Unseen poetry and prose — AS & A Level Literature in English (9695) questions by topic
Encounters, threats and unfamiliar settings in previously unseen poems and prose extracts anchor this topic, tested through 16 real questions from 2023 to 2025 papers, marked out of 25.
Comment closely and discuss are the only command words used, always requiring attention to a writer's choice of language, structure and point of view rather than the situation described in general terms. Reports single out careful, close reading as the main differentiator here, so drafting a comment-closely response to an unseen text and submitting it for instant marking directly practises the skill this topic tests.
What examiners look for
- A recurring criticism is not reading a passage carefully enough, for example mistaking a living figure in the sea for a dead body or a sea creature despite later dialogue.
- Examiners repeatedly note missing a second speaker introduced partway through a passage, wrongly assuming the same character continues throughout.
- Reports flag a significant misreading where a tone such as sneering is attributed to the wrong speaker because the presence of another figure, such as an overseer, is missed.
- Strong answers trace the stepped pace of revelations in a passage, moving carefully through each new detail as it is disclosed.
- Strong responses make effective comments on personification and extended metaphor, connecting specific images to the poem's deeper meaning.
May–June 2025, Paper 21
Either Comment closely on the presentation of Mattie in the following extract. In your answer, consider the writer's choice of language, dialogue and dramatic methods.
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the presentation of the sight-seeing tour in the following passage. In your answer, consider the writer's choice of language, dialogue and narrative methods.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 22
Either Comment closely on the presentation of the stranger and his treasures in the following passage. In your answer, consider the writer's choice of language, dialogue and…
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the presentation of the ancestors in the following poem. In your answer, consider the writer's choice of language, structure and poetic methods.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 23
Either Comment closely on the following poem, considering ways in which it presents the speaker's response to the natural world. In your answer, consider the writer's choice of…
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the presentation of More and Rich in the following passage. In your answer, consider the writer's choice of language, dialogue and dramatic methods.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 21
Either Discuss the presentation of death in the following poem. In your answer, consider the writer’s choice of language, structure and poetic methods.
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the presentation of the prison experience. In your answer, consider the writer’s choice of language, structure and narrative methods.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 21
Either Comment closely on the following poem, considering its exploration of time. Consider the writer’s choice of language, imagery and structure in your answer.
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the presentation of the exchange between Una and Angelo in the following extract. In your answer, consider the writer’s choice of language, dialogue and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 23
Either Discuss the presentation of the exchange between Marlow and Miss Hardcastle in the following extract. Consider the writer’s choice of language, characterisation and…
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the presentation of the speaker’s response to the singer in the following poem. Consider the writer’s choice of language, structure and poetic methods in…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 22
Either Discuss the presentation of the woman in the following poem. Consider the writer’s choice of language, structure and poetic methods in your answer.
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the following passage, considering the presentation of the encounter between the two men. Consider the writer’s choice of language, point of view and…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 23
Either Discuss the presentation of the setting and the characters in the following passage. Consider the writer’s choice of language, structure and narrative methods in your…
Answer this question and get it marked →Or Comment closely on the presentation of the women’s clothes shop in the following passage. Consider the writer’s choice of language, dialogue and dramatic methods in your answer.
Answer this question and get it marked →Other AS & A Level Literature in English topics
- Poetry (130)
- Prose (115)
- Drama (93)
- Prose anthology (Stories of Ourselves) (7)