You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
Paper 1 Section A presents you with an extract from the play you have studied and asks you to analyse it in relation to the theme of love through the ages. You must respond to the extract closely while also connecting it to the wider play and, where relevant, to a critical statement or proposition. This lesson provides a practical framework for approaching the task, with worked examples from the set plays.
| Requirement | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Analyse the extract | Close reading of language, form, and structure in the given passage |
| Connect to the wider play | Show understanding of how the extract relates to the play's larger treatment of love |
| Respond to the critical proposition | The question may include a critical statement — you must engage with it, either agreeing, disagreeing, or qualifying |
| Demonstrate AO1–AO5 | Quality of argument, analysis of language/form/structure, context, and critical perspectives |
| AO | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| AO1 | Articulate informed, personal, and creative responses; use accurate terminology | Significant |
| AO2 | Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped by language, form, and structure | Significant |
| AO3 | Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of contexts | Moderate |
| AO4 | Explore connections across literary texts (not assessed in Section A) | Not assessed here |
| AO5 | Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations | Moderate |
Read the extract at least twice before writing. On your first reading, note:
On your second reading, annotate:
Before you start writing, formulate a thesis — a clear argument in response to the question. This might be:
Your thesis should be stated in your opening paragraph and sustained throughout your response.
This is the core of your response. Use precise terminology and always explain the effect of the techniques you identify:
| Technique | What to Look For | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Imagery | Metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism | Othello's light/dark imagery in 5.2 |
| Verse form | Regular/irregular iambic pentameter, shared lines, short lines | Leontes' metrically fractured asides in 1.2 |
| Prose | Prose in a verse context signals informality, low status, madness, or intimacy | Iago's prose when conspiring with Roderigo |
| Rhyme | Couplets at the end of scenes; rhyme for emphasis or artifice | Kate's couplets in her final speech |
| Repetition | Anaphora, epizeuxis, listing — what is being emphasised and why? | "It is the cause, it is the cause" (5.2.1) |
| Syntax | Sentence length and structure; questions, commands, exclamations | Angelo's self-questioning soliloquy (2.2) |
| Pronouns | "I," "you," "thou," "we" — how characters address each other reveals power dynamics | Othello's shift from "thou" (intimate) to "you" (formal/cold) |
| Sound | Alliteration, assonance, sibilance — how words sound reinforces meaning | The hissing sibilance of Iago's insinuations |
The extract does not exist in isolation. You need to show how it connects to the play's larger treatment of love. Key strategies:
Before and after: What has happened before this extract? What will happen after? How does the extract represent a turning point, a climax, or a moment of revelation?
Parallels and contrasts: Does this moment parallel or contrast with another moment in the play? For example, Othello's language in 5.2 (the murder scene) can be compared with his language in 1.3 (the Senate scene) — the contrast measures the extent of his transformation.
Character development: How does the character in this extract compare with earlier or later versions of themselves? Has their language changed? Their imagery? Their verse form?
Thematic connections: How does the extract develop the play's treatment of love, jealousy, power, gender, or another relevant theme?
Subscribe to continue reading
Get full access to this lesson and all 10 lessons in this course.