‘In Gothic writing, female characters are generally presented as victims.

’ By comparing The Bloody

Chamber and Other Stories* with at least one other text prescribed for this topic, discuss how far you
agree with this view. [30]

‘Suspense is a key feature of narrative in Gothic writing.’ By comparing at least two texts prescribed
for this topic, discuss how far you have found this to be the case. In your answer you must include
discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

‘Innocence is often an important element in Gothic writing.’ Compare its uses and effects in The
Bloody Chamber and Other Stories* with those in at least one other text prescribed for this topic.
[30]

‘Setting is always a key aspect of Gothic writing.’ By comparing at least two texts prescribed for this
topic, discuss how far you have found this to be the case. In your answer you must include discussion
of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

"Gothic writing is too extreme to believe therefore can never be truly terrifying." To what extent do
you agree with this criticism of Gothic writing? In your answer you must include discussion of either
Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

"Gothic writing warns us of the dangers of transgressing moral boundaries." To what extent do you
agree that this is the case for the texts you have studied? In your answer you must include discussion
of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

To what extent do you agree with the view that, in Gothic writing, death is the punishment for sin?
To what extent do you agree that this is the case for the texts you have studied? In your answer you
must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

Sex and violence are always linked in the stories in Gothic." To what extent do you agree with this
view? In your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and
Other Stories*. [30]

"Gothic writing is exciting because it allows us to think the unthinkable" How far do you agree with
this view? In your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber
and Other Stories*. [30]

To what extent do you think gothic writing is a disturbing exploration of the unknown? In your
answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other
Stories*. [30]

To what extent do you agree with the view that gothic writing shows that human beings are
naturally inclined to be evil rather than good? In your answer you must include discussion of either
Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

To what extent do you agree that, in gothic writing, fear and pain are sources of pleasure? In your
answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other
Stories*. [30]

"Mad, bad and dangerous." How accurate is this as a description of the gothic villians in the texts
you have studied? In your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody
Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]
How do you respond to the view that gothic writing explores potential threats to normal values? In
your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other
Stories*. [30]

"In gothic writing, the presentation of places is often more interesting than the presentation of
characters." How far do you agree with this view? In your answer you must include discussion of
either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

To what extent do you agree with the view that gothic writing is "an exploration of what cannot be
explained"? In your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody
Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

Consider the significance of forms of entrapment in gothic literature? In your answer you must
include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

Gothic writing warns of the dangers of aspiring beyond our limitations" How far does your reading
of gothic writing support this view? In your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula
and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]

To what extent do you agree that obsession is a significant element in the gothic writing you have
studied? In your answer you must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber
and Other Stories*. [30]

How do you respond to the idea that gothic villians make evil seem attractive? In your answer you
must include discussion of either Dracula and/or The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories*. [30]
Write a critical appreciation of this passage, relating your discussion to your reading of the Gothic.
[30]

The interminable rows of bare and blackening skulls—the masses interposed of gaunt and rotting
bones, that once gave strength and symmetry to the young, the beautiful, the brave, now mildewed
by the damp of the cavern, and heaped together in indiscriminate arrangement—the faint
mouldering and deathlike smell that pervaded these gloomy labyrinths, and the long recesses in the
lowroofed rock, to which I dared not turn my eyes except by short and fitful glances, as if expecting
something terrible and ghastly to start from the indistinctness of their distance, —all had
associations for my thoughts very different from the solemn and edifying sentiments they must
rouse in a well regulated breast, and, by degrees, I yielded up every faculty to the influence of an ill-
defined and mysterious alarm. My eyesight waxed gradually dull to all but the fleshless skulls that
were glaring in the yellow light of the tapers— the hum of human voices was stifled in my ears, and I
thought myself alone, already with the dead. The guide thrust the light he carried into a huge skull
that was lying separate in a niche ; but I marked not the action or the man, but only the fearful
glimmering of the transparent bone, which I thought a smile of triumphant malice from the
presiding spectre of the place, while imagined accents whispered, in my hearing, “Welcome to our
charnel-house1, for THIS shall be your chamber!” Dizzy with indescribable emotions, I felt nothing
but a painful sense of oppression from the presence of others, as if I could not breathe for the black
shapes that were crowding near me; and turning unperceived, down a long and gloomy passage of
the catacombs, I rushed as far as I could penetrate, to feed in solitude the growing appetite for
horror, that had quelled for the moment, in my bosom, the sense of fear, and even the feeling of
identity. To the rapid whirl of various sensations that had bewildered me ever since I left the light of
day, a season of intense abstraction now succeeded. I held my burning eyeballs full upon the skulls
in front, till they almost seemed to answer my fixed regard, and claim a dreadful fellowship with the
being that beheld them.

Daniel Keyte Sandford, ‘A Night in the Catacombs’ (1818)

1- Charnel-house: a building where human skeletal remains are stored.

Write a critical appreciation of this passage, relating your discussion to your reading of the Gothic.
[30]

Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of
the building. Its principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity. The discoloration of
ages had been great. Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in a fine, tangled web-
work from the eaves. Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation. No portion of the
masonry had fallen; and there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect
adaptation of parts, and the crumbling condition of the individual stones. In this there was much
that reminded me of the specious totality of old woodwork which has rotted for years in some
neglected vault, with no disturbance from the breath of the external air. Beyond this indication of
extensive decay, however, the fabric gave little token of instability. Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing
observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure, which, extending from the roof of the
building in front, made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction, until it became lost in the sullen
waters of the tarn. Noticing these things, I rode over a short causeway to the house. A servant in
waiting took my horse, and I entered the Gothic archway of the hall. A valet, of stealthy step, thence
conducted me, in silence, through many dark and intricate passages in my progress to the studio of
his master. The room in which I found myself was very large and lofty. The windows were long,
narrow, and pointed, and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether
inaccessible from within. Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised
panes, and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around; the eye,
however, struggled in vain to reach the remoter angles of the chamber, or the recesses of the
vaulted and fretted ceiling. Dark draperies hung upon the walls. The general furniture was profuse,
comfortless, antique, and tattered. Many books and musical instruments lay scattered about, but
failed to give any vitality to the scene. I felt that I breathed an atmosphere of sorrow. An air of stern,
deep, and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all. Upon my entrance, Usher arose from a
sofa on which he had been lying at full length, and greeted me with a vivacious warmth which had
much in it, I at first thought, of an overdone cordiality—of the constrained effort of the ennuyé¹ man
of the world. A glance, however, at his countenance convinced me of his perfect sincerity. We sat
down; and for some moments, while he spoke not, I gazed upon him with a feeling half of pity, half
of awe. Surely, man had never before so terribly altered, in so brief a period, as had Roderick Usher!
Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher (1840)

1 ennuyé: weary of life

Discuss the following passage from Act 1 Scene 2, exploring Shakespeare’s use of language and its
dramatic effects. [15]
Enter Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo

HORATIO Hail to your lordship!

HAMLET I am glad to see you well.

Horatio – or I do forget myself.

HORATIO The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.

HAMLET Sir, my good friend. I’ll change that name with you.

And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio?

Marcellus?

MARCELLUS My good lord.

HAMLET I am very glad to see you. [To Bernardo] Good even, sir. –

But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg?

HORATIO A truant disposition, good my lord.

HAMLET I would not hear your enemy say so;

Nor shall you do my ear that violence,

To make it truster of your own report

Against yourself. I know you are no truant.

But what is your affair in Elsinore?

We’ll teach you to drink deep ere you depart.

HORATIO My lord, I came to see your father’s funeral.

HAMLET I prithee do not mock me, fellow student;

I think it was to see my mother’s wedding.

HORATIO Indeed, my lord, it followed hard upon.

HAMLET Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral bak’d-meats

Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven

Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio!

My father – methinks I see my father.

HORATIO Where, my lord?

HAMLET In my mind’s eye, Horatio.

HORATIO I saw him once; ’a was a goodly king.

HAMLET ’A was a man, take him for all in all,

I shall not look upon his like again.

HORATIO My lord, I think I saw him yester-night.

HAMLET Saw who?

HORATIO My lord, the King your father.

HAMLET The King my father!

HORATIO Season your admiration for a while

With an attent ear, till I may deliver,

Upon the witness of these gentlemen,

This marvel to you.

HAMLET For God’s love, let me hear.

HORATIO Two nights together had these gentlemen,

Marcellus and Bernardo, on their watch,

In the dead waste and middle of the night,

Been thus encount’red. A figure like your father,

Armed at point exactly, cap-a-pe,

Appears before them, and with solemn march

Goes slow and stately by them; thrice he walk’d

By their oppress’d and fear-surprised eyes,

Within his truncheon’s length; whilst they, distill’d

Almost to jelly with the act of fear,

Stand dumb and speak not to him. This to me

In dreadful secrecy impart they did;

And I with them the third night kept the watch;

Where, as they had delivered, both in time,

Form of the thing, each word made true and good,

The apparition comes. I knew your father;

These hands are not more like.

Discuss the following passage from Act 3 Scene 4, exploring Shakespeare's use of language and its
dramatic effects. [15]

HAMLET Come, come, and sit you down; you shall not budge.

You go not till I set you up a glass

Where you may see the inmost part of you.

QUEEN What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder me?

Help, help, ho! 5

POLONIUS [Behind] What ho! Help, help, help!

HAMLET [Drawing] How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!

Kills Polonius with a pass through the arras.

POLONIUS [Behind] O, I am slain!

QUEEN O me, what hast thou done?

HAMLET Nay, I know not. Is it the King? 10

QUEEN O, what a rash and bloody deed is this!

HAMLET A bloody deed! – Almost as bad, good mother,

As kill a king, and marry with his brother.

QUEEN As kill a king!

HAMLET Ay, lady, it was my word 15

[Parting the arras] Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!

I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune;

Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger.

Leave wringing of your hands. Peace; sit you down,

And let me wring your heart; for so I shall, 20

If it be made of penetrable stuff;

If damned custom have not braz'd it so

That it be proof and bulwark against sense.

QUEEN What have I done, that thou dar’st wag thy tongue

In noise so rude against me? 25

HAMLET Such an act

That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,

Calls virtue hypocrite; takes off the rose

From the fair forehead of an innocent love,

And sets a blister there; makes marriage-vows 30

As false as dicers' oaths. O, such a deed

As from the body of contraction plucks

The very soul, and sweet religion makes

A rhapsody of words. Heaven's face does glow

O’er this solidity and compound mass 35

With heated visage, as against the doom –

Is thought-sick at the act.

QUEEN Ay me, what act,

That roars so loud, and thunders in the index?

‘The play Hamlet shows a disturbing fascination with death.’ Using your knowledge of the play as a
whole, show how far you agree with this view of Hamlet. Remember to support your answer with
reference to different interpretations. [15]

Hamlet is destroyed by his impulsiveness, not his uncertainty.’ Using your knowledge of the play as a
whole, show how far you agree with this view of the character Hamlet. Remember to support your
answer with reference to different interpretations. [15]

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark and the older generation is entirely responsible”. Using
your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you agree with this view. Remember to
support your answer with reference to different interpretations. [15]

“The tragedy of Hamlet is not that of one noble individual; evil spreads from soul to soul as a
contagion until all are destroyed” Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you
agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
[15]

“There is no mystery in Hamlet. It is the story of a noble prince who finds it understandibly hard to
take revenge on a shrewd and powerful king”. Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show
how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]

“Elsinore is full of actors”. Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you agree
with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations. [15]

“The core of the play is the conflict between good and evil.” Using your knowledge of the play as a
whole, show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to
different interpretations. [15]

“One may smile and smile and be a villain”. How far do these words seem applicable to Claudius?
Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you agree with this view. Remember to
support your answer with reference to different interpretations. [15]

“Hamlet’s mental suffering is the key to the entire play” Using your knowledge of the play as a
whole, show how far you agree with this view of the character Hamlet. Remember to support your
answer with reference to different interpretations. [15]

“In Hamlet Shakespeare focuses more on tragedy than on revenge.” Using your knowledge of the
play as a whole, show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with
reference to different interpretations. [15]

‘Claudius is the consummate villain’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you
agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
[15]

‘Women are largely presented as victims. Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how
far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]

‘Death is at the centre of the play.’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you
agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
[15]
‘Ultimately shows the futility of revenge.’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how
far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]

Far from being a hero, Hamlet can be described as inadequate.’ Using your knowledge of the play as
a whole, show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference
to different interpretations. [15]

‘Gertude is unfairly blamed for her situation.’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show
how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]

‘Families are shown as dysfunctional’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far
you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]

‘Friendship is a rare commodity. Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you
agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
[15]

‘A sense of corruption and decay pervades the play.’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole,
show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to
different interpretations. [15]

‘Madness and instability are at the heart of the play.’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole,
show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to
different interpretations. [15]

Betrayal and treachery are key themes in Hamlet. Using your knowledge of the play as a whole,
show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to
different interpretations. [15]

‘Hamlet is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind’. Using your knowledge of the play
as a whole, show how far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with
reference to different interpretations. [15]

‘Deception is at the heart of the play’. Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far
you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]

‘Fathers are presented as inadequate’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far
you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]

‘There are no heroes in Hamlet’. Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you
agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
[15]

‘The play is pervaded by a sense of mistrust’ Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, show how
far you agree with this view. Remember to support your answer with reference to different
interpretations. [15]
‘People are naturally inclined towards vain and selfish behaviour.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore vanity and selfishness. [30]

‘Hidden truths will always be revealed in the end.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore truth and secrecy. [30]

‘The Outsider is always an intriguing figure in literature.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore those who are placed outside the
centre of society. [30]

‘Literature often presents characters in a state of reflection.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore the significance of thought and
reflection. [30]

‘Freedom is a condition towards which all humanity aspires.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore the desire for freedom. [30]

‘Loss and suffering are familiar conditions in human experience.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore loss and suffering. [30]

‘Love is invariably possessive.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore love and possession. [30]

‘Good writing about sexual relationships is invariably moral.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore the morality of sexual relationships.
[30]

‘Men may seem to be more powerful than women, but the reality is very different.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore power and gender. [30]

‘Forbidden tastes are sweetest.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore the attraction of that which is
forbidden. [30]

‘Conflict in literature generally arises from misunderstanding.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers make use of misunderstanding. [30]

‘Rank and social status are enemies of happiness.’

In the light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore the effects of rank and social status.
[30]

“Shame is a necessary agent of social collision and order”

In light of this view, consider ways in which writers explore the effects of control and x. [30]