GCSE AQA English Literature Paper 1 and 2 Revision and Study Chat

I'm doing Macbeth, A Christmas Carol, An Inspector Calls, Power and Conflict poetry

Anyone doing blood brothers, Romeo and Juliet or a Christmas carol.

I have my mock on Wednesday. English lit paper 2. Inspector Calls and power and Conflict poems. Anyone else

Anyone doing blood brothers, Romeo and Juliet or a Christmas carol

Does anyone mind giving feedback on this question, please

Compare ‘London’ and one other poem about power from the power and conflict anthology

Notably, both poems ‘London’ and ‘Checking Out My History’ explore how patriarchal society and those in power can cause problems, showing the damaging effects of exploited children.

Blake demonstrates the effect of patriarchal society and its damaging effects in “Blight with plagues the marriage hearse.” The oxymoronic device used, emphasis the corrupt nature of the time and perhaps criticises Christanitys views on marriage. A marriage which is meant to be a symbol of love, that represents happiness and joy is tarnished with the sexually transmitted diseases Blake hints at(“plagues”). It suggests to the reader that the life of “new-born infants” are “cursed” due to male-dominated society of the 1800s, creating pathos for the poor and vulnerable children.The cyclic and monotonous lives of those living in London is explored through the use of a regular ABAB rhyme scheme and regular quatrains. Perhaps Blake is acknowledging the repetitive suffering that the exploited “Chimney sweepers” and “Youthful harlots” were forced into whilst living in London during the Industrial revolution. Furthermore, it is clear by all the emphasis on suffering children that his purpose was to demonstrate the damaging impacts on child exploitation and reveal the effects of male sexual desire within a highly patriarchal society. Ultimately it also being the last line of the poem offers no hope further adumbrating the suffering. This idea that society exploits children is also evident in Agard’s ‘Checking Out Me History’: “Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and all that..Dem tell me...Shaka the great Zulu.” The use of Agard's colloquial spellings and references to important black historical figures forces readers to acknowledge his identity; which is similar to how Blake wished for the monarchy, at the time of his writing, to acknowledge the suffering of children in London. Moreover, the repetition of the collective noun “Dem”(them) emphasises his idea that people in power can corrupt others' knowledge - evident where children in French and British Imperialist countries fail to learn about and embrace Afro-Caribbean culture. Structurally, Agard's use of enjambment reflects the angry tone of the poem where he is unable to control his emotions and in retrospect to Blake tries to show how people in power can be resisted by those being oppressed.

Ultimately, both Blake and Agard wish to express their anger towards the highly patriarchal society of the times they were writing and illustrate how they can corrupt and exploit children's lives. They both demonstrate the damaging effects of it, to the point where Blake feels as if there is no sense of hope for their futures. Agard, on the other hand, wishes to make a statement about how it is possible to fight back.

Paper 1: Romeo & Juliet, A Christmas Carol
Paper 2: An Inspector Calls and Poetry

anyone else the same?

I’m doing the same, are you doing love and relationships poetry?

I'm doing Macbeth, A Christmas Carol, An Inspector Calls, Power and Conflict poetry

hi I did all of these and got an 8 last year, if you need any help just message me!

hi I did all of these and got an 8 last year, if you need any help just message me!

Heyy how many a Christmas Carol quotes did you learn and how did you revise for it )) well done on the 8!!!

Do you have any advice for a Christmas carol and an inspector calls, I would really love to get an 8 in summer but I’m not sure if it is possible as I am only working at a 6

It’s totally possible! I was only working at a 6-7 for the whole course, the adrenaline of the exam just meant I write loads and had some cool ideas to write about
I used Mr Salles on YouTube, he does specific videos for both of the those texts (and others!) targeted for grades 7,8,9 which I found helpful!
mindmaps about characters and themes.
I found that I couldn’t really sit down and write practise essays, so instead I would do essay plans:
bullet point your ideas for your paragraphs, write a write down that might help and explain how that links in 1-2 sentences or in note form

Any1 else struggling on macbeth? Like LOTF and J n H I find so much more straightforward or is it just me?

I have an essay on Macbeth I could share with you. Also, if anyone needs any help with essay writing I am more than happy to help. Look above on this thread for more information on what I did for English Lit.

If you guys need any help, feel free to PM me. I got an A* in English Lit at GCSE last year.

These are the texts I studied:
- A Christmas Carol
- Macbeth
- Short Stories
- Poetry - Love and Relationships
- Unseen poetry

Exam board: AQA


Good luck with your GCSE’s guys! ☺

do you lose marks if you don't know the poets name? I always forget the name of the poets and i just write 'the poet' is that alright?