OCR A2 English Literature exam. F663. Othello, Duchess of Malfi and The Pardoner's t

In my class of sixteen resitters, I was the only person who DIDN'T do the storytelling question, so it can't have looked that difficult! I found the first question relatively simple and it was easy to find four pages worth of content, so overall, I think it was a much better selection than the Jan '12 exam.

I did how Othellos race makes the audience dislike him and how it's manipulated through language, also how perceptions of race at the time could have lead to empathy and pity from the audience and a sense of his actions not being his own fault. The use of Cassio to emphasise how Othello wasn't really all that important in a military role and also argued the opposite to show how the audience might like Othello due to his military importance. I also included how he plays up to his stereotype more and more as the play progresses creating dislike, and also how the inclusion of Iago could have lead us to like Othello more in comparison and forgive him for his actions, then debated what shakespeare intended, before agreeing with their quote and writing a pretty rubbish conclusion.

I'd love to know the general gist of what other people wrote since I have no one at school to compare with

Wrote something very similar, but included stuff like the use of dramatic irony,etc. My essay was essentially York Notes regurgitated.

I'd be fascinated to hear from any brave individual who tackled the Othello question regarding 'stories and storytelling'. It's difficult to imagine anyone not picking what will probably be the most accessible OCR Othello question in history.

I think that's a bit of an ignorant thing to say really. These questions are completely open to interpretation and a question that may feel completely accessible to you can easily be seen differently by anyone else. Personally, I felt that I wanted to speak about a range of characters rather than just Othello.

As you may be able to tell, I chose the storytelling question and I focused on the stories that Iago, Othello and Desdemona all tell in order to achieve the approval of other characters and the audience. I concluded my argument with the notion that perhaps stories are not so important as they are often seen as factual(ish) accounts but that instead, it was embellishments of the truth that were the driving force behind the play.

Not to get too defensive but I think it's quite possible that those of us who chose this question won't suffer as there will be less responses for the examiners to read and this may allow them to focus on the different ideas of each essay as I think this question was wider than the Othello one.

I think that's a bit of an ignorant thing to say really. These questions are completely open to interpretation and a question that may feel completely accessible to you can easily be seen differently by anyone else. Personally, I felt that I wanted to speak about a range of characters rather than just Othello.

As you may be able to tell, I chose the storytelling question and I focused on the stories that Iago, Othello and Desdemona all tell in order to achieve the approval of other characters and the audience. I concluded my argument with the notion that perhaps stories are not so important as they are often seen as factual(ish) accounts but that instead, it was embellishments of the truth that were the driving force behind the play.

Not to get too defensive but I think it's quite possible that those of us who chose this question won't suffer as there will be less responses for the examiners to read and this may allow them to focus on the different ideas of each essay as I think this question was wider than the Othello one.

I wasn't condemning anyone who picked the stories question I was just genuinely interested in what people said in that question. If you feel threatened by my post then that just reflects your own confidence in your essay. That question was definitely answerable to Band 6 level had anyone been equipped with sufficient quotes.

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Paradise Lost is the most ridiculous and stupid poem that I have ever read.

hi how did everyone think they did in english?

umm does anyone know what Lit Texts in Time was about? Was that the coursework??

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Texts in Time is the coursework yeah. Ended up getting a scrape A*

120/120 in the exam and 72/80 in C/W! So relieved for an A*! Thought I'd COMPLETELY ballsed up the exam and not answered the Othello Q!

Congrats to everybody! <3

Could anyone tell me the UMS marks needed for an A*? Thanks