Lit 1: Inspector Calls + Poetry

Question 1

‘As if we __ __ __ __ __ like __ in a __ - __ and all __ __’

Who says this?

Answer 1

As if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - commune and all that nonsense

Mr Birling

Question 2

‘If you __ __ __ __ on __ of __ __, __ __ be __ for the __’

Who says this?

Answer 2

If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the Earth

Mr Birling

Question 3

‘__ be a __ __ - __ we’re __ - and __ __ will __ __ __ __ __ I __?’

Who says this?

Answer 3

There’ll be a public scandal - unless we’re lucky- and who here will suffer from that more than I will?

Mr Birling

Question 4

‘As if a __ of __ __ __ __ __ __!’

Who says this?

Answer 4

As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!

Mrs Birling

Question 5

‘__ the __ __, I __ __ I’m __ of […] you __ __ __ to __ me __ my __.’

Who says this?

Answer 5

Unlike the other three, I did nothing I’m ashamed of […] you have no power to make me change my mind

Mrs Birling

Question 6

‘I __ __ __ it __ the __ and __ I __ a __ __. __ it __ __ __ to her?’

Who says this?

Answer 6

I felt rotten about it at the time and now I feel a lot worse. Did it make much difference to her?

Sheila

Question 7

‘You __ to __ __. And __ you’ve __. You’re __ to __ __ in the __ __ __’
Who says this?

Answer 7

You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go on in the same old way.

Sheila

Question 8

‘__ __ they __ __ __ __? We __ for the __ __ __’

Who says this?

Answer 8

Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the best possible prices

Question 9

Birling is concerned about a ‘__ __’

Who says this?

Answer 9

‘Public scandal’

Eric

Question 10

(__): ‘And I __ the __ __ and we __ __ to __ __ - and __ __ __ -‘
Who says this?

Answer 10

Shouting: and I say the girls dead and we all helped to kill her - and that’s what matters -

Eric

Question 11

‘__ __ now __’ [__ __ the __]

Who says this?

Answer 11

‘Everything’s alright now Sheila’ [holds up the ring]

Gerald

Question 12

‘She __ __ and __ and __-__ - and __ __. I __ at __ the __ __ __ in her __’

Who says this?

Answer 12

She was young and pretty and warm-hearted- and intensely grateful. I became at once the most important person in her life

Geraldine

Question 13

‘We __ __ __. We __ __ of __ __. We __ __ for __ __’

Who says this?

Answer 13

We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.

Inspector

Question 14

__: ‘__ I __ to __ you __ he’s an __ __ of __, and __ I __ him __ __. We __ __ __ __ up at the __ __’
__: (__) I __ __ __ ‘

Who says these?

Answer 14

Birling: perhaps I ought to warn you that he’s an old friend of mine, and that I see him fairly frequently. We play golf together sometimes up at the West Brumley.
Inspector (dryly) I don’t play golf

Question 15

__: she __ __ __, __ almost __, __. She __ not __ __, but __, __, __’

Who says this?

Answer 15

She was here alone, friendless, almost penniless, desperate. She needed not only money, but advice, sympathy, friendliness

Inspector about Eva

Question 16

‘__ her __ __ she __ an __, a __, __ a __’

Who says this?

Answer 16

Inspector says to Eric, about Eva

Used her as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person

Question 17

__: __ a __ __ to __ his __ __ and __ __ __ and his __ - and - [we __ the __ __ of a __ __. __ __ to __]

Who speaks

Answer 17

Birling: that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and- [we hear the sharp ring of a door bell. Birling stops to listen]

Question 18

__: [__ to __ and __] __ __ at the __ of __ - the __ __ __ who __ it __? And they __ __ __ a __ -
[the __ __ __]

Answer 18

Birling: [pointing to Eric and Sheila] Now look at the pair of them - the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke-
[the telephone rings sharply]

Question 19

Give three key facts about Priestley

Answer 19

• He lived and fought in WWI
• During WWII broadcast a radio program that was shut down by BBC for being too critical of the government + too left wing
• In 1942 he and others set up a new political party called Common Wealth Party, also helped set up the idea of the Welfare State

Question 20

When was an Inspector Calls set, when was it written. Why is this important

Answer 20

Set 1912, written 1945. 
In 1912 there were rigid class and gender boundaries. By 1945, most of these boundaries had been pushed. This play allows priestly to encourage people to seize the opportunities the end of the war has given to build a better society.

Question 21

What are nouveaux riches and what are aristocratic families?

Answer 21

Nouveaux riches - recently acquired wealth

Aristocratic - high class

Question 22

Comment on structure of poem ‘Neutral Tones’

Answer 22

Narrative poem, tells story of love dying + becoming twisted
Cyclical poem, starts and ends at a bleak pond. This shows how the love and relationship has gotten the speaker nowhere. Poem is 4 stanzas of 4 lines, with every fourth line indented. Has an ABBA structure, showing the past returning to haunt the speaker and again that it is cyclical.

Question 23

Comment on context of poem ‘Neutral Tones’

Answer 23

Written by Thomas Hardy, who was notoriously pessimistic. He and his wife were estranged for years. His wife passed away and he was unable to say goodbye, which he was very regretful over. Neutral tones was written before his wife died, but his sudden regret at her death could imply he was regretful and resentful of the distance between them as well. This could explain the speakers quite bitter attitude towards the end of the poem.

Colours not associated with love used. Second stanza focuses on conflict. Stanza 3 on death.
Natural imagery, decay in nature.
Indented lines at end of every stanza shows lack of complete resolution for speaker.
ABBA rhyme is cyclical.

Question 24

How is the theme of Loss shown in the poem ‘Neutral Tones’

‘__ __ to __ __ to __’

Answer 24

Partner’s smile was ‘Alive enough to have strength to die’

Partner could have kept the relationship alive, but chose to kill it instead

Question 25

How is the theme of Distance shown in the poem ‘Neutral Tones’

‘__ __ / __ an __ __ on a __’

Answer 25

Partner’s smile ‘swept thereby/ like an ominous bird on a wing’. This shows she has taken flight and left him, flying far away and moving on. Ominous emphasises how this is the end of the clear end of the relationship. Yet by the end of the poem the speaker is still at the same pond, showing how he hasn’t moved on himself, and suggesting a great distance between them

Question 26

How is the theme of death shown in the poem ‘Neutral Tones’

‘The __ on __ __ __ the __ __’
‘A __ __ __ on the __ __’

Answer 26

There is an extended metaphor of the partner being dead but at the same time alive, shown through quotes such as ‘the smile on your mouth was the deadest thing’, the use of the superlative showing how her smile and their love physically can’t get any deader.

‘A few leaves lay on the starving sod’ the earth symbolises their relationship, the fact it is starving shows how their relationship is slowly dying due to a lack of nourishment from both partners.

Question 27

How is the theme of memory shown in the poem ‘Neutral Tones’

‘Over __ __ of __ __’

Answer 27

Even when they were still together, partner would look at speaker as though they were looking ‘over tedious riddles of years ago’. This suggests that even when they were together the partner was looking at him as though he were something boring and long in the past, implying she knew the relationship would end for some time, as she was already viewing it as a memory

Poem is also in past tense (‘stood’, ‘were’ etc) showing the reader is looking back on memories of the relationship

Question 28

How is the theme of nature shown in the poem ‘Neutral Tones’

‘__ leaves’

Answer 28

Nature throughout the poem is used to symbolise how cold and dull the speaker’s relationship was, as nature isn’t described using the bright, bold colours or emotive verbs often used to describe it in other poems. At the time of writing especially nature was glorified, so the description of ‘greyish leaves’ and a white sun would be particularly effective

Question 29

Comment on structure and context of poem ‘Before you were mine’

Answer 29

It was an entirely autobiographical love poem addressed to Carol Ann Duffy’s mother.

Regular stanzas, no regular structure. Much enjambment, daughter filling in gaps of what she knows of mother’s memories, emphasises how she’s possibly romanticising them.

Colloquial dialect is used to show the familiarity between mother and child, which is appropriate to how Carol would have been raised, as she was born in 1995 where parent and child were sharing stronger bonds than ever before.
The poem begins and ends at a pavement corner, implying the mother and child’s journey hasn’t ended yet
talks about past events in present tense, nostalgic. Contrast.

Question 30

How is the theme of longing shown in the poem ‘Before You Were Mine’

‘I __ the __ __’
‘__ you __ mine’

Answer 30

Speaker longs for how her mother was in the past, ‘I wanted the bold girl’. However in the last line of the last stanza speaker recognises that side of her mother only existed ‘before you were mine’, which could show her acceptance she won’t have what she longs for.

Question 31

How is the theme of bitterness shown in the poem ‘Before You Were Mine’

‘in the __ __ the __ __’
‘The __ of me __ __’

Answer 31

The second stanza has a very bitter tone as the speaker looks back on how her mother was dancing ‘in the ballroom with the thousand eyes’. This description and the description of her mother’s activities that follows is glamorous and uses language that makes it seem as fun and enjoyable as possible, emphasising how much the speaker wishes she’d been there. This bitterness is emphasised by the line ‘the thought of me doesn’t occur’, as she isn’t even a thought in her mother’s mind at that time, so had no way at all of being there

Question 32

How is the theme of bitterness but also familiarity and closeness shown in the poem ‘Before You Were Mine’

‘The __ __ of my __, __ __ was the __ __, __?’

Answer 32

The speaker says ‘the decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?’

The speaker sounds almost accusatory, as if blaming her mother for having the best time of her like before she was born, and wishing she could have been a part of it. The verbs ‘loud’ and ‘possessive’ to describe speaker’s yell makes it sound very obnoxious and irritating, which emphasises how the mother’s fun, carefree life was over when the speaker was born

However, the use of informal dialect with ‘,eh?’ emphasises the familiarity and strong bond speaker shares with mother, showing despite these bitter, envious thoughts and words, their love is stronger than the jealousy. Emphasised by fact this is an autobiographical love letter from Carol to mother.

Question 33

How is the theme of fulfilment shown in the poem ‘Winter Swans’

‘The __ __ __ it __all’
‘__ and __’
‘__, __ one __’

Answer 33

In the beginning ‘the clouds had given it their all’, showing the couple have had a fight where they’re holding nothing back, and this has left them ‘silent and apart’. However by the last stanza their hands have ‘folded, over one another’ which shows how they’ve reunited despite the fighting. The poem describes how the couple are walking around a lake together, most likely with the intent to make up. As such, this has been fulfilled

Question 34

How is the theme of nature shown in the poem ‘Winter Swans’

‘Like __ __ in __ __’

Answer 34

In the poem, swans are a symbol of the couple and their interactions, more so by the end. The swans are often described as acting in unity, and by the end of the poem the couple are united again. The swans are described as ‘like boats righting in rough weather’ after a storm, which is exactly how the couple are; they’re fixing their relationship after a fight

Question 35

Comment on structure and context and language of poem ‘climbing my grandfather’

Answer 35

Andrew Waterhouse’ poetry often reflected on
family. He was an environmentalist.

The poem is personal and reflective. No stanzas, is continuous. It’s a ‘narrative verse’. First person present tense but looking back in past (reflective), personal to speaker. Free-verse. Enjambment allows for flow, fluid motion of climbing.

Grandfather could be dead or alive, is ambiguous. Semantic field of climbing. Extended metaphor of grandfather as mountain.
Warm imagery contrasts colder, harsher words ‘good heart’ ‘warm ice’

Question 36

How is the theme of strong bonds shown in Climbing my grandfather

‘__ his __, __
the __ __ of his __ __’

Answer 36

Feeling his heat, knowing
the slow pulse of his good heart

Top of a mountain is usually cold, but his heart is warm. He truly understands grandfather and can feel this warmth. He’s content there.

Question 37

How is the theme of admiration shown in climbing my grandfather

‘__ for the __’

Answer 37

‘Reaching for the summit’

He’s trying to get to the top of his grandfather, to truly understand him. Wants to be up three and understand, which implies admiration.

However trying to get closer to his grandfather tires the boy out, capitalising on their age gap. Either he understands him better after, or they’re too far apart for him to truly appreciate and understand

Question 38

How’s the theme of getting older presented in climbing my grandfather

Answer 38

Uses many adjectives to describe the structures he’s climbing that connote to old aged man ‘loose skin’, ‘firm shoulder’, ‘dusty and cracked’

Show the man is old. The boy starts by climbing grandfather, a physical activity, even ‘without a rope or net’, showing youth. Yet by the end he’s ‘gasping for breath’ ‘watching the clouds’, showing he’s gotten older.

Question 39

How’s theme nature shown climbing my grandfather

Answer 39

‘Drink among teeth’ like a river

Objectification of features into natural imagery

Question 40

Comment on structure and context of winter swans

Answer 40

Sheers writes about places, landscapes and those who live in them. Explores everyday difficulties
Poem from collection on divorce and separation
Uses natural imagery, a common convention. Pathetic fallacy reflects condition of relationship. Swans used as a metaphor for reconciliation.
Separation vs intimacy ‘apart’ ‘halved’ vs ‘swum the distance’ ‘folded’

7 stanzas, 6 tercets (3 line stanza) + 1 couplet. Final couplet represents closure. Irregular rhythm and unrhymed lines
Enjambment represents onward movement, or lack of control, or feeling of uncertainty