2023 AQA A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A 7712/2B Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Question Paper & Mark scheme (Merged) June 2023 [VERIFIED]

2023 AQA A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A 7712/2B Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Question Paper & Mark scheme (Merged) June 2023 [VERIFIED] A-level ENGLISH LITERATURE A Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: Literature from 1945 to the present day Thursday 8 June 2023 Morning Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 12-page answer book • a copy of the Insert for use with Section B (enclosed) • a copy of each of the set texts you have studied for this paper. These texts must not be annotated and must not contain additional notes or materials. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7712/2B. • Read all of the questions. Then choose either Option 1 or Option 2 or Option 3. Answer one question from Section A and both questions from Section B from your chosen option. You must answer questions from only one option. • Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 75. • You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. • In your response you need to: – analyse carefully the writers’ methods – explore the contexts of the texts you are writing about – explore connections across the texts you have studied – explore different interpretations of your texts. IB/H/Jun23/E7 7712/2B 2 Option 1 Section A: Poetry Set Text Answer one question in this section. Feminine Gospels – Carol Ann Duffy Either 0 1 Examine the view that ‘The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High’ has nothing in common with the rest of the collection. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] or 0 2 or 0 3 Examine the significance of violence in Feminine Gospels. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] Skirrid Hill – Owen Sheers Examine the significance of places in Skirrid Hill. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] or 0 4 ‘Sheers presents romantic relationships as utterly doomed in Skirrid Hill.’ Examine this view. You must write about at least two poems in your answer. [25 marks] IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B 3 Option 1 Section B: Drama and Prose Contextual Linking Read the Insert. Answer both questions in this section. Read the Insert carefully. It is taken from The Village, a novel by Marghanita Laski, published in 1952. The extract is set in the English village of Priory Dean in 1945. World War II has just ended and two middle-aged women, Wendy Trevor and Edith Wilson, are completing their final overnight duty as Red Cross volunteers in the village hall. The extract begins with Wendy explaining how she and her husband came to settle in the village. Answer both questions. 0 5 and 0 6 Explore the significance of barriers between people in this extract. Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed analysis of the ways that Laski shapes meanings. [25 marks] Compare the significance of barriers between people in two other texts you have studied. Remember to include in your answer reference to how meanings are shaped in the texts you are comparing. You must use one drama text and one prose text in your response. [25 marks] Turn over for the next section Turn over ► IB/H/Jun23/7712/2B 4 Option 2 Section A: Drama Set Text Answer one question in this section. A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams Either 0 7 or 0 8 or 0 9 or 1 0 Examine the significance of Stella’s pregnancy within the play. [25 marks] Examine the significance of setting the play in a cramped apartment in a working-class district of New Orleans. [25 marks] Top Girls – Caryl Churchill According to Marlene, to be working class in the 1