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AQA english lit alevel 2025 predictions :D

Hi!! does anyone have any predictions for what the questions for love through the ages and texts in shared contexts will be?
(note i do othello, room with a view + pre-1900 poetry, skirrid hill, the handmaids tale, a streetcar named desire (plus unseen poetry + prose))

my one prediction for othello is something to do with the women of the play, maybe specifically emilia and it will be worded in a way that encourages exploration of either her relationship with iago or her relationship/friendship with desdemona, im thinking the scene where E+D are talking about husbands and wives together, or the part were emilia is stabbed by iago?? or the part where emilia finds the handkerchief?

for the rwav prose + pre-1900 poetry im thinking something to do with marriage or loss of love
for unseen poetry im thinking just a really generalised question on how the poets present love with a poem from the victorian one from the modern, one female writer and one male writer

skirrid hill i have no idea tbh something to do with like the celebration of nature/connections to nature, or memories
hmt + scnd + unseen prose will be around the theme difference or desire

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Reply 1

I do Othello and pre 1900s, handmaid's and streetcar as well, but I do The Great Gatsby and Feminine Gospels for the other texts.
I think the Emilia question could be likely from what I gather my teacher thinks it could be that.
I think that the comparison question could be something to do with conflict or with how men and women perceive love, but I'm really not sure.
I haven't thought about paper 2 that much, but I've been talking with my teacher and we've been thinking it could be something like identity for the unseen prose and the comparison question. Though that might be broad.
Anyway I'm, too, interested in any predictions that other people have.

Reply 2

oooo those are good shouts!!
tbf conflict seems to come up a lot for the comparison question, if i remember correctly it was conflict in 2023? and i think maybe 2019 too? so it wouldnt be too farfetched that something around that would come up again, as long as i can just use sonnet 116 and to his coy mistress ill be reeved in smiles

also identity is plausible tbh considering how like kinda big and vague, and how it links to insecurity and like conflict with like struggle with identity in changing societies, either way im screwed on unseen prose i struggle revising it so much

also im so jealous about you doing great gatsby and feminine gospels (there's so little revision resources on room with a view 💔 and skirrid hill is not my vibe </3)

Reply 3

Original post
by suddenlystevie
Hi!! does anyone have any predictions for what the questions for love through the ages and texts in shared contexts will be?
(note i do othello, room with a view + pre-1900 poetry, skirrid hill, the handmaids tale, a streetcar named desire (plus unseen poetry + prose))
my one prediction for othello is something to do with the women of the play, maybe specifically emilia and it will be worded in a way that encourages exploration of either her relationship with iago or her relationship/friendship with desdemona, im thinking the scene where E+D are talking about husbands and wives together, or the part were emilia is stabbed by iago?? or the part where emilia finds the handkerchief?
for the rwav prose + pre-1900 poetry im thinking something to do with marriage or loss of love
for unseen poetry im thinking just a really generalised question on how the poets present love with a poem from the victorian one from the modern, one female writer and one male writer
skirrid hill i have no idea tbh something to do with like the celebration of nature/connections to nature, or memories
hmt + scnd + unseen prose will be around the theme difference or desire

I def think that the Othello question will be related to women - specifically Emilia and Desdemona. Perhaps something like "In the literature of love, women are presented as selfless and compassionate" and then to discuss the presentation of women. I think the willow scene (Act 4 Scene 3) would lend nicely to E+D since it echoes the end of the play and references stuff like V/W Dichotomy and cuckoldry. The baudy banter scene in Act 2 Scene 1 could work as well I suppose, but I doubt they'd include a scene with loads of Iago since he's come up so much recently.

For Unseen Poetry, the last 2 years have related to the endings of relationships, so I would predict a more positive aspect of love. The Poetry/Text (I do Gatsby) comparison I agree could be loss of love, or male/female attitudes towards love.

I do Streetcar as a single text, so for that it's very likely that a Stanley question would appear. Stella def won't come up since she's appeared the last two years. Perhaps a Stanley/Blanche question together could work, or something relating to Stanley's destruction of the Old South (since that hasn't appeared in a while either). The other question is always smt so random though so impossible to predict lol.

Finally, for Unseen Prose + Comparison theme, Identity is something they'd likely do in some aspect according to my teacher. Even if, it's pretty easy to relate any question to identity since it's a big postmodern concern and always tends to be a symptom of the question (e.g. Cultural differences fragment identity and result in isolation ext). Otherwise, anything relating to suffering or damage could come up maybe!

Reply 4

Original post
by Roadrunner780
I def think that the Othello question will be related to women - specifically Emilia and Desdemona. Perhaps something like "In the literature of love, women are presented as selfless and compassionate" and then to discuss the presentation of women. I think the willow scene (Act 4 Scene 3) would lend nicely to E+D since it echoes the end of the play and references stuff like V/W Dichotomy and cuckoldry. The baudy banter scene in Act 2 Scene 1 could work as well I suppose, but I doubt they'd include a scene with loads of Iago since he's come up so much recently.
For Unseen Poetry, the last 2 years have related to the endings of relationships, so I would predict a more positive aspect of love. The Poetry/Text (I do Gatsby) comparison I agree could be loss of love, or male/female attitudes towards love.
I do Streetcar as a single text, so for that it's very likely that a Stanley question would appear. Stella def won't come up since she's appeared the last two years. Perhaps a Stanley/Blanche question together could work, or something relating to Stanley's destruction of the Old South (since that hasn't appeared in a while either). The other question is always smt so random though so impossible to predict lol.
Finally, for Unseen Prose + Comparison theme, Identity is something they'd likely do in some aspect according to my teacher. Even if, it's pretty easy to relate any question to identity since it's a big postmodern concern and always tends to be a symptom of the question (e.g. Cultural differences fragment identity and result in isolation ext). Otherwise, anything relating to suffering or damage could come up maybe!
i was thinking the banter scene as well but yeah your right it is very iago heavy but i would have like a lot to say about the players in their housewivery and housewifes in our beds, BUT i genuinely just want emilia i love her shes my favourite character and would be sad if i had to yap about idk like RODERIGO???

tbf suffering and damage is another good shout i was thinking something or maybe even like just general theme of death/decay

Reply 5

Original post
by suddenlystevie
i was thinking the banter scene as well but yeah your right it is very iago heavy but i would have like a lot to say about the players in their housewivery and housewifes in our beds, BUT i genuinely just want emilia i love her shes my favourite character and would be sad if i had to yap about idk like RODERIGO???
tbf suffering and damage is another good shout i was thinking something or maybe even like just general theme of death/decay
Honestly would LOVE an Emilia question since there's sm to talk ab with the position of women, same as Desdemona. But since Emilia mostly only appears in relation to Desdemona, they'll probably just join them together and do women in general! Worst case scenario would be Cassio or Roderigo honestly, I'd just end up yapping about Desdemona if that happened 😭

And the comparison theme honestly has to be SO broad for it to be applicable to every text. I do The Help (seemingly the only person to ever do the freakin thing) and Plath, so stuff like death or desire wouldn't work for my texts but decay could. Looking at past paper questions, most of the questions just relate to differences between people and differences within society (Opposing values, cultural differences, conflict, inequality, barriers between people), and you can always relate them to identity and isolation for my texts lol. Tbh damage and suffering are just synonyms of what's already come up in the past sooo the questions just tend to be repeats every year lol

Reply 6

Original post
by suddenlystevie
oooo those are good shouts!!
tbf conflict seems to come up a lot for the comparison question, if i remember correctly it was conflict in 2023? and i think maybe 2019 too? so it wouldnt be too farfetched that something around that would come up again, as long as i can just use sonnet 116 and to his coy mistress ill be reeved in smiles
also identity is plausible tbh considering how like kinda big and vague, and how it links to insecurity and like conflict with like struggle with identity in changing societies, either way im screwed on unseen prose i struggle revising it so much
also im so jealous about you doing great gatsby and feminine gospels (there's so little revision resources on room with a view 💔 and skirrid hill is not my vibe </3)


My personal struggle is the unseen prose too, the time constraint on is even worse. I am not a big fan of Gatsby but it is what it is. My teacher is thinking of moving to post 1900s poetry and doing Austen's or Brontë's work instead(I'm quite jealous of the next year if that happens). Though Feminine Gospels has no revision books or anything, we're basically left with hunting for things online and personal interpretations, though I do like the anthology now so maybe it isn't that bad.

Reply 7

Original post
by suddenlystevie
i was thinking the banter scene as well but yeah your right it is very iago heavy but i would have like a lot to say about the players in their housewivery and housewifes in our beds, BUT i genuinely just want emilia i love her shes my favourite character and would be sad if i had to yap about idk like RODERIGO???
tbf suffering and damage is another good shout i was thinking something or maybe even like just general theme of death/decay


An Emilia question would be great! Though women in general too. I wouldn't mind talking about Bianca in my essay, I think it could be a great opportunity to explore women as a whole. They've done a Brabantio and Roderigo question before, and I couldn't agree more, I would cry if I saw I had to talk about either in the exam.

I think decay could be a good comparison question, death too maybe, but I would probably talk about streetcar and Gospels for that, not sure how much I could stretch it for Handmaid's.

The last 3 years they've done: social attitudes (2022), barriers (2023), social isolation and loneliness (2024). Suffering may be a good prediction given the pattern, but they could just do something random or entirely vague. In 2018 they asked about conflict as a theme, so it could truly be anything.

Reply 8

i was looking at the list for love through the ages although aqa stress its not an eexhastive list but covers some: romantic love of many kinds; love and sex; love and loss; social conventions and taboos; love through the ages according to history and time; love through the ages according to individual lives (young love, maturing love); jealousy and guilt; truth and deception; proximity and distance; marriage; approval and disapproval. Not Explicitly Covered Questions or Themes YET:
Jealousy and guilt
Love through individual lives (e.g., young love vs. mature love)
Marriage (could warrant its own question)
Approval and disapproval (especially from family, society, etc.) ***Also does any one have taming of the shrew or feminine gospels P2 predictions****

Reply 9

Does anyone here do the WW1 paper for paper 2? and does anyone have any predictions for that?

Reply 10

Original post
by mel jane
Does anyone here do the WW1 paper for paper 2? and does anyone have any predictions for that?

i do regeneration and the wipers times. for war. I think for the wipers times cameraderie may come up. To my knowledge, it hasnt been done before. Sacrafice has. Alcohol as a motif might come up

Reply 11

Original post
by mel jane
Does anyone here do the WW1 paper for paper 2? and does anyone have any predictions for that?

Hi, I do Regeneration, the Wipers Times and the Penguin anthology. Our teacher gave us a pretty wide range of ideas, but out of them I suspect it could me camaraderie, presentations of the enemy, patriotism/empire or heroism. For Regeneration I have no idea but hope its something on Prior.

Reply 12

Original post
by suddenlystevie
i was thinking the banter scene as well but yeah your right it is very iago heavy but i would have like a lot to say about the players in their housewivery and housewifes in our beds, BUT i genuinely just want emilia i love her shes my favourite character and would be sad if i had to yap about idk like RODERIGO???
tbf suffering and damage is another good shout i was thinking something or maybe even like just general theme of death/decay

They did Brabantio + Roderigo in 2019 which I thought was lowkey foul of them but when I did the question for practice it wasn't awful

Reply 13

Original post
by t0asted_beans
Hi, I do Regeneration, the Wipers Times and the Penguin anthology. Our teacher gave us a pretty wide range of ideas, but out of them I suspect it could me camaraderie, presentations of the enemy, patriotism/empire or heroism. For Regeneration I have no idea but hope its something on Prior.

ooo that sounds quite good! i do journey’s end, and the first casualty and wilfred owen poems. absolutely DESPISE the first casualty but patriotism, heroism and camaraderie would be greattttt

Reply 14

Original post
by Gabi26
I do Othello and pre 1900s, handmaid's and streetcar as well, but I do The Great Gatsby and Feminine Gospels for the other texts.
I think the Emilia question could be likely from what I gather my teacher thinks it could be that.
I think that the comparison question could be something to do with conflict or with how men and women perceive love, but I'm really not sure.
I haven't thought about paper 2 that much, but I've been talking with my teacher and we've been thinking it could be something like identity for the unseen prose and the comparison question. Though that might be broad.
Anyway I'm, too, interested in any predictions that other people have.

my teacher said something related to the theme of deception could possibly come up aswell.

Reply 15

Original post
by kirxt
my teacher said something related to the theme of deception could possibly come up aswell.


For which text? I have been looking over infidelity, marriage, women, characters in general.

Reply 16

Original post
by t0asted_beans
Hi, I do Regeneration, the Wipers Times and the Penguin anthology. Our teacher gave us a pretty wide range of ideas, but out of them I suspect it could me camaraderie, presentations of the enemy, patriotism/empire or heroism. For Regeneration I have no idea but hope its something on Prior.

Patriotism/empire/heroism would fit for my choices My Boy Jack/Life Class/Up the line to Death

Reply 17

it was such a great question too

Reply 18

honesltly guys with them chucking in othello for the othello question, i gonna start revising offred heavily for handmaids and stanleys relationship with blanche and the conflict that arises between them for streetcar bcs WHY are we doing main characters it threw me off so hard, i fr thought the othello q was going to be about women or cassio sigh. anyways my poetry text fro p2 i feminine gospels but ill prolly use it in the comparison q and do a straight streetcar/ handmaids essay (depending on the comparison theme)

Reply 19

Original post
by dqm1n1k4
honesltly guys with them chucking in othello for the othello question, i gonna start revising offred heavily for handmaids and stanleys relationship with blanche and the conflict that arises between them for streetcar bcs WHY are we doing main characters it threw me off so hard, i fr thought the othello q was going to be about women or cassio sigh. anyways my poetry text fro p2 i feminine gospels but ill prolly use it in the comparison q and do a straight streetcar/ handmaids essay (depending on the comparison theme)


I've been looking over characters and themes myself. I wouldn't mind a character like Nick or Luke, but if paper 1 is anything to go by then they are probably going to stick to protagonist (quite annoying really). The Stanley and Blanche question is quite a good shout, they did a Stella and Blanche last year.
I would love an identity question though for the comparison (but I wanted women in Othello as well).

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