Section A

Wuthering Heights

2010

• “In the world of Wuthering Heights extremes of behaviour are presented as the norm and moderation is neither known nor desired.”

To what extent do you agree with this view of the novel?

2011

• Charlotte Brontë described Heathcliff as a “man’s shape animated by demon life – a ghoul”.

To what extent do you think this is an accurate assessment of the ways in which Heathcliff is presented in the novel?

• “In Wuthering Heights death is seen as a welcome release from the tortures of living.”

How far do you agree with this view of the novel?

2012

• How far do you agree with the view that in Wuthering Heights more suffering is inflicted by mental cruelty than physical cruelty?

• “Entrapped, imprisoned and disempowered.”

To what extent do you agree with this view of the position of women in Wuthering Heights?

2013

• Consider the view that Wuthering Heights is, above all, an exploration of fear.

• How far do you agree with the view that, in Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë shows that more suffering is caused by a diseased mind than by a diseased body?

2014

• “In Wuthering Heights love is presented as an emotion which provokes violence rather than tenderness.”

To what extent do you agree with this view?

Bloody Chamber

2010

• “In The Bloody Chamber, childhood fairytales become the stuff of adult nightmares.”

With close reference to at least two stories from the collection, say how far you agree with this comment.

2011

• “In The Bloody Chamber Angela Carter reverses gothic traditions so that the males become the victims instead of the females.”

Consider at least two of the stories in The Bloody Chamber in the light of this view.

• “In the stories in The Bloody Chamber Carter is excessively interested in violent instincts.”

How far do you agree with this view?

2012

• “Carter explores base instincts rather than subconscious desires.”

Consider at least two stories from The Bloody Chamber in the light of this comment.

• How do you respond to the view that, in the stories in The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter presents a sinister distortion of family relationships?

2013

• “Although terrifying, many of the stories are also darkly comic.”

Consider at least two of the stories from The Bloody Chamber in the light of this comment.

• “It is ironic that the beasts are often more humane than the humans.”

Consider at least two of the stories from the collection in the light of this comment.

2014

• “Sex and violence are always linked in the stories in The Bloody Chamber.”

To what extent do you agree with this view?

Section B

1) “Religion is central to the reading of gothic texts.” How far do you agree with this statement?

2) Consider the view that gothic writing explores the “nightmarish terrors” that lie beneath the orderly surface of the “civilised mind”.

3) “In gothic writing, women are presented as either innocent victims or sinister predators or are significantly absent.”

Consider the place of women in gothic writing in light of this comment.

4) To what extent do you think that gothic literature is characterised by a fascination with death?

5) “Gothic settings are desolate, alienating and full of menace.”

In light of this comment, consider some of the ways in which writers use settings in the gothic texts you have read.

6) Consider the view that gothic writing often explores the powerless of humanity when faced with the supernatural.

7) “Gothic texts show the supernatural intertwined with the ordinary”.

Discuss this view in relation to the texts you have been studying.

8) “Gothic literature is concerned with the breaking of normal moral and social codes.” Discuss.

9) “If a text is to be labelled as Gothic, it must convey a sense of fear and terror.”

Discuss this view in relation to the texts you have been studying.

10) “A melodramatic genre, where extremes of emotion has disastrous consequences.”

How far do you agree with this view of writing in the gothic tradition? 11) Consider the view that literature within the gothic genre is always shocking.

12) “Characters in gothic writing are haunted by their past mistakes and often have to face terrible consequences.”

Discuss some of the characters in the texts you have read in light of this comment.

13) Consider the ways in which gothic writing could be said to explore the fears of forces beyond human understanding.

14) ”For writers in the gothic tradition, the struggle between good and evil is always of central importance and good is rarely victorious.”

How far do you agree with this view?

15) “Gothic writing is often unintentionally comic rather than truly terrifying.”

To what extent do you agree with this criticism of gothic writing?