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Component 01: Drama and poetry pre-1900

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you read a Shakespeare play as drama, analysing dramatic method rather than retelling the story?

Reading Shakespeare as drama: analysing dramatic method (soliloquy, dramatic irony, verse and prose, staging, structure) and the move from feature to effect, the AO2 foundation underpinning both parts of the OCR Shakespeare question.
How to read a Shakespeare play as drama for OCR A-Level English Literature (H472/01 Section 1): analysing dramatic method (soliloquy, dramatic irony, verse and prose, staging, structure) and moving from feature to effect, the AO2 foundation that underpins both the passage question and the whole-play essay.
12 min answer →

How do you use different interpretations and performance choices to answer the Shakespeare whole-play essay (AO5)?

Shakespeare and interpretations: using critical readings, performance choices and contested meanings to test a printed view across the whole play, the AO5 skill that carries half the marks in the OCR Shakespeare part (b) essay.
How to deploy different interpretations in the OCR A-Level English Literature Shakespeare whole-play essay (H472/01 Section 1 part b): using critical readings, performance choices and contested meanings to test a printed view across the play, the AO5 skill that carries half the marks in part (b).
11 min answer →

How do you answer the OCR Shakespeare passage question (part a), analysing language and dramatic effects in a printed extract?

The Shakespeare passage question (H472/01 Section 1 part a): close analysis of a printed extract for language, form, structure and dramatic effects, with AO2 dominant and AO1 supporting (15 marks).
How to answer the OCR A-Level English Literature Shakespeare passage question (H472/01 Section 1 part a): analysing the printed extract for language, form, structure and dramatic effects, with AO2 the dominant objective and AO1 supporting, in a closed-book exam.
12 min answer →

How do you answer the OCR Shakespeare whole-play essay (part b), responding to a critical view across the whole play?

The Shakespeare whole-play essay (H472/01 Section 1 part b): responding to a printed critical view across the whole play, with AO1 and AO5 equally weighted, building an argued, interpretation-led case (15 marks).
How to answer the OCR A-Level English Literature Shakespeare whole-play essay (H472/01 Section 1 part b): responding to a printed critical view across the whole play, with AO1 and AO5 equally weighted, building an argued, interpretation-led case in a closed-book exam.
12 min answer →