Leaving Cert English paper two: Yeats poses a challenge on an otherwise ‘rewarding’ paper

Teachers have broadly welcomed the second English paper, saying that it offered good choices and tested student understanding of the studied texts.

Paul McCormack, an English teacher at the Institute of Education, said that the higher level paper was designed to reward students who have worked hard on their analytical, planning and critical thinking skills.

Kate Barry, ASTI subject representative and a teacher at Loreto Secondary School in Fermoy, Co Cork, said that changes to the paper meant that students only had to prepare four poets in depth- rather than five, as is usually the case - in order to be guaranteed at least one suitable question on the higher paper.

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Irish poets Brendan Kennelly and WB Yeats appeared on this year’s paper alongside Adrienne Rich, Emily Dickinson and William Wordsworth.

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”The wording of one or two of these questions required careful thought and consideration,” said Mr McCormack.

“In particular, the wording of the Yeats question, which asked students to comment on the lessons Yeats learned from History, Myth and Legend, was tough.

“The omission of a question on DH Lawrence, the only poet on the course who had not already been examined in the last three years, was a disappointment.”

Ms Barry said many of the questions were quite specific and this was a welcome development.

”The questions deal with aspects that are unique to each text, such as Nora’s backstory in [Henrik Ibsen’s] A Doll’s House, and the use of letters as a narrative device in [Mary Shelley’s] Frankenstein.

“This is a change from recent years where the questions have been the same with only the names of texts/characters replaced, and is definitely an improvement as it means candidates need to have an intimate understanding of the studied text in order to answer well,” Ms Barry said.

Both teachers said most students would have answered a question on Shakespeare’s Othello.

“The two questions asked needed to be navigated carefully,” Mr McCormack said. “Each question contained particular wording that would have to be considered carefully in the planning stage before the answer was written.”

Students were asked to comment on the “fascinating” or “disturbing” aspects of the relationship between Iago and Emilia or on Othello’s status as an outsider.

“Both questions were character-driven and very candidate-friendly,” said Ms Barry. “The Iago-Emilia question is excellent. Many would have prepared Iago & Othello, while Emilia is often paired with Desdemona in ‘the women question’.

“Looking at these two characters in terms of a married couple is a twist that’s not too twisty.”

Mr McCormack said candidates needed to be careful not to ‘narrate’ the play.

“The crucial requirement for critical thinking and analysis was obvious in answering these questions,” he said.

The comparative text was fair, sensible and with well-worded topics, said Ms Barry, while Mr McCormack said that would reward the well-prepared candidate but that the answers required careful thought.

Ms Barry said that the ordinary level paper featured sensible questions and was pitched at the right level.

“In the comparative text, the questions were thought-provoking, such as the one about all characters usually having some kind of flaw, whether they be heroes or villains.

“There was more choice than usual in the studied poetry. ‘The Lake of Innisfree’ appears again as it has done many times in the past, along with Rich’s ‘The Uncle Speaks in the Drawing Room’, both poems amongst the simplest on the course.”

Try this one at home:

-English paper two, higher level

(i) “Various aspects of the relationship between Iago and Emilia in Shakespeare’s play, Othello, are both fascinating and disturbing.”

Discuss the reasons why you agree or disagree with the above statement. Develop your discussion with reference to the text.

OR

(ii) Discuss the reasons why our knowledge of Othello’s status as an outsider enables us to better understand various aspects of Shakespeare’s play, Othello. Develop your discussion with reference to the text.