gce model questions vol1 2021 literature_in_english | Essay

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Question 1 View Details
Discuss the distinguishing features of the tragedy genre and explain how these features are manifested in Shakespeare's *Macbeth*.
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Question 2 View Details
Read the following excerpt taken from an imagined short story about a young girl confronting a storm: "The wind howled like a wounded beast, tearing at the shutters with relentless fury. Each flash of lightning painted the room in stark, silver outlines, as if the heavens were sketching the girl's trembling silhouette. She clutched the cracked porcelain teacup, its delicate surface trembling in rhythm with her own racing heart, and whispered, ‘I will not be broken.’" Identify three literary devices employed in the passage and discuss how each device contributes to the development of the central theme of resilience. (You should name the device, give a brief illustration from the text, and explain its effect on the theme.)
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Question 3 View Details
Read the following excerpt from the poem **“River of Echoes”**: *The river runs, a silver thread through night, Its whispered currents carry sighs of old. Beneath the moon’s pale lantern, stones ignite With memories the water cannot hold. Each ripple bears a name the banks have lost, A lover’s promise, a child’s fleeting song. The tide retreats, yet leaves a silver frost Upon the heart where quiet dreams belong.* Answer the questions that follow.
Question Parts
(a)
Explain how the poet uses imagery to convey the theme of loss.
(b)
Discuss the poet’s use of form and structure in shaping the reader’s emotional response.
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Question 4 View Details
Read the following excerpt from the short story **“Market Dawn”**: *The market awoke before the sun, its stalls already a chorus of rustling canvas and low‑murmured bargaining. Ama, the fish‑seller, arranged her glistening catch on a bed of crushed ice, each silver scale catching the first amber light. Across the lane, Kola the spice‑merchant spread cumin, coriander and a pinch of dried chilies, their perfume rising like a promise of warmth. As the first customers arrived, a sudden clatter of a broken cart wheel sent a ripple of startled cries through the crowd, only to be soothed by the laughter of children chasing a stray goat that had slipped through an open gate.* Answer the questions that follow.
Question Parts
(a)
Analyse how the writer creates a vivid sense of place through sensory details.
(b)
Discuss the role of the incidental incident (the broken cart wheel and the goat) in developing the narrative’s theme of community resilience.
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Question 5 View Details
Read the following original excerpt from the drama *The Broken Bridge*: "The night was thick with the scent of rain as Amina stood at the edge of the crumbling bridge, her hands clenched around the frayed rope. The distant drums of the village celebration grew louder, a reminder of the life she was about to abandon. Behind her, the river whispered secrets of those who had crossed before, and in her mind, the voice of her mother echoed: ‘Stay, daughter, stay.’ Yet the fire in her chest burned brighter than any fear." Answer the questions that follow.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify and explain two dramatic techniques the playwright uses in the excerpt to create tension.
(b)
Analyse how the playwright reveals Amina’s inner conflict through both direct and indirect characterization.
(c)
Evaluate the effectiveness of this excerpt as a climax in the play, considering its impact on the audience’s anticipation of the subsequent action.
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Question 6 View Details
Read the following original passage describing the character of Kofi in the short story *Shadows of the Market*: "Kofi moved through the bustling market with a limp that seemed to echo the weight of his unspoken thoughts. His eyes, dark and narrowed, scanned the stalls not for bargains but for the faint glint of a silver coin he had once hidden beneath the old mango tree. Though his voice was soft, every word he uttered carried the rhythm of a man who had learned to bargain not only with merchants but also with his own conscience. The scar on his left palm, a reminder of the night he helped a stranger escape the clutches of a corrupt official, was a silent testament to a bravery that few in the market ever witnessed." Answer the questions that follow.
Question Parts
(a)
Discuss two methods of direct characterization used by the author to portray Kofi.
(b)
Identify and explain three techniques of indirect characterization evident in the passage.
(c)
Compare Kofi’s character development with that of a secondary character, Ama, who is briefly introduced later as a cheerful vendor who never questions the market’s corrupt practices. How does the contrast enhance the story’s central theme?
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Question 7 View Details
Answer the following questions on Chinua Achebe’s novel *Things Fall Apart*.
Question Parts
(a)
Outline the main events of the novel in chronological order, identifying the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.
(b)
Analyse how Achebe uses the conflict between tradition and change to develop the plot, giving two specific examples from the text.
(c)
Evaluate the effectiveness of the novel’s climax in reinforcing the central theme of cultural clash.
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Question 8 View Details
Answer the following questions on William Shakespeare’s tragedy *Macbeth*.
Question Parts
(a)
Describe the physical and social setting of Scotland at the beginning of the play, and explain how Shakespeare establishes atmosphere through setting details.
(b)
Discuss how the setting evolves after Macbeth becomes king, focusing on the changes in locations, time of day, and weather, and how these changes reflect the psychological state of the characters.
(c)
Critically assess how the contrasting settings of the heath, the castle, and the battlefield contribute to the development of the play’s theme of ambition and moral disorder.
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Question 9 View Details
Read the following excerpt from the short story **The River's Whisper**: *The rain had turned the village paths into ribbons of mud, but Amina kept walking, her eyes fixed on the distant hill where the old well lay. The water there had once been the lifeblood of the community, a place where children sang and elders shared stories. Now, the well was dry, its stone walls cracked, and the villagers whispered that the river had taken its spirit away. Amina remembered her mother's words: “When the river stops singing, the heart of the village grows silent.” She lifted a small stone, placed it at the well’s edge, and whispered a promise to find the hidden spring that the river had hidden from them.* Answer the following: a) Identify the central theme of the story. b) Explain how the author develops this theme through: i) the protagonist’s actions; ii) the setting; iii) the language choices. c) Evaluate the relevance of this theme to contemporary society.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify the central theme of the story.
(b)
Explain how the author develops this theme through:
() the protagonist’s actions;
() the setting;
() the language choices.
(c)
Evaluate the relevance of this theme to contemporary society.
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Question 10 View Details
Read the following passage from the novel **Shadows of the Market**: *The market bustled at noon, a kaleidoscope of colours and voices. From the narrow alley behind the spice stalls, a soft, detached voice narrated, “She had never imagined that a single coin could change the course of her life.” The narrator’s tone shifted, slipping seamlessly into her thoughts: *‘What would I do if the world offered me a choice that could erase my past?’* The scene then jumped back three months, to the day she first found the tarnished silver token on the riverbank, its surface etched with a strange sigil. The narrative returned to the present, the market’s clamor now a distant hum as she pressed the token into her palm, feeling the weight of possibilities.* Answer the following: a) Identify the narrative point of view employed in the passage and discuss its effect on the reader. b) Examine two narrative techniques used in the passage (e.g., free‑indirect discourse, temporal shift, focalisation) and explain how each contributes to the development of tension. c) Assess how the combination of these techniques influences the overall impact of the opening scene.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify the narrative point of view employed in the passage and discuss its effect on the reader.
(b)
Examine two narrative techniques used in the passage (e.g., free‑indirect discourse, temporal shift, focalisation) and explain how each contributes to the development of tension.
(c)
Assess how the combination of these techniques influences the overall impact of the opening scene.
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