AQA English Literature A - Love Through the Ages June 2011 Exam :D

AHHH Here goes.
For the first question, I compared the tenses they wrote in and linked that to Coetzee's time of writing (perhaps he was influenced by postmodern influences )
And then I compared the narrators, and their interjections (e.g. 'he did not say...' or whatever that line was)
Then I compared their descriptions of the females, notably more in Hardy's 'substantial feminine animal', or something like that, and linked that out to Villanelle becoming 'her creature' in the Passion...
Then I compared them sitting 'side by side' in Coetzee's and walking in 'parallel lines' in Hardy's, went along with some rubbish about equality, the balance between them MAY foreshadow a relationship blablabla, and linked that out again to the Passion when the Queen of Spades arranges them informally, which signals their unordinary homosexual relationship, however it's more allowed now than in the past blablabla....more context on how this relationship is seen as more loving than patriarchal ones...
Then I compared links to passion, Lurie talked off passionate Italians, whereas Jude talked about how its the last thing a man wants to do is get married or something of the sort, all this information is getting muddled now haha. And I linked that out to A Room with A View in which Forster portrays Italy as the passionate, romantic place and England as a country with a rigid structure, which was all about to change before WWI.... And I ran out of time for a conclusion as I made sure I gave enough time for Q2! Hope that doesn't lose me too many marks

Q2 I was mighty scared about. The Wyatt poem took a while to get into but I remember reading somewhere it was about unrequited love, and his women leaving him for other men, obivously with a lot of sexual references too, so it was pretty easy to get into after I stopped panicking. I looked at the form, the rhyming and enjambment, can't quite remember what my point was then linked to Behn's play, the two women vs. the man as quite a unique thing, but obviously Behn being a female writer would do this etc. etc. etc..
Then I looked at the transience of love, as in Behn's he is with the prostitute and Wyatt says shes busily looking for somebody else to love etc. Compared this out to the 17th-century poets Donne and Marvell, also in Behn's era, who see expressing sexual desire as a good thing, and looked at the Flea and a bit of To His Coy Mistress, I linked them again but I can't remember how now!
Then I looked at the language of Wyatt in describing his encounter, with the long arms, and as her gown 'fell' he was 'caught' into her arms, and I explained how they show the more negative ideas of love, and linked that to the Bait where 'he who is not catched thereby / alas, is wiser far than i'. Not quite sure how clever that was to be fair
Then I looked at the blazon in Behn's in describing Helenna I think her name was, and linked this out to Tis Pity She's a Whore's incestuous relationship, and also when Angellica says she gave her heart to the Rover, I linked the literal mentions of heart from that too.
Once again, no time for a conclusion.
Goddamit!

You sound like you did so much more/better than me. :frown:

I'm really worried now. The first question was good. I enjoyed that and it was great that it was two prose extracts but I kind of went to pieces a bit on the second one. I didn't find it easy to get the gist of the poem. I really hope I haven't failed :redface:

As I got a high A for AS and am predicted an A for A2 coursework, hopefully that gives me a bit of lee-way in this exam. What do you think?

Reply 261

JessElizabeth_x

Original post by Lucygator

So... how did everyone find it?

I thought the first question was good, second question a bit harder. Didn't have any 'omg i dont know anything' moments and finished in time, so thats a good sign!

Same !!!! I think question 1 went quite well fingers crossed ! But I didn't really like question 2 especially the Wyatt poem :frown:

!!! But I managed to scrape an answer to together :/ so hopefully i'll have done enough to get an A !!!!

Reply 262

Language_student

12

Original post by carnationlilyrose

I'm not sure what you mean by 'did not get time to start the second'. I am assuming you mean the conclusion to the second question, not the whole question. As far as losing marks goes, you can see, I'm sure, that with 2 identical essays, one with a conclusion and one without, the finished one will score more highly, but it won't be by a large number of marks. There isn't a certain number of marks allocated to having a conclusion that get whipped off if you don't have one. On the other hand, a finished essay is better than an unfinished essay. More than that I can't say without seeing what you wrote, and nor can anyone else on here, so make sure you take no notice if anybody tries to upset you by saying, 'You must have failed.' You won't have failed on the basis of having no conclusion to one question.

Hope you don't mind me quoting you but I know you're a teacher so I just wanted to ask whether you think this was an exceptionally difficult or easier exam than previous years. I don't know if you'll be able to answer that but I feel really worried that I have done badly. I enjoyed question 1 (two prose extracts - yay!) but I think I might have spent a bit too long looking at other interpretations/feminist criticism. However, question 2 was awful. :frown:

I ran out of time and didn't get time to look at all the aspects I wanted to.
But hopefully as I got a high A for AS and am predicted A for A2 coursework, that gives me some lee-way in this exam?

Reply 263

Rachel_Leah

OP

11

Original post by Language_student

You sound like you did so much more/better than me. :frown:

I'm really worried now. The first question was good. I enjoyed that and it was great that it was two prose extracts but I kind of went to pieces a bit on the second one. I didn't find it easy to get the gist of the poem. I really hope I haven't failed :redface:

As I got a high A for AS and am predicted an A for A2 coursework, hopefully that gives me a bit of lee-way in this exam. What do you think?

Oh God don't get me confident lol, I'd rather be worried for results day and it be a nice surprise to be fair, my ideas may have been good but some of the way I wrote it was slightly clumsy - i tend to rush like mad to fit everything in which I probably shouldn't have. Oh GOD, i analysed all extracts first, I had to take a few deep breaths because I had hardly any annotations of the Wyatt poem, and once I got going I chilled out a bit - to be fair I only made 2/3 language points, and linked to form, I have a feeling I left out structure completely which is obviously going to cost me, but I did link it in with my wider reading so I'm not sure how that works :s-smilie:

and I'm the same marks-wise as you, I think we both need a B in this exam to get an A overall x

Reply 264

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Language_student

Hope you don't mind me quoting you but I know you're a teacher so I just wanted to ask whether you think this was an exceptionally difficult or easier exam than previous years. I don't know if you'll be able to answer that but I feel really worried that I have done badly. I enjoyed question 1 (two prose extracts - yay!) but I think I might have spent a bit too long looking at other interpretations/feminist criticism. However, question 2 was awful. :frown:

I ran out of time and didn't get time to look at all the aspects I wanted to.
But hopefully as I got a high A for AS and am predicted A for A2 coursework, that gives me some lee-way in this exam?

I've not done more than flick through it so far, but it seemed more or less on a par with the previous 2, perhaps a shade less daunting than the first one. The Wyatt poem was one which many teachers will have done with their classes (I did it with my previous class, but not this one, dammit!), the Behn extract was a bit more accessible than the Shakespeare passages were on the last 2 papers, if only because students tend to panic when they see the name Shakespeare if they've not done the play. The 2 proses were ok. My only concern, given that they've set the bar pretty high anyway, but will adjust it as they see what starts to roll in, is the length of the extracts.

Reply 265

Language_student

12

Original post by carnationlilyrose

I've not done more than flick through it so far, but it seemed more or less on a par with the previous 2, perhaps a shade less daunting than the first one. The Wyatt poem was one which many teachers will have done with their classes (I did it with my previous class, but not this one, dammit!), the Behn extract was a bit more accessible than the Shakespeare passages were on the last 2 papers, if only because students tend to panic when they see the name Shakespeare if they've not done the play. The 2 proses were ok. My only concern, given that they've set the bar pretty high anyway, but will adjust it as they see what starts to roll in, is the length of the extracts.

I hadn't done the Wyatt poem in detail because I'm an external candidate and so have been doing most of the compiling of wider reading myself. Question 2 seemed very hard to me. I just hope I haven't failed as I'm feeling very negative right now. :frown:

Reply 266

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Language_student

I hadn't done the Wyatt poem in detail because I'm an external candidate and so have been doing most of the compiling of wider reading myself. Question 2 seemed very hard to me. I just hope I haven't failed as I'm feeling very negative right now. :frown:

In my experience, students who've just come out of an exam are the worst judges of how they've done, especially if they compare themselves with others. Try to put it out of your mind until a bit of time has gone past, to put it in perspective. At this stage, all you can think of is what you think you did wrong, and I'm quite sure that won't be all that's on the paper. Be kind to yourself. :console:

Reply 267

theproseandpassion

I feel so bad right now!! My dream is to go to uni to read English Lit and then go on to do a PHD!! I loved the first question on the exam because I have read 'Disgrace' and really admire Coetzee - however I did find it hard to comment on specific language points!! I managed to talk about the fact that Melanie does not reveal herself - the passion is one sided etc. HOWEVER - the second question I feel terrible about!! I was totally confused about the poem - I thought it was about a guy who just used women for sex!! Have I got that really wrong? I commented on the Petrarchan Blazon and said it seemed as though Wilmore mocked Courtly love etc BUT I really struggle and wasn't able to make many links with wider reading

Have I totally F*cked up? so scared :frown:

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reply 268

theproseandpassion

Original post by JessElizabeth_x

Same !!!! I think question 1 went quite well fingers crossed ! But I didn't really like question 2 especially the Wyatt poem :frown:

!!! But I managed to scrape an answer to together :/ so hopefully i'll have done enough to get an A !!!!

Seriously I feel so crap right now - I want an A so badly it means so much - I hope they are fair about the grade boundaries x

Reply 269

Language_student

12

Original post by carnationlilyrose

In my experience, students who've just come out of an exam are the worst judges of how they've done, especially if they compare themselves with others. Try to put it out of your mind until a bit of time has gone past, to put it in perspective. At this stage, all you can think of is what you think you did wrong, and I'm quite sure that won't be all that's on the paper. Be kind to yourself. :console:

Thank you. I'm in tears right now at the thought of not getting into uni because of this exam but I'll try not to focus on the negative.

Reply 270

theproseandpassion

Original post by Language_student

Thank you. I'm in tears right now at the thought of not getting into uni because of this exam but I'll try not to focus on the negative.

I feel exactly the same :frown:

I LOVE english so so much!!
How do you think Q2 went I really panicked!!

Hope you are ok - you aren't the only one x

Reply 271

pianofluteftw

14

Be happy everyone - do not worry. Everyone came out saying the poem was odd if they hadn't seen it before and examiners are looking to mark positively - awarding marks for the good, not deducting for the bad.

Smile I'm sure it will be fine :smile:

Reply 272

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Language_student

Thank you. I'm in tears right now at the thought of not getting into uni because of this exam but I'll try not to focus on the negative.

I'm terribly sorry to hear you're so upset. I'm not sure what your circumstances are if you're an external candidate, but presumably you've had some kind of teaching. Have you had any indication of how you've done so far that makes you fear the worst? Is there anything I can help you with?

Reply 273

Great Lord Xenu

14

"Jude is interrupted from his studies by being hit in the face by a pig's penis."
Wtf, Thomas Hardy?

Reply 274

Pthaos

From the other thread, seeing as we have two going at once.

My rundown of the paper! :P

First question I wrote about courtship and attaction, how traditional and non traditional views of this were present over the extracts and Wider reading (Enduring love, Jed's non-typical attraction to Joe and the way he expresses this) I wrote how Coetzee was displaying themes of what can be argued is typical male wooing female courtship, but there's sexualised undertones when the narrator talks about him seeing whores, and practically the only description we get of the girl is of her breasts. I compared this to the odd style of courtship in the Hardy extract (Throwing a pigpenis at someone counts as 'odd' right? :P) saying that this was a reversal of what can be seen as traditional courting, but they can both be seen to be somewhat infatuated with each other anyway.

Second question was a bit of a bitch. I think I waffled quite a lot, but wrote a lot about how context influenced this. The drama I thought was very cynical and satirical, making light of hidden debauchery as the woman feigned annoyance, but in reality wasn't too bothered about him sleeping with a prostitute. (Also social class, the prostitute was the only one to talk in verse rather than free speech) I compared this to how Wyatt's poem seemed to try and cover up the raw, passionate sexual side of love, masking it behind quaint statements like slipping her nightgown off. I wrote that he tried to mask this behind beauty, but that sexual themes still came through. Wider reading on this second one was Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche's past of prostitution and Stella's sexual and passionate relationship with Stanley) and Duffy's "Delilah" (Raw sexual passion being used as a means to an end)

Q1 was reasonably good. Nice extracts, lots to compare.
Q2 extracts weren't nice. Giving us two seperate genres at a very similar time period was cruel.

Overall, not sure how I've done. If I'm lucky, I'll get the A needed to get to Uni. I didn't come out of that feeling like I did bad, but I did come out feeling like it was bloody challenging.

Original post by Great Lord Xenu

"Jude is interrupted from his studies by being hit in the face by a pig's penis."
Wtf, Thomas Hardy?

I had a bit of a chuckle and a "Wtf" moment at that one.

Original post by Language_student

Thank you. I'm in tears right now at the thought of not getting into uni because of this exam but I'll try not to focus on the negative.

Don't be negative :smile:

From what I saw yesterday you really know what you're talking about. I'm sure that you'll have written well. Remember they mark positively, awarding points not taking them away. Anything you write is valid when you support it :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 275

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by pianofluteftw

Be happy everyone - do not worry. Everyone came out saying the poem was odd if they hadn't seen it before and examiners are looking to mark positively - awarding marks for the good, not deducting for the bad.

Smile I'm sure it will be fine :smile:

Quite right. I'm sure everybody is feeling a bit shaken up after the exam - it's the aftermath of the adrenalin that helped you get through it - but things are very rarely as bad as they seem. Remember, the exam is the same for everybody. The board deliberately tries to find things that are a bit obscure to make it a level playing field for the majority. If you've cared enough about the exam to come on here and ask for advice, you will have cared enough to do the preparation work during the course, so there's every chance that some of that will pay off in the exam. I think you should all go out and have some fun (unless you're unfortunate enough to have an exam tomorrow) and try to put it out of your mind. :console:

Reply 276

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Great Lord Xenu

"Jude is interrupted from his studies by being hit in the face by a pig's penis."
Wtf, Thomas Hardy?

Yes, crude physical gags aren't solely the province of the 21st century. Not a lot of laughs to be had in the rest of the book, though, especially when Jude's son hangs all his siblings and himself, leaving a note saying 'Done because we are too many.' (I'd put that in a spoiler, but I don't know how.)

Reply 277

pianofluteftw

14

Original post by carnationlilyrose

Quite right. I'm sure everybody is feeling a bit shaken up after the exam - it's the aftermath of the adrenalin that helped you get through it - but things are very rarely as bad as they seem. Remember, the exam is the same for everybody. The board deliberately tries to find things that are a bit obscure to make it a level playing field for the majority. If you've cared enough about the exam to come on here and ask for advice, you will have cared enough to do the preparation work during the course, so there's every chance that some of that will pay off in the exam. I think you should all go out and have some fun (unless you're unfortunate enough to have an exam tomorrow) and try to put it out of your mind. :console:

I wish I could but I have 3 exams next week! (damn doing 4 not very linked A levels!)
I came home and started doing maths papers while looking on here :tongue: