Unit 1 Exploring Aspects of Narrative: Enduring Love, Great Gatsby and poems by Browning and Hardy
For this exam you will be studying the four texts above. You need to have detailed notes on each one. Use this pack to record key points of comparison between the texts,
writing notes and recording quotations (treat each collection of poems as one text, but ensure you mention the name of the specific poem when writing about it!). These
notes will be crucial for preparing for your exam which is in May. Don’t be limited by the space you have here – use the clips to add extra paper if you need it!
Assessment Objectives
When reading, studying, thinking about, analysing and writing about your four texts, it is useful to consider the assessment objectives.
Addressing these in you exam will mean you will be able to achieve the fantastic grades you deserve!
AO1
Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression
AO2
Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts
AO3
Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers (Section B of exam)
AO4
Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received
Unit 1 Exam: 2 hours (you may have all your texts with you but they must be clean copies, not annotated)
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Worth 60% of your AS marks
Two novels (Enduring Love and Great Gatsby)
Two poetry texts (Browning and Hardy)
Section A: Close analysis of aspects of narrative in one text. One two-part question to be answered on your choice of text. Short answer required for
each of the two parts
Section B: Comparing an aspect of narrative on your remaining three texts. Contains two questions, wide-ranging in scope. Essay required comparing
and contrasting how this aspect of narrative is used in each of the three texts you have not covered in Section A.
Aspect of
Narrative
Scenes and
Places:
Key points of
comparison
- How much are we
told about the
settings in the texts
and how much is left
to the reader’s
imagination?
- What language
techniques are used
in establishing scenes
and places and what
effects do they
create? (eg. similes,
pathetic fallacy etc)
- What atmosphere
does the setting lend
to the text?
- How do the scenes
and places shape our
impressions of the
characters?
- How do the scenes
and places contribute
to the impact of
particular passages or
events in the text?
Enduring Love
Great Gatsby
Poems by Browning
Poems by Hardy
Aspect of
Narrative
Time and
Sequence
Key points of
comparison
- Are we
experiencing events
as they happen or are
past events being
recounted to us?
- How does the writer
use different tenses
to affect the reader’s
experience?
- Are the events in
the text
chronological? Or
does the narrator /
speaker deliver the
story in a non-linear
way?
- How can we tell
what period the text
is written in (context
of production) and
what period it is set
in? How do these
periods connect with
key ideas / events in
the text?
- At which points in
the novel does the
pace / passage of
time change and why
do you think this is?
Enduring Love
Great Gatsby
Poems by Browning
Poems by Hardy
Aspect of
Narrative
Characters
Key points of
comparison
- Which characters
are fictional and
which are based on
real people? How
does this affect our
experience of the
text?
- How does the writer
shape our
impressions of the
text’s key characters?
- How do our
opinions of the
characters change
over the course of
the story?
- How does the writer
use minor characters
to help tell the story?
- To what degree are
we encouraged to
sympathise with the
text’s central
character?
Enduring Love
Great Gatsby
Poems by Browning
Poems by Hardy
Aspect of
Narrative
Voices in
the story
(speech and
thoughts of
characters)
Key points of
comparison
- How does the
manner in which a
character speaks
betray thoughts,
characteristics or
feelings they may
rather keep hidden?
- Choose a character
and explore what
their speech reveals
about them?
- How does the writer
use different voices
to tell the story?
- At what points does
the writer’s own
voice shine through
the narration and
how does this affect
the story-telling?
- Are there any
meaningful omissions
in terms of
characters’ speech? –
Any important
thoughts that remain
unsaid?
Enduring Love
Great Gatsby
Poems by Browning
Poems by Hardy
Aspect of
Narrative
Point of
View
Key points of
comparison
- Does seeing things
through the speaker’s
/narrator’s eyes limit
or enhance the storytelling and why?
- Is the text written in
the third or first
person and what is
the effect of this?
How would it be
different if it were
otherwise?
- Is the narrator
reliable and
trustworthy? – How
does this affect our
experience of the
story?
- How does the
chosen point of view
give us access to the
key attitudes, issues
and values the novel
is exploring?
- How would the text
be different if we saw
it through the eyes of
another character?
- How and when does
our perspective
change at any point
in the novel?
Enduring Love
Great Gatsby
Poems by Browning
Poems by Hardy
Aspect of
Narrative
Destination
Key points of
comparison
- How does the writer
create dramatic
impact with the text’s
ending?
- Do you feel the text
is trying to make a
point or deliver a
moral message?
- How does the
context of reception
affect our responses
to the text?
- Choose a section
from the beginning or
middle of the text
and write about its
significance in terms
of the text as a
whole?
- What is the
relationship between
the beginning of the
text and its ending?
- What ambiguities
arise from studying
the text? – How can
these be seen
constructively?
Enduring Love
Great Gatsby
Poems by Browning
Poems by Hardy