Section a Exam Questions by Year. Choose ONE Question to Answer in One Hour. (40 Marks)

Section A – Exam questions by year. Choose ONE question to answer in one hour. (40 marks) Jan 2010 02 What do you think is the significance of the witches in Macbeth?

06 To what extent do you agree with the view that in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is exploring the “dark side of the human psyche”?

09 Many readers have been shocked by the stories in The Bloody Chamber. Do you find them merely shocking? You should refer to at least two stories in your answer. June 2010 0 2 At the end of the play, Malcolm describes Macbeth as a “butcher”. Do you think that Macbeth is merely portrayed as a “butcher”?

0 6 To what extent do you agree with the view that the humans in Frankenstein are more monstrous than the ‘Monster’?

0 9 “In The Bloody Chamber, childhood fairytales become the stuff of adult nightmares.” With close reference to at least two stories from the collection, say how far you agree with this comment. Jan 2011 0 2 “The violence in Macbeth is so excessive that it ceases to have any effect on the audience.” To what extent do you think the violence in the play is excessive?

0 6 “Mary Shelley presents Frankenstein as fearing his own sexuality and even as having repressed sexual feelings towards his mother.” What are your reactions to this view?

0 9 “In the stories in The Bloody Chamber, Carter is excessively interested in violent instincts.” How far do you agree with this view? June 2011 0 2 How far do you agree that Lady Macbeth is presented as a “fiend-like queen”?

0 6 Some readers have seen Frankenstein as an illustration of the fear of the power of science. To what extent do you agree with this view of the novel?

0 9 “In The Bloody Chamber Angela Carter reverses gothic traditions so that the males become the victims instead of the females.” Consider at least two of the stories in The Bloody Chamber in the light of this view.

Section A – Exam questions by text with POSSIBLE content.

Macbeth, answer 1 question in 1 hour (40 marks) Jan 2010 02 What do you think is the significance of the witches in Macbeth?  discussion of how much influence the witches have over the action of the play  consideration of what the witches actually represent: forces of evil, supernatural elements, manifestations of human desires etc, typical of the gothic  discussion of the implications of the language used by the witches, imagery, diction etc  possible discussion of differing reactions to the witches according to audience context – Shakespeare’s contemporaries, modern audience etc  possible references to differing functions of witches according to directors, actors - and designer’s interpretations (i.e. the ways they are presented in production)

June 2010 0 2 At the end of the play, Malcolm describes Macbeth as a “butcher”. Do you think that Macbeth is merely portrayed as a “butcher”?  gothic implications of the word ‘butcher’  possible agreement with this statement and examination of how Macbeth could be defined by the murders he commits  possible view that he is more complex – starts off as ‘brave Macbeth’ and descends from there; possible discussion of wife’s influence; possible reference to Aristotelian concepts of the tragic hero  discussion of whether it is significant that this is Malcolm’s view of Macbeth  consideration of how Macbeth might be portrayed in performance

Jan 2011 0 2 “The violence in Macbeth is so excessive that it ceases to have any effect on the audience.” To what extent do you think the violence in the play is excessive?  discussion of some of the different acts of violence in the play  possible view that it is excessive and the audience becomes desensitised to yet another violent death  possible view that the acts of violence become more horrific and more shocking – excess violence will probably be seen as a gothic characteristic  possible view that the play is an examination of the nature of violence and therefore the acts are justified – violence breed violence: it is inexorable, ineluctable; there is no going back etc  possible reference to how the violence may be staged in production

June 2011 0 2 How far do you agree that Lady Macbeth is presented as a “fiend-like queen”?  implications of the gothic term “fiend-like”  some candidates may agree with this description and consider the ways in which she is “fiend-like” – e.g. she persuades a reluctant Macbeth to kill Duncan; she is de- feminised (“unsex me here”); she smears the grooms with blood etc  some may see her as ambitious but not “fiend-like” – e.g. her love and support of her husband; the fact that she does not directly commit any violent acts herself etc  some may consider development or progression/deterioration in her character – e.g. her initial ruthlessness; her lack of involvement in Banquo’s and Lady Macduff’s deaths; her final madness and death; seeing her as more “fiend-like” at some times rather than others Frankenstein, answer 1 question in 1 hour (40 marks) Jan 2010 06 To what extent do you agree with the view that in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is exploring the “dark side of the human psyche”?  consideration of Frankenstein’s actions and motivations in the light of the question’s critical view – likely to be much emphasis on psycho-analytical theories, everything from gender usurpation to incest  some candidates may examine other characters from the novel in the light of this comment  discussion of the murders that take place in the novel  discussion of the creature’s role and what he represents in human terms – possible discussion of his relationship to the humans, their treatment of him…  possible discussion of the significance of the gothic language and imagery in the novel June 2010 0 6 To what extent do you agree with the view that the humans in Frankenstein are more monstrous than the ‘Monster’?  consideration of the ways in which the humans could be seen as behaving ‘monstrously’ – many possibilities here, from Frankenstein’s grisly experiments and treatment of other people to the rejection of the Monster by most humans  consideration of the gothic elements of Monster’s behaviour  possible view that the Monster does not behave monstrously naturally but only because he is rejected and unloved  possible view that it is difficult to overlook the Monster’s crimes

Jan 2011 0 6 “Mary Shelley presents Frankenstein as fearing his own sexuality and even as having repressed sexual feelings towards his mother.” What are your reactions to this view?  as the creature is male, some candidates who view him as an embodiment of Frankenstein’s fears may disagree with this statement  some candidates may see Frankenstein usurping the female role in his act of creation and therefore bypassing the natural means of reproduction – a gothic act of transgression  there may be consideration of Frankenstein’s failed relationship with Elizabeth and his failure to consummate  varying responses to the psycho-analytical, post-Freudian, Oedipal reading of the text June 2011 0 6 Some readers have seen the novel as an illustration of the fear of the power of science. To what extent do you agree with this view of the novel?  consideration of the power gained by Frankenstein as a result of his ‘scientific’ experiments  discussion of the role played by electricity in the animation of the creature  response to Frankenstein’s supposed ability to create life (possible view that this all goes horribly wrong because Frankenstein is out of his depth)  possible view that scientific experiments to explore the unknown are therefore unacceptable and to be feared  some candidates may feel that the ‘science’ is rather ambiguous and unspecific and therefore is more akin to gothic superstition and imagination than genuine scientific investigation

The Bloody Chamber, answer 1 question in 1 hour (40 marks) Jan 2010 09 Many readers have been shocked by the stories in The Bloody Chamber. Do you find them merely shocking? You should refer to at least two stories in your answer.  discussion of how far the stories may be considered shocking  consideration of the factors in the stories which may be considered shocking: the violence, their frank sexual references, including incest, necrophilia and other such gothic elements  exploration of the ways in which some of the language may be considered shocking  some candidates may not find the stories shocking or may alternatively consider how they shock and what the effect is  possible engagement with the idea that the stories were simply written for shock effect – possible view that they are an exposé of the darker aspects of the human psyche/gender relations/sexual desires June 2010 0 9 “In The Bloody Chamber, childhood fairytales become the stuff of adult nightmares.” With close reference to at least two stories from the collection, say how far you agree with this comment.  consideration of the ways in which Carter reworks childhood fairytales, with close reference to any two of the stories  possible view that the stories are no longer comfortable but address many fears, inhibitions and problems of an adult nature (sexuality is likely to be frequently considered here, also identity, gender etc)  possible consideration of the surreal, excessive elements of some of the stories; their exploration of the subconscious  possible consideration of the gothic imagery and its nightmare qualities Jan 2011 0 9 “In the stories in The Bloody Chamber, Carter is excessively interested in violent instincts.” How far do you agree with this view?  consideration of some of the violent acts that take place within the stories (candidates may be selective here) – some of the them may be seen as examples of gothic excess  possible view that many of the violent acts are perpetrated by unexpected characters – e.g. children, women, parents etc – and therefore show that all humans have the capacity for violence  possible view that acts of violence are sometimes the result of defence or protective love and therefore the initial impulse is not a violent one  possible view that some of the acts of violence are gratuitous  possible view that violence sometimes springs from fear or is the stuff of gothic nightmares – a healthy fictional release?  response to the word “excessively” in the question June 2011 0 9 “In The Bloody Chamber Angela Carter reverses gothic traditions so that the males become the victims instead of the females.” Consider at least two of the stories in The Bloody Chamber in the light of this view.  consideration of candidate’s choice of two stories from the collection where females may be seen to be empowered  possible response to feminist readings of the text  possible view that not all the males are victims: some may be seen to have power or be triumphant  candidates may of course discuss animals as male or female characters  possible response to the idea that in gothic writing females are often powerless victims of male desires; Carter’s stories may be seen to explore female desires