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AO1 Literature Mastery Therapy

AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts

Students should be able to:

Maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response.

Use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate

interpretations.

Part of your examination will require you to write a response to unseen material. This can

so eti es e a wo fo stude ts as the af aid of ot k owi g what to do if the a t understand the text.

In this therapy exercise you will look at how to approach unfamiliar material for this section

of the examination. If you want to achieve high grades for Literature, you will need to be

confident in handling and writing about unfamiliar material.

Remember: little and often is better than last minute chunks when it comes to preparation!

Steps to take:

1. The first thing you need to be secure with is the CONTENT of the unseen material.

The uestio ou will e aski g ou self is what is the te t a out? Look fo a clues in the title, the question or the contextual information if it is provided. This will

give you some ideas about what you will find when you read the text.

2. Read the unseen material THOROUGHLY. If it is a prose passage, make notes to

summarise each main paragraph as you read. If it is a poem, try and write down key

words as you go along. You may need to read the text several times to be secure in

understanding.

3. Read the text again and look at the question. What do you notice about the language

and structure of the text in relation to the question? Highlight or underline key

quotations where the writer uses interesting METHODS to convey their meaning.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

It is a good idea to test yourself on unseen material before the examination. Use the

internet to search for prose passages or poems you have not studied or ask your English

teacher if you can have a root around in the English stock cupboard. Your English teacher

may also have copies of past exam papers from legacy specifications with unseen material.

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If you have plenty of examples, you can practise reading and understanding texts you have

not seen before.

There are two examples of texts you are probably unfamiliar with below. Practise the steps

outlined in the first part of this therapy.

POETRY:

How are ideas about nature presented in the poem?

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wander'd lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: -

A poet could not but be gay

In such a jocund company!

I gazed - and gazed - but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with the daffodils.

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PROSE:

How are ideas about readers and writers presented in this extract?

An author ought to consider himself not as a gentleman who gives a private or

eleemosynary treat, but rather as one who keeps a public ordinary at which all persons are

welcome for their money. In the former case, it is well known that the entertainer provides

what fare he pleases, and though this should be very indifferent and utterly disagreeable to

the taste of his company, they must not find fault; nay, on the contrary, good breeding

forces them outwardly to approve and to commend what is set before them. Now, the

contrary of this happens to the master of an ordinary. Men who pay for what they eat will

insist on gratifying their palates, however nice and whimsical these may prove; and, if

everything is not agreeable to their taste, will challenge a right to censure, to abuse. And to

d-n their dinner without control.

To prevent, therefore, giving offence to their customers by any such disappointment, it hath

been usual with the honest and well-meaning host to provide a bill of fare, which all persons

may peruse at their first entrance into the house; and, having thence acquainted themselves

with the entertainment which they may expect, may either stay and regale with what is

provided for them or may depart to some other ordinary better accommodated to their

taste.

As we do not disdain to borrow wit or wisdom from any man who is capable of lending us

either we have condescended to take a hint from these honest victuallers and shall prefix

not only a general bill of fare to our whole entertainment, but shall likewise give the reader

particular bills to every course which is to be served up in this and the ensuing volumes.

From Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

Commissioned by The PiXL Club Ltd.

This resource is strictly for the use of member schools for as long as they remain members of The PiXL Club. It may not be copied, sold, nor

transferred to a third party or used by the school after membership ceases. Until such time it may be freely used within the member

school. All opinions and contributions are those of the authors. The contents of this resource are not connected with, nor endorsed by,

any other company, organisation or institution. PiXL Club Ltd endeavour to trace and contact copyright owners. If there are any

inadvertent omissions or errors in the acknowledgements or usage, this is unintended and PiXL will remedy these on written notification.

 

 

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AO1 Mastery Test 

 

AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts  

 

Students should be able to:  

•  Maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response.  

•  Use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate 

interpretations. 

 

Choose whether you want to attempt an unseen poetry or prose question. 

 

Answer one of the questions below:  

 

Poetry: 

A Divine Image by William Blake 

How are ideas about human beings presented in this poem? 

Cruelty has a human heart, 

And Jealousy a human face; 

Terror the human form divine, 

And Secrecy the human dress. 

 

The human dress is forged iron, 

The human form a fiery forge, 

The human face a furnace sealed, 

The human heart its hungry gorge. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Prose: 

An extract from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 

How are the characters of Heathcliff and Lockwood presented in this extract? 

1801.  ‐  I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  my  landlord  ‐  the  solitary  neighbour  that  I  shall  be 

troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have 

fixed  on  a  situation  so  completely  removed  from  the  stir  of  society.  A  perfect  misanthropist's 

heaven:  and Mr.  Heathcliff  and  I  are  such  a  suitable  pair  to  divide  the  desolation  between  us.  A 

capital fellow! He little  imagined how my heart warmed towards him when I beheld his black eyes 

withdraw so suspiciously under their brows, as I rode up, and when his fingers sheltered themselves, 

with a jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat, as I announced my name.  

'Mr. Heathcliff?' I said.  

A nod was the answer.  

'Mr. Lockwood, your new tenant, sir. I do myself the honour of calling as soon as possible after my 

arrival, to express the hope that I have not inconvenienced you by my perseverance in soliciting the 

occupation of Thrushcross Grange: I heard yesterday you had had some thoughts ‐ '  

'Thrushcross  Grange  is  my  own,  sir,'  he  interrupted,  wincing.  'I  should  not  allow  any  one  to 

inconvenience me, if I could hinder it ‐ walk in!'  

The  'walk  in' was uttered with closed teeth, and expressed the sentiment,  'Go to the Deuce:' even 

the gate over which he leant manifested no sympathising movement to the words; and I think that 

circumstance determined me to accept the invitation: I felt  interested in a man who seemed more 

exaggeratedly reserved than myself.     

When he saw my horse's breast fairly pushing the barrier, he did put out his hand to unchain it, and 

then sullenly preceded me up the causeway, calling, as we entered the court, ‐ 'Joseph, take Mr. 

Lockwood's horse; and bring up some wine.' 

'Here we have the whole establishment of domestics, I suppose,' was the reflection suggested by 

this compound order. 'No wonder the grass grows up between the flags, and cattle are the only 

hedge‐cutters.' 

 Joseph was an elderly, nay, an old man: very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy. 'The Lord help 

us!' he soliloquised in an undertone of peevish displeasure, while relieving me of my horse: looking, 

meantime, in my face so sourly that I charitably conjectured he must have need of divine aid to 

digest his dinner, and his pious ejaculation had no reference to my unexpected advent.  

 

 

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Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff's dwelling. 'Wuthering' being a significant provincial 

adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. 

Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of 

the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the 

house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the 

sun. Happily, the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the 

wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones. 

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 Commissioned by The PiXL Club Ltd. 

 

 

This resource is strictly for the use of member schools for as long as they remain members of The PiXL Club. It may not be copied, sold, nor 

transferred  to a  third party or used by  the  school  after membership  ceases. Until  such  time  it may be  freely used within  the member 

school. All opinions and contributions are those of the authors. The contents of this resource are not connected with, nor endorsed by, 

any  other  company,  organisation  or  institution.  PiXL  Club  Ltd  endeavour  to  trace  and  contact  copyright  owners.  If  there  are  any 

inadvertent omissions or errors in the acknowledgements or usage, this is unintended and PiXL will remedy these on written notification.