VLeapNext

Mark Scheme – Question 1 Re-read La Belle Dame sans Merci and My Last Duchess. Compare how power is shown through relationships in La Belle Dame sans Merci and in My Last Duchess. La Belle Dame sans Merci (AO2) Responses may include: The faery’s child wields power over the knight through her beauty and supernatural charm: he is ‘alone and palely loitering’ after she abandons him. The knight’s vulnerability shows the imbalance of power in the relationship. Repetition of ‘wild eyes’ and the description of her ‘light of foot’ emphasise her dominance over him. The use of the ballad form, with regular rhyme in the second and fourth lines, creates a rhythmic, almost hypnotic effect, reflecting the control the lady has over the knight. Pathetic fallacy highlights the knight’s powerlessness: the ‘sedge has withered’ and ‘no birds sing’ mirror his emotional desolation. The knight’s dream of other ‘pale kings’ and ‘princes’ suggests a history of men powerless before her, reinf...

Blessing (AO2) Responses may include: the poem opens with a vivid depiction of a harsh, dry environment: ‘The skin cracks like a pod’ conveys how scarcity and heat shape human life. metaphors and similes bring the environment to life: water is described as a ‘rush of fortune’ and a ‘blessing’, showing the environment’s transformative power. sensory imagery engages the reader: visual (‘silver crashes’), tactile (‘skin cracks’), auditory (‘the voice of a kindly god’). contrasts highlight human reliance on the environment: the harsh, dry conditions versus the sudden joy brought by water. enjambment and irregular line lengths mirror unpredictability and the rush of water, echoing human reaction. repetition (‘blessing, the voice of a kindly god’) emphasises the overwhelming power of natural forces. the shift in tone from hardship to celebration shows the immediate effect of the environment on human life. free verse reflects the untamed, uncontrolled nature of the e...

SECTION B – Reading and Writing Answer the question in this section. You should spend 1 hour on this section. Use ideas from BOTH Text One and Text Two in the Source Booklet to answer this question. 8 Write a letter to a friend on the topic of choosing and caring for a pet responsibly. You should include: the benefits and joys of owning a pet the responsibilities and challenges of pet ownership advice for how to make the right choice for your lifestyle Think carefully about the purpose of your letter and the audience for whom it is intended. (30 marks) answers SECTION B – Mark Scheme A suitable register for a letter to a friend should be adopted. Candidates should address all areas. The following are some points that candidates may make but there are other possibilities. Some candidates may interpret the task more widely and use other examples than those mentioned in the passages. The benefits and joys of owning a pet pets can improve mood: “decreasing feel...

sample The Writer's Descriptive Skills: Emotional Connection: The poem effectively conveys the deep bond between the lion-keeper and the lion. Examiners should reward responses that highlight Pugh’s portrayal of the keeper’s intimate connection to the lion, for example, the sensory details such as "rough glowing fur" and "deepest purr." These phrases evoke a tactile and emotional bond. Loss and Mourning: Descriptions such as "who has seen him asleep so often, but never like this" vividly express the sudden and shocking nature of the lion’s death, showing the keeper’s grief. Candidates should recognize how Pugh uses descriptions to contrast normalcy with the loss. Loneliness and Isolation: The keeper’s isolation after the lion's death is conveyed with phrases like "no way to let go of love," implying that the keeper’s emotional life is tied to the lion. Responses should point out how the absence of the lion creates a sense of desolati...