GCSE English Literature Paper 1 - Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel

Sep 5, 2026

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GCSE English Literature Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel exam materials for Wednesday 15 May 2019 (Afternoon). The paper requires answering one question from Section A (Shakespeare) and one question from Section B (the 19th-century novel). It specifies writing instructions, the Paper Reference 8702/1, total marks of 64, and assessment of AO4 in Section A, including vocabulary and sentence-structure clarity, purpose, and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Section A: Shakespeare

Macbeth

Romeo and Juliet

The Tempest

The Merchant of Venice

Much Ado About Nothing

Julius Caesar

Section B: The 19th-century novel

Robert Louis Stevenson

Charles Dickens

Charlotte Brontë

Mary Shelley

Jane Austen

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

A Christmas Carol

Great Expectations

Jane Eyre

Frankenstein

Pride and Prejudice

The Sign of Four

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Paper 1 Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel Wednesday 15 May 2019 Afternoon Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 16-page answer book. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Do not use pencil. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 8702/1 . • Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B. • You must not use a dictionary. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 64. • AO4 will be assessed in Section A. There are 4 marks available for AO4 in Section A in addition to 30 marks for answering the question. AO4 assesses the following skills: use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. • There are 30 marks for Section B. There are no questions printed on this page SECTION A Question Page Shakespeare Macbeth Romeo and Juliet The Tempest The Merchant of Venice Much Ado About Nothing Julius Caesar SECTION B The 19th-century novel Robert Louis Stevenson Charles Dickens Charles Dickens Charlotte Brontë Mary Shelley Jane Austen Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde A Christmas Carol Great Expectations Jane Eyre Frankenstein Pride and Prejudice The Sign of Four 1 2 3 4 5 6 Question 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 4 5 6 7 8–9 10 Page 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Section A: Shakespeare Answer one question from this section on your chosen text. Either Macbeth Read the following extract from Act 1 Scene 2 of Macbeth and then answer the question that follows. At this point in the play, the Captain tells Duncan about Macbeth’s part in the recent battle. CAPTAIN Doubtful it stood, As two spent swimmers that do cling together And choke their art. The merciless Macdonald – Worthy to be a rebel, for to that 5 The multiplying villainies of nature Do swarm upon him – from the Western Isles Of kerns and galloglasses is supplied, And Fortune on his damnèd quarrel smiling, Showed like a rebel’s whore. But all’s too weak, 10 For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name – Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like Valour’s minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave, 15 Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’chaps And fixed his head upon our battlements. 0 1 Starting with this speech, explore how far Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a violent character. Write about: • how Shakespeare presents Macbeth in this extract • how far Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a violent character in the play as a whole. [30 marks] AO4 [4 marks] or Romeo and Juliet Read the following extract from Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet and then answer the question that follows. At this point in the play, Romeo and Juliet meet each other for the first time at the Capulet house. ROMEO If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this, My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. JULIET 5 Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this, For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss. ROMEO Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? JULIET 10 Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. ROMEO O then, dear saint , let lips do what hands do: They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. JULIET Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake. ROMEO Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take. 15 Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged. JULIET Then have my lips the sin that they have took. ROMEO Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly

FAQs

How many questions must be answered, and from which sections?

Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B.

What is the total mark allocation for this paper?

The maximum mark for the paper is 64, with 30 marks for Section B and a total of 34 marks for Section A (including AO4).

What does AO4 assess in Section A?

AO4 assesses using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Kyle