speaker’s power as a force of its own which cannot
be controlled by others, just as the ocean cannot be controlled by humanity
Your notes
Metaphor Metaphor is used to express the things the oppressor may do to harm the speaker:
For example: “You may shoot me with your words”
The use of “shoot”, “cut” and “kill” reinforce the pain caused by racism and
prejudice
The guilty and shameful memory of slavery is also alluded to in the metaphor “the
huts of history’s shame”:
Again, the speaker will rise out of these “huts of history’s shame”
Rhetorical The speaker asks a series of rhetorical questions to make a point:

question
She does not expect the oppressor to answer
Instead, she answers with a challenge to society’s expectations
This technique also serves to acknowledge those expectations while
simultaneously rejecting them
Repetition The repetition of “Still I rise” emphasises its importance at the heart of the poem:
It becomes a defiant refrain that underscores the speaker’s strength and
resilience
The triple repetition of this phrase at the end of the poem turns the message of
defiance from an individual one to a collective one
Parallelism The repetition of similar wording or phrasing establishes the coordination of key
ideas and brings a sense of order to the poem:
For example: “Just like moon and like suns,/With the certainty of tides,/Just like
hopes springing high,/Still I’ll rise.”
The order given to the ideas gives the speaker reliability and the listener
confidence that she has the resilience to rise above oppression
Imagery The image of “dust” rising from the earth could be considered a Biblical reference,
as out of “dust” humans were made and to dust our bodies return when we die
Page 45 of 81
The speaker’s physical, mental and spiritual power are also conveyed by her
comparison to “oil wells” and the fact that she dances like she’s “got diamonds/At
the meeting of my thighs?” Your notes
'Disabled'
'Out, Out---'
'An Unknown Girl'
'The Bright Lights of Sarajevo'
The Necklace
Night
Page 46 of 81

Your notes
The Story of an Hour Analysis
The Pearson Edexcel IGCSE English Language A qualification will involve the study of all of the English
language poetry and prose texts in Part 2 of the Anthology for Paper 2 (or for Paper 3, which is the
coursework component). You'll be asked to answer a question on one of the ten texts in the anthology,
which will be printed on the test paper.
This revision guide to The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin includes:
The Story of an Hour overview
The Story of an Hour summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Story of an Hour
How does Chopin present her ideas and perspectives?
The Story of an Hour overview

Kate Chopin was a US author of Louisiana Creole heritage writing at the end of the 19th century. She is
considered a pioneer of feminist literature as her work features complex female protagonists and explores
women’s marginalised role in Southern American society.
The Story of an Hour, a short story written in 1894, explores the unequal power dynamics between men and
women, the physical and mental restrictions placed on women at this time, and ideas of female strength
and weakness. Its message is ultimately devastating: that true moments of freedom for women can only be
fleeting.
The Story of an Hour summary

This tiny but powerful short story covers a lot of ground over its 73 lines, both in terms of plot and the
character development of its main character. We learn at the outset that its protagonist, Louise Mallard, has
heart trouble. This means that telling her of the death of her husband (Brently Mallard) in a railroad accident
must be done with care. After a few moments of “wild” and open grief, Louise returns to her room and
contemplates the consequences of becoming a widow. After struggling to comprehend her true
emotions, she ultimately realises that what she feels is not grief, but relief, even joy. She had loved him,
sometimes, and is not cruel enough to have wished him dead, but she now recognises that his death is her
freedom.
Outside Louise’s room, her sister implores Louise to come out, fearing for her sister’s health. Eventually,
Louise — feeling an inner strength akin to divinity — opens the door and goes back downstairs. As the
Page 47 of 81
sisters descend the stairs, their front door is opened by Louise’s husband. He is not dead after all, the
report of his killing being in error. Louise dies at the shock of her husband’s reappearance, her heart giving
way. Your notes
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Story of an

Hour
Your exam paper will ask you to comment on Chopin’s themes and ideas, and you should choose a few
(brief) quotations to support your points. While it’s important to analyse Chopin’s deliberate use of certain
words and phrases, as well as literary techniques, try to comment on Chopin’s expert use of narrative
structure and its effect in this short story.
What are the key themes in The Story of an Hour?

Theme Analysis
Female weakness In the first sentence, Chopin introduces the idea of Louise’s physical
versus strength weakness
It is significant that she has a heart condition:
This could reflect 19th-century attitudes to women being ruled by
their emotions, and not by reason
Women of the time (especially the relatively affluent women that Chopin
describes) were expected to show strength in terms of their decorum:
Instead of demurely or privately grieving, Chopin describes Louise as
succumbing to “wild abandonment”
Chopin is challenging societal norms of how women should behave
Chopin describes Louise’s strength as inextricably linked to her

husband’s absence:
When she retires to her room assuming her husband to be dead,
Louise recognises a “certain strength” in her reflection in the mirror
The vital and vivacious scenes she observes from her bedroom
window reflect a renewed vitality in Louise
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Once she has fully grasped the consequences of her new freedom,
she emerges from her room “like a goddess of Victory”
Your notes
But as soon as the reality of her husband is made apparent to her
once more, this new-found strength vanishes, taking her entire life
force
Chopin uses this short story to challenge what she saw as limiting societal
attitudes about women:
If given the space to be strong, women can be strong
Freedom and Chopin seems to be arguing that marriage is something that shackles
independence women and limits their potential:
In the story, Louise even confesses that she liked, even loved, her
husband
It seems to be the institution of marriage — and the patriarchal
organisation of the American family — that was so stifling to Louise’s
life
At this time, following marriage, a woman would surrender all
economic, and sometimes social, agency and power to her husband
With her husband’s death, there would be “no powerful will bending
hers”
Love, for Louise, is less important than “self-assertion”:

She may have loved her husband, but her love is no match for this new
feeling of freedom
Chopin reveals that this newly-found freedom has literally given
Louise a new lease of life (as only yesterday she had had suicidal
thoughts)
Once the prospect of this freedom is taken away, it is indeed fatal:
without it, Louise dies
In The Story of an Hour, Chopin makes a compelling and politically brave
case for women’s self-determination
Page 49 of 81
How does Chopin present her ideas and perspectives?

As this short story is so tightly constructed, refer in your exam response to how Chopin structures The Story Your notes
of an Hour, rather than just analysing just her language choices.
Technique Analysis
Circular The short story begins and ends with descriptions of Louise’s physical fragility:
structure
Chopin could be suggesting that while a sense of strength, of self-
determination, is possible for women, ultimately this state of freedom is only
ever temporary
Society still places too many restrictions on women for them to be truly free,
to escape their societal limitations
Emotive Chopin uses visceral or powerful lexis to describe Louise’s reaction to hearing the
language news of her husband’s death:
She reacted in “wild abandonment” and in a metaphorical “storm of grief”
This is at odds with expected behaviour of women, many of whom would have
been “paralyzed”
Chopin has her protagonist free herself of this repression, and emote loudly
and publicly, to challenge gender expectations and to reframe what is
considered appropriate
Imagery Natural, springtime imagery is used to reflect Louise’s spiritual renewal:

The view outside her open window is “all aquiver with the new spring life”
The personified description — like of the rain’s delicious “breath” — is of
animation, of vitality, foreshadowing Louise’s own reanimation
Figurative She immediately dismisses whether she is experiencing an oxymoronic

language “monstrous joy” at her husband’s passing:
This shows that she is in control of her thoughts
Louise no longer needs to conform to society’s expectations of behaviour or
etiquette and is able to express her true feelings
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After contemplating the prospects of her unburdened future, Louise is described

using a simile comparing her to a classical god:
Your notes
“She carried herself … like a goddess of Victory”
She finally feels a sense of confidence, verging on invincibility
The fact that she “clasps” her sister Josephine’s wrist conveys a sense of
agency, of a long-forgotten decisiveness
Denouement The end of the story is abrupt and tragic:

Louise’s death (from a heart attack) is not described by Chopin
Even in death, she has no agency, no active presence in her household
Check out our revision guides for the other International GCSE English Language Anthology texts here:
'Disabled'
'Out, Out---'
'An Unknown Girl'
'Still I Rise'
The Necklace
Page 51 of 81

Your notes
Night
Page 52 of 81
The Necklace
Your notes
The Necklace Analysis
language poetry and prose texts in Part 2 of the Anthology for Paper 2 (examined) or for Paper 3 (non-
examined coursework).
If you are sitting the paper two exam, you will be asked to analyse one of the poems or prose texts, which
will be included in the question paper. You will have one question to answer about one of these texts in the
exam, and you will be asked to analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects.
The following guide to The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant contains:
The Necklace overview
The Necklace summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Necklace
How does Maupassant present his ideas and perspectives?
The Necklace overview

The Necklace is a short story published in 1884 by French author Guy de Maupassant, set in a time in which
Paris was experiencing a period of social, economic and technological change, leading to an unequal,
class-based society, which focused on material wealth and consumerism.
As a writer, Maupassant is known for his use of plot twists, and this particular text tells the story of a beautiful
but poor young woman, Mathilde Loisel, who believes she has married beneath her and envies the wealth of
others. It is a cautionary tale that warns against materialism and the dangers of social ambition.
The Necklace summary

The story opens by introducing Mathilde who, having no dowry and no means of attracting a rich suitor,
married a junior clerk in the Ministry of Education. She is unhappy with her circumstances, as she feels she
should have a life of refinement and luxury.
Mathilde and her husband are invited to a Ministry ball, which her husband thought she would be pleased
about, but Mathilde is distraught as she believes she has nothing to wear. Her husband offers her the money
he was saving to buy a gun and go on a hunting trip, but Mathilde is still not satisfied. In the end, she
swallows her pride and visits her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier, who lends her a diamond necklace. They
attend the ball but as they leave, she loses the necklace.
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The couple panic, believing the necklace to be worth a fortune, and having tried unsuccessfully to find it,
search the shops for a replacement. They borrow the money to buy a replacement and give it to Madame
Forestier. Your notes
However, for the next ten years, both Mathilde and her husband have to take on extra work to pay off the
debt. After ten years, with the debt paid off, Mathilde runs into Madame Forestier again, and feels it safe to
reveal the secret. Madame Forestier then reveals that the necklace was a fake, worth hardly any money.
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Necklace

Paper 2, Question 1 will ask you how the writer has presented a certain theme, idea or perspective in the text
by analysing the language and structure the writer has used. Remember to support your answer with close
reference to the text, including brief quotations.
What are the key themes in The Necklace?

Theme Analysis
Materialism, greed Maupassant offers a critique of characters who value wealth and material
and vanity possessions over everything else:
Mathilde cares only for material goods and symbols of wealth and
prestige, believing she will be “popular, envied, attractive, and in
demand”
Her happiness is completely dependent on what she possesses,
believing that a lack of possessions is the cause of her unhappiness
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It is Mathilde’s greed, vanity and social ambition that are the ultimate cause of
her ruin:
Your notes
She fears the higher classes will reject her due to her lack of wealth
She is happy at the ball because she was a “success” and “all the men
looked at her”
She floated metaphorically on “a cloud of happiness composed of the
homage, admiration, and desire she evoked”
She rushes to leave the ball, fearing social contempt for not wearing “rich
furs”, causing her to lose the necklace
Maupassant suggests that material possessions cannot guarantee long-
lasting happiness
Maupassant employs irony as despite Mathilde’s obsession with valuable

items, she fails to recognise the necklace is fake:
She attributes value to things based on superficial ideas about monetary
cost
The debt that she and her husband take on to replace it is the natural
consequence of her greed
Through Mathilde, Maupassant is criticising the standards of the society in

which he lived and their value system:
In France at the time, wealth was synonymous with social status
Appearance versus Mathilde attempts to appear richer than she is:

reality
She achieves success (having the appearance of wealth at the ball) by
borrowing a fake necklace
Instead of admitting the reality, that she has lost the necklace, Mathilde
keeps up appearances, ruining herself and her husband in order to buy a
replacement
None of the characters recognise the difference between real and fake
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Throughout the story, Mathilde believes that her appearance and current
circumstances do not match her expectations of reality:
Your notes
This makes her constantly unhappy, as she feels trapped in a social class
she does not wish to belong to
The twist at the end of the story suggests that, even for the rich, illusion is just
as important in maintaining their social status
How does Maupassant present his ideas and

perspectives?
Maupassant uses a variety of language and structural techniques:
Technique Analysis
Third-person The story is an example of French naturalism:

omniscient narrator
The narrator relates the main details of the story in concise prose,
without detailed insight into the characters’ thoughts and feelings
The efficiency of style makes the plot twist at the end even more abrupt
and surprising
Symbolism The necklace is symbolic of the life Mathilde believes she should have had:
However, the necklace is symbolic, a form of pretense, just like
Mathilde’s dress and behaviour at the ball
Maupassant may be suggesting that materialism is both shallow and
worthless
Dramatic irony At the ball, the reader is aware that Mathilde is pretending to be something
she isn’t, but the other characters in the scene are unaware:
This emphasises the theme of appearances versus reality, as both
Mathilde and her necklace are frauds
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Foreshadowing and When the Loisels take the necklace case to the jeweller, the writer
irony foreshadows the story’s twist ending when it is revealed that the jeweller
Your notes
supplied only the case, not the necklace
The irony of the whole story is revealed when Mathilde discovers that the
necklace was a fake:
The ending shatters the illusion — Mathilde’s ten years of poverty were
penance for carelessly losing the borrowing necklace
Her misery is the result of her duplicity and lies
Mathilde’s much prized beauty is ironically destroyed by ten years’ hard
labour:
Her new life also ironically makes her old one seem luxurious
'Disabled'
'Out, Out---'
'An Unknown Girl'
'Still I Rise'
Page 57 of 81
Your notes
Night
Page 58 of 81
Significant Cigarettes (from The Road Home)

Your notes
Significant Cigarettes Analysis
Students studying the Edexcel IGCSE English Language A qualification will study all of the English language
poetry and prose texts in Part 2 of the Anthology for Paper 2 (examined) or for Paper 3 (non-examined
coursework).
The following guide to Significant Cigarettes (from The Road Home) by Rose Tremain contains:
Significant Cigarettes overview
Significant Cigarettes summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in Significant Cigarettes
How does Tremain present her ideas and perspectives?
Significant Cigarettes overview

Significant Cigarettes is the first chapter from English writer Rose Tremain’s 2008 novel The Road Home,
and traces the journey of Lev from his home in Eastern Europe to England by bus. The extract is set entirely
on the bus journey, and examines themes of cultural identity as well as the experiences of economic
migrants leaving their home for the promise of a better life elsewhere.
Significant Cigarettes summary

The protagonist Lev is sitting near the back of a coach, looking out of the window and clutching an old red
handkerchief and a pack of Russian cigarettes. As the journey progresses, he becomes increasingly
anxious at not being able to have a cigarette. He reflects on how odd it is to be sat next to someone for a
long journey, sharing small snippets of conversation, the smell of each other’s food and the little noises you
make without ever really knowing one another. The reader learns that Lev is 42 years old, that his wife Marina
has died and he has left a daughter, Maya, at home.
He starts a conversation with Lydia, the woman he is sitting next to, and practises some English phrases on
her. They talk a little about why they are on this journey, and later that night Lev takes out a twenty-pound
note and studies it to distract himself from his craving for a cigarette. He contemplates the figures on the
note and what they represent.
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Themes, ideas and perspectives in Significant

Cigarettes Your notes
What are the key themes in Significant Cigarettes?

Theme Analysis
Home and a As the extract progresses, it is apparent that Lev feels a profound sense of loss
sense of for his home country:
belonging
In the first paragraph, he is “staring out at the land he was leaving”
He puts an unlit cigarette in his mouth for “something to hold on to”
Lev resolves to keep his heart in his “own country” when he reaches England, by
holding himself apart from other people to “demonstrate that he didn’t need to
belong”:
The writer reveals the death of Lev’s wife is one of the reasons why his
“heart” would forever remain in his home country
The description of the journey is interspersed with Lev’s memories, of his village
and where he has slept in the past:
He reflects that no matter where in the world a person is, darkness always
falls in the same way
But to him, the way that darkness fell in his village of Auror is the “right” way
Lev is torn between feelings of hope and desperation for a better life in
England, a place of “infernal luck”, and a sense of longing for home, where he
belongs
Cultural Tremain evokes a sense of “them” versus “us”, represented symbolically by the
differences figure of the “frumpy Queen” on the £20 note:
Lev reflects on what he has been told about the English and capitalism
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This sets Lev and his background apart from the life he is going to
Your notes
He imagines what an immigrant’s life in London might be like:
Vodka is expensive so immigrants make their own; houses are “tall” with
coal fires; there’s rain and red buses
His expectations of England are superficial, based on media
representations
Language plays a crucial role in the immigrant experience, and the practice
conversation between Lev and Lydia highlights the differences in culture:
Lydia misinterprets “bee-and-bee” for the famous Shakespearean line “to
be or not to be”, rather than “bed and breakfast” lodgings (a more practical
and useful phrase to someone arriving in a new country)
This also emphasises the differences between Lydia, who is educated and
a former teacher, and Lev who worked in a sawmill
How does Tremain present her ideas and

perspectives?
Rose Tremain’s narrative initially seems quite simple, but she explores Lev’s decision to leave his homeland
and the resulting exploration of culture through her clever use of structural devices and vivid language.
Technique Analysis
Symbolism The cigarette in Lev’s mouth represents the promise of a better life, although
at this stage the fact that it will eventually be smoked is the only thing he has
any certainty over:
His cigarettes also represent the home he has left, and his cravings
represent his longing for home
Lev mistakes the image on the £20 for a banker:
This represents for him the luck of the English and the fact that they are
blessed to be living in a country viewed as safe and never occupied by
hostile forces
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He also resolves to challenge their arrogance, as “only intermittently do

they see that some of their past deeds were not good”
Your notes
Lev thinks “I’m going to their country now” and resolves to “make them”
share their “luck” with him
He recalls Marina’s comments about how “you never see a stork dying”:
Like a stork, Lev is migrating a long distance in the hope of a better future
for him and his daughter
Colloquial and We learn that Lydia is educated and used to be a teacher:

formal language
She therefore corrects his English and misinterprets some of the phrases
he is trying to say for something more sophisticated
Lev and Lydia see mastery of English as a means of gaining employment
Nature imagery Tremain employs nature imagery to represent Lev’s home:

She uses alliteration when she describes the “wild garlic growing green”
at the edge of the road, presenting the beauty of his homeland which is
absent in the descriptions of England
Lev sees his country as rural and in touch with nature, representing his
hopes for a better future
However, the absence of nature imagery in the descriptions of England
implies that his hopes for the future might be similarly barren
Simile The simile of Lev and Lydia being “like a married couple” reflects Lev’s desire
for comfort in companionship during this long and testing journey
Direct speech The reader learns more about both characters through their brief dialogue
with each other:
Despite their differences in background and education, both are in a
similarly vulnerable position
Lydia’s invests her hope in a new job, while Lev clings to the familiarity of
his cigarette
Lev’s first statement, “I am legal”, reveals his concern and awareness of the
hostility and prejudice toward migrants he may face
Page 62 of 81
Both characters’ hopes and fears are revealed through the use of direct
speech:
Your notes
Lydia needs to escape the feeling of entrapment in her hometown, while
Lev hopes to recover from the death of his wife and to provide
everything his daughter needs
Intertextuality Lydia is symbolically reading Graham Greene’s novel The Power and the
Glory, a story of a pair of broken individuals travelling in search of their own
personal redemption:
This symbolically mirrors the journey Lydia and Lev are also embarking on
Structure This is the opening of a novel, so the end of the extract is not the end of the
narrative:
It is only the first part of Lev’s journey, and the end of the extract
emphasises Lev’s determination to succeed in his new life
As readers of this extract, we do not know if he succeeds
Tremain also uses contrast to represent the sense of conflict and division Lev
feels about leaving his old life for a new, British one:
Nature is contrasted with man-made items, to represent this inner
conflict
Check our our revision guides for the other International GCSE English Language Anthology texts here:
'Disabled'
'Out, Out---'
Page 63 of 81
'An Unknown Girl'

Your notes
'Still I Rise'
The Necklace
Night
Page 64 of 81
Whistle and I'll Come to you (from The Woman In Black)

Your notes
Whistle and I’ll Come to You Analysis
coursework).
The following guide to Whistle and I’ll Come to You (from The Woman in Black) by Susan Hill contains:
Whistle and I’ll Come to You overview
Whistle and I’ll Come to You summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in Whistle and I’ll Come to You
How does Hill present her ideas and perspectives?
Whistle and I’ll Come to You overview

Whistle and I’ll Come to You is an extract from the 1983 gothic horror novel The Woman in Black by Susan
Hill, about a spectre which haunts a small English town. The novel is set in the Edwardian era and tells the
story of Arthur Kipps who encountered a vengeful ghost at Eel Marsh House, where he was working. The
extract creates suspense and tension through the use of Gothic literary elements.
Whistle and I’ll Come to You summary

The extract is told from the first-person perspective of Arthur Kipps, the protagonist, who during the night
becomes aware of the wind increasing. As he reflects on childhood memories, he hears a sound like a child
crying for help on the marsh. Although he knows there is no child, the cry unsettles him enough that he goes
down to the kitchen to make a drink. As he leaves his room, he feels as though someone is there with him
and, at the same time, the lights go out. He senses that the presence went down the corridor to the nursery,
the door to which had just opened.
Kipps starts to question himself, as he knows he is alone in the house with Spider the dog, but returns to his
room to retrieve his torch. He stumbles over the dog, drops the torch and breaks it, reacting angrily until
Spider licks his hand and cuddles with him until he calms down. He still hears the cry out on the marsh.
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Themes, ideas and perspectives in Whistle and I’ll

Come to You Your notes
What are the key themes in Whistle and I’ll Come to You?
Theme Analysis
Gothic horror Through the use of darkness, Susan Hill creates an atmosphere of dread and
foreboding:
She uses this to increase the tension as the extract progresses
The howling wind and the cry heard on the marsh are typical of Gothic horror:
These techniques serve to reflect Kipps’ increasing fear and dread
The supernatural occurrences in the passage, such as the feeling of a presence

passing Kipps in the corridor and the nursery door opening by itself, serve to
increase the tension and sense of terror
Isolation, fear As the tension and fear in the passage increase, Arthur increasingly tries to
and tension rationalise the strange noises, feelings and sights he is experiencing:
The nature of his reality seems to be shifting, and he begins to doubt his own
judgement
Desperate for a rational explanation, he searches for answers but concludes
that “there was no living occupant of Eel Marsh House other than myself”
Page 66 of 81
The tension builds until Arthur explosively releases it by drumming his fists into the
floorboards “in a burst of violet rage”:
Your notes
His only source of comfort is Spider the dog, who brings him back to reality by
scratching at his arm and licking his hand
Arthur’s former sense of isolation is emphasised by the comfort he feels when
he hugs the dog to him
How does Hill present her ideas and perspectives?

Gothic literature tends to focus on an atmospheric setting, such as an old house, and aims to create
feelings of fear and dread in the reader. It is therefore important to look for specific words that create
tension and a Gothic atmosphere in the extract, as well as the following devices:
Technique Analysis
Pathetic fallacy and The passage opens with pathetic fallacy as it describes the strong winds and
simile storm:
Hill reinforces the sense of unease created with the simile that the house
“felt like a ship at sea” to suggest insecurity and the increasingly fragile
state of Arthur’s mind
The house, and Arthur’s mind, are both vulnerable to external forces
beyond their control
Personification Hill personifies the wind in the “sound of moaning down all the chimneys”,
“whistling through every nook and cranny” and “like a banshee”:
A banshee is a female spirit which heralds the death of a family member,
normally by wailing or shrieking
This foreshadows the eventual death of Arthur’s child
Arthur remembers the safety and security of his own nursery when he was a
child, when he felt that the wind was “powerless” to reach him:
That feeling of security vanishes as he realises the fragility of the old
house — it is as though the wind is physically attacking the house
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Light and dark The imagery of light and dark are used in the passage to build the fear and
tension:
Your notes
The torch represents Arthur’s waning rational thoughts, which he
struggles to reconnect with
It represents the loss of hope against the darkness, which represents
the malevolent forces in the house taking over
Emotive language Arthur’s emotional state is reflected in the emotive language used, such as
“violent rage” and “despair and fear, frustration and tension”:
He is worn down by the fear, sense of isolation and tension
Dynamic verbs Arthur’s fear and panic are conveyed through the verbs “groped”,
“stumbled” and “spinning”:
These fearful verbs appear just as the tension reaches its climax
Hill then gives the reader a reprieve as calm is restored by Spider
comforting Kipps
Deliberately short Hill uses short sentences to reflect Kipps’ fragmented emotional state:
sentences
“No light came on. The torch had broken.”
'Disabled'
'Out, Out---'
Page 68 of 81
'An Unknown Girl'

Your notes
'Still I Rise'
The Necklace
Night
Page 69 of 81
Night
Your notes
Night Analysis
coursework).
The following guide to Night by Alice Munro contains:
Night overview
Night summary
Themes, ideas and perspectives in Night
How does Munro present her ideas and perspectives?
Night overview
Alice Munro is a Canadian writer primarily known for her short stories. Night is autobiographical in nature,
describing a period of insomnia Munro experienced as a teenage girl after her appendix and a growth, or
tumour, were removed.
In the story, she recalls how a terrible thought grew in her mind while she was awake in the night; she later
confesses her thoughts to her father, who responds very calmly, helping her to overcome her feelings. The
story is told from the perspective of Munro as an older woman, and considers themes of parenting, the
psychological effects of illness and the silence and isolation experienced by those who cannot sleep.
Night summary
The narrator starts by reflecting that dramatic events in her childhood always coincided with a snowstorm.
This was also the case when, one night, the narrator experienced pain in her side and was taken to hospital
by her neighbours’ horses to have her appendix removed. After she recovered, her mother revealed that
the doctors also removed a large growth, which may or may not have been cancerous (although she
presumes not as she is still alive to tell the tale).
The narrator then started to have trouble getting to sleep, experiencing negative or intrusive thoughts and
fears about strangling her little sister in her sleep. To combat these feelings, she had to get up and walk
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around the house or go outside until she was tired enough to go back to bed.
In the early hours of one morning, she encounters her father, fully dressed, sitting on the stoop, and she Your notes
confesses her thoughts to him. He reacts calmly and tells her not to worry and that people have those kinds
of thoughts sometimes. He did not think she was in danger of acting upon them, and his caring reaction
meant that she stopped having disturbing thoughts and no longer had insomnia.
Themes, ideas and perspectives in Night

What are the key themes in Night?

Theme Analysis
Parenting The narrator of the story is an adult considering a period of time in her
childhood, and the impact of her father’s kind actions:
The first-person narrative perspective allows the narrator to comment on
the events with the benefit of experience and hindsight
Munro reflects on parenting styles and how attitudes can change over time:
Her father’s patience and blameless acceptance of her confession
provides catharsis
This is juxtaposed with descriptions of the mistakes of parenting, when
you are both “humbled” and “disgusted with yourself”
She reflects that parenting inherently involves making mistakes, but her
father did not seem burdened by this kind of reflection
Munro also alludes to brutal encounters with her father’s “belt” as an
example of his mistakes (reflecting societal conventions at the time)
While she might not have agreed with all of his methods, Munro suggests
that having a caring parent is always better in the long term
Psychological The trigger for this story is an illness and a sense that she has a new awareness
effects of illness of her own mortality, reinforced by repetition of the metaphorical “cloud” of
cancer, following the removal of a tumour:
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This event may have triggered the intrusive thoughts about strangling her
sister
Your notes
She doesn’t feel “herself”, moving from a relatively carefree childhood to
feeling “more and more disturbed” by dark thoughts and metaphorical
“demons”
Her father suggests that her unwanted thoughts may have been caused by
ether:
She accepts her father’s blameless rationalisation about her murderous
thoughts, helping her to move on
Munro could be suggesting that sudden illness and extended periods of
recovery can provoke inner reflections about our identity and place in the
world
How does Munro present her ideas and perspectives?

Night is a long extract, so it is important to focus your analysis around the key themes and select the
specific elements of language and structure that contribute to these themes.
Technique Analysis
Symbolism The connection between dramatic events, illness and snowstorms is

established at the start of the story:
This use of pathetic fallacy foreshadows the dark thoughts she
later wrestles with
The snowstorms also symbolise the difficulties the narrator’s family
must overcome
The “Night” itself also symbolises the narrator’s dark and secret
thoughts:
Her unwanted thoughts only surface and overwhelm her at
night; the daytime represents peace
She finds peace by discussing her repressed feelings
symbolically at dawn, representing her new-found hope
Page 72 of 81
First person narrative The writer adopts a first-person narrative perspective for this
perspective reflective and retrospective biographical story:
Your notes
We are introduced to the thoughts and feelings of the narrator,
but not other characters
The writer uses internal monologue to reveal her thoughts and
mental struggles
Narrative structure Munro uses a clear five-part narrative structure, with the climax being
the revelation that she thinks of strangling her sister:
There is also a resolution as she overcomes her struggles: “from
then on I could sleep”
The end is reassuring as she overcomes psychological trauma
and mental unrest
This is further emphasised by the short declarative sentences at
the end of the story
Repetition, short sentences Munro uses repetition to create a sense of foreboding, that
and rhetorical questions something negative might occur and that the narrator is fearful of
recurring situations:
The repetition, short sentences and use of rhetorical questions
convey the narrator’s disturbed state of mind
Check out our revision guides for the other International GCSE English Language Anthology texts:
'Disabled'
'Out, Out---'
Page 73 of 81
'An Unknown Girl'

Your notes
'Still I Rise'
The Necklace
Whistle and I'll Come to You
Page 74 of 81

Your notes
For Question 1, you will be given one of the ten texts from the Pearson Edexcel IGCSE English Anthology
printed on the exam paper (or in a source booklet) and one question to answer about it. You will need to
demonstrate your understanding of and engagement with the themes and ideas in the poem or text, as
relevant to the focus of the question.
The following guide will demonstrate how to answer a Question 1 task. The question itself is taken from a
past exam paper. It includes:
Question breakdown
Planning your response
Question 1 model answer with annotations
Question breakdown
The following example question is taken from the January 2022 exam paper, and is about the poem
‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen. This is an example of how you should approach Question 1 and your response,
regardless of the text you are given in the exam.
You should begin by reading the question carefully:
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Your notes
Question 1 example
You should then re-read the text carefully with the specific focus of the question in mind.
Planning your response

It is important not just to write down everything you have learnt about the poem or prose text in your
response, or just describe what is happening. When you go back to re-read the text in the exam, you should
annotate in the margins anything directly relevant to the focus of the question and the bullet points.
For example:
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Your notes
'Disabled' with annotations part 1
Page 77 of 81
Your notes
Page 78 of 81
Your notes
Use these annotations to create the points you are going to make in your answer.
Question 1 model answer with annotations

Based on the above question, the following model answer demonstrates how to write your response in
order to achieve the full 30 marks:
The writer creates sympathy for the soldier in ‘Disabled’ by contrasting the soldier’s current helpless and
dependent situation with his youth, when he was full of life and vitality. The poet therefore creates a
melancholic and wistful tone, with elements of irony and bitterness in the passive report of the soldier’s
thoughts and feelings. [Marking comment]
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The poem opens by giving the reader a sense of how cold, unhappy and lonely the soldier is, sitting in his
“wheeled chair” as he “shivered”, waiting for darkness. The cyclical structure of the poem means Owen
returns to the same idea at the end, with the soldier wondering how “cold and late it is”. This suggests Your notes
that the man is actually waiting not only for the night, but for death to relieve him of his suffering. [Marking
comment] The man is described as wearing a “ghastly suit of grey”, and colour symbolism is used
throughout the poem as a metaphor for strength and life, with the “dark” equating to death. This man has
lost his colour, and therefore has also lost his strength and passion for life. [Marking comment]
In the second stanza, Owen contrasts the soldier’s present with his past, described using bright,
colourful and romantic language, highlighting the soldier’s longing for these times. [Marking comment]
Owen uses a lexical field of light and warmth, with “glow-lamps”, “light blue trees” and the warmth of
girls’ “subtle hands”. The fact that he will no longer feel “how slim girls’ waists are” and that they only
touch him now like “some queer disease” suggests that the soldier feels a yearning for the light and
warmth brought about by physical touch and affection. However, because he took his legs for granted
and “threw away his knees” he will no longer experience these pleasures. [Marking comment] The
suggestion that the soldier is someone at fault for his situation, potentially tempering the amount of
sympathy the reader might feel, is addressed later on in the poem when the poet reveals that the men in
charge of enlisting knew that he was underage, but “smiling they wrote his lie”.
The tone of nostalgia for the past continues into the third stanza when there was an artist “silly for his
face”, suggesting that he used to be handsome. The use of colour symbolism is repeated as we are told
that he “lost his colour” on the battle-field, both physically with the loss of blood, and metaphorically
with the loss of his brightness, his soul. The “leap of purple” which signifies the soldier’s loss of blood and
loss of vitality contrasts with the “blood smear down his leg” which he received while playing football.
This implies that the man found it easy to like the idea of being a soldier, but the reality was very different.
The use of the dash in the fourth stanza as a caesura interrupts the line just as the man’s life has been
interrupted by his injuries. The reflective “he wonders why” suggests that he originally thought that
signing up to the army would be a good thing. We can therefore feel sympathy towards the soldier for
being put into a situation he was clearly not prepared for. [Marking comment]
The idea of being sold a lie is continued in the fifth stanza, since when he signed up he had “no fears of
Fear”, thinking instead of the “jewelled hilts” and “smart salutes” he thinks his time in the army will involve.
The personification of “Fear” highlights how central fear will become in army life, contrasting sharply with
all of the positive propaganda of being a soldier. The irony that “some cheered him home” but not as
“crowds cheer Goal” hints that ordinary people had little awareness of the reality of war, feeling that
celebrating a goal in a game of football was more significant than the sacrifices soldiers were making.
[Marking comment]
The final stanza circles back to the man in hospital, and the poet uses the third person and passive voice
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to describe the nameless soldier, further suggesting that he has ceased being a whole and complete
person. [Marking comment] He has gone from being a brave soldier to someone helpless and
completely dependent on others, with the use of the word “dole” suggesting that he is now nothing Your notes
more than a drain on society, given its negative associations with unemployment benefits. [Marking
comment] He notices how the women’s eyes pass over him now to the “strong men that were whole”,
suggesting that he no longer feels like a whole man either physically or spiritually. His final questions
contrast with the strength of his youth, and imply that he is bitter and just wants his life to be over. The
soldier seems to represent the horrible reality of war: the fact that he is now isolated in an institution,
shivering in a wheelchair raises questions about how those who make sacrifices in war for their country
are treated when they return. [Marking comment]
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Edexcel IGCSE English Your notes

How to Answer Question 1 (Poetry or Prose)

Breaking down the question

How to answer Paper 2 Question 1

Question 1 Skills: Analysing a Poem

‘Ozymandias’ Analysis of form

Nothing beside remains. Round

How to apply this in an exam response:

Exam question Incorporating analysis of form in your response

‘Checking Out Me Analysis of structure

How to apply this in an exam response:

Exam question Incorporating analysis of structure in your response

Denotations and Emotional impact Charactеrisation Formality and

Exam question Incorporating analysis of language in your response

Meanings and ideas

And how — via their choices — do they create this effect?

Perspective and tense

How to quote from the poem in your essay

the middle of a vast desert” ✅

Question 1 Skills: Analysing Prose

Plot structure A plot can be linear:

Mood Mood describes the feelings or attitudes of the story or characters:

Foreshadowing This is a warning or a prediction of a future event in the story

Flashbacks A scene set in a time earlier than the main story:

Soliloquies/dialogue A soliloquy is a speech which a character makes to themselves:

What to do when analysing the author’s methods

Take a whole-text approach:

“Narrative” and “descriptive” answers get the lowest marks

There are two main types of characterisation:

Indirect This involves implying what a character is like

Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Disabled’

What are the key themes in ‘Disabled?

How does Owen present his ideas and perspectives?

Technique Analysis Your notes

‘An Unknown Girl’

‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’

Whistle and I’ll Come to You

‘Out, Out-’ overview

‘Out, Out—’ summary

Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘Out, Out—’

What are the key themes in ‘Out, Out-’?

The poem does not lament the death:

Technology can wield deadly power, but it is indifferent to whether it is the

How does Frost present his ideas and perspectives?

Juxtaposition Nature and industry are juxtaposed against one another:

However, it is merely fulfilling its function of cutting wood

‘An Unknown Girl’

The Story of an Hour

Whistle and I’ll Come to You

‘An Unknown Girl’ overview

‘An Unknown Girl’ summary

Themes, ideas and perspectives in ‘An Unknown Girl’

How does Alvi present her ideas and perspectives?

Form The poem is written in 48 lines of free verse:

Symbolism The henna peacock symbolises the speaker’s connection to India:

‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo’

The Story of an Hour