‘Winter: My Secret’ : A complete set of notes for OCR Paper 1 A Level Comparative
Essay
- The essay tests AO1,AO3, AO4 and AO5
Background and form:
- Published in her 1862 collection, non-devotional, Goblin Market collection, initially
called in the manuscript title as ‘Nonsense’, hinting at the playful, teasing tone and
nature of the poem — perhaps not any secret at all, just irritating the listener.
- Uses an experimental form with an implied listener; very coy tone with playful internal
rhymes scattered and stanzas of uneven length, thus very capricious. There is a
constant obfuscation of the secret to tease the reader.
Quotes+ Analysis ( AO1+AO4)
- Theme: Power / Leverage
Quote:
“I tell my secret? No indeed not I:”
“Perhaps my secret I may say, or you may guess”
“Only. My secret’s mine, and won’t tell.”
- Analysis:
Begins the poem with a rhetorical question to annoy off the reader and show how
the speaker has power over the listener or reader of the poem. Indicates a playful
tone too. This is similar to Nora’s position where she withholds the secret about the
loan she took out, but oppositely she is desperate to tell Kristine about it: “It was I
who saved Torvald’s life” — superiority and saviour complex — and mirrors how
Nora teases Kristine about the secret that she derives power from: “You’re dying of
curiosity now, aren’t you Kristine?”
- The final two lines also show that state of teasing and playfulness, drawing parallels
to how Nora tells Kristine that she will tell the secret to Torvald when she is “no
longer pretty.”
-
- 2.
Constant repetition of possessive pronouns such as “I” and “my” shows the
selfishness with which the speaker retains their secret, links to Torvald’s
possessiveness over Nora.
-
- 3. Pathetic Fallacy / Literal Weather
Quote:
“It froze and blows and snows”
“Today’s a nipping day, a biting day in which one wants a shawl”
“A veil, a cloak, and other wraps”
“Spring is an expansive time, yet I don’t trust March”
- Analysis:
Cold, in the context of A Doll’s House, refers to the outside world — outside the
domestic sphere where there is no longer comfort. When Kristine enters from the
outside, Nora asks: “You’re not cold, are you?” and they sit by the stove to warm up
— alluding to cold being an evil presence.
- The shawl links to the wider semantic field of having warm outdoor clothing, and also
links to the denouement of A Doll’s House, where when Nora is leaving she “puts on
Essay
- The essay tests AO1,AO3, AO4 and AO5
Background and form:
- Published in her 1862 collection, non-devotional, Goblin Market collection, initially
called in the manuscript title as ‘Nonsense’, hinting at the playful, teasing tone and
nature of the poem — perhaps not any secret at all, just irritating the listener.
- Uses an experimental form with an implied listener; very coy tone with playful internal
rhymes scattered and stanzas of uneven length, thus very capricious. There is a
constant obfuscation of the secret to tease the reader.
Quotes+ Analysis ( AO1+AO4)
- Theme: Power / Leverage
Quote:
“I tell my secret? No indeed not I:”
“Perhaps my secret I may say, or you may guess”
“Only. My secret’s mine, and won’t tell.”
- Analysis:
Begins the poem with a rhetorical question to annoy off the reader and show how
the speaker has power over the listener or reader of the poem. Indicates a playful
tone too. This is similar to Nora’s position where she withholds the secret about the
loan she took out, but oppositely she is desperate to tell Kristine about it: “It was I
who saved Torvald’s life” — superiority and saviour complex — and mirrors how
Nora teases Kristine about the secret that she derives power from: “You’re dying of
curiosity now, aren’t you Kristine?”
- The final two lines also show that state of teasing and playfulness, drawing parallels
to how Nora tells Kristine that she will tell the secret to Torvald when she is “no
longer pretty.”
-
- 2.
Constant repetition of possessive pronouns such as “I” and “my” shows the
selfishness with which the speaker retains their secret, links to Torvald’s
possessiveness over Nora.
-
- 3. Pathetic Fallacy / Literal Weather
Quote:
“It froze and blows and snows”
“Today’s a nipping day, a biting day in which one wants a shawl”
“A veil, a cloak, and other wraps”
“Spring is an expansive time, yet I don’t trust March”
- Analysis:
Cold, in the context of A Doll’s House, refers to the outside world — outside the
domestic sphere where there is no longer comfort. When Kristine enters from the
outside, Nora asks: “You’re not cold, are you?” and they sit by the stove to warm up
— alluding to cold being an evil presence.
- The shawl links to the wider semantic field of having warm outdoor clothing, and also
links to the denouement of A Doll’s House, where when Nora is leaving she “puts on
