Identify three features of Cecily’s first reply, from “You are under some strange mistake” to “my wicked cousin Ernest”, and briefly explain what each suggests about her. Quote the relevant words.

Identify three features of Algernon’s language in his replies beginning “Oh! I am not really wicked”, “Oh! Of course” and “In fact, now you mention the subject”. Briefly explain what each reveals about his response to Cecily’s expectations, quoting the relevant words.

Identify three comic uses of language in the exchange from “I have a business appointment” to “Uncle Jack is sending you to Australia”. Briefly explain how each challenges an ordinary social expectation, quoting the relevant words.

Analyse how Wilde uses the exchange from “I am glad to hear it” to “It is much pleasanter being here with you” to turn a discussion of bad behaviour into flirtation.

Analyse how the verbal reversals in the exchange from “Australia! I’d sooner die” to “Yes, but are you good enough for it?” expose the characters’ priorities.

Analyse how Wilde uses changes of register and comic deflation in the final exchange, from “That is why I want you to reform me” to “Won’t you come in?”

To what extent does Cecily control the identities that she and Algernon perform? Discuss the whole extract, considering both her assertions and his attempts to redirect the conversation.

To what extent does Wilde make moral language a means of attraction rather than a reliable description of character? Discuss the progression from “That would be hypocrisy” to the invitation to begin “an entirely new life”.

Evaluate how effectively the dialogue and the stage directions work together to invite amusement at Algernon’s social assurance. Refer to the opening greeting, his changing claims about wickedness and the closing exchange about reform.

Identify three expressions of limited knowledge in the opening exchange, from “What from the cape can you discern at sea?” to “What shall we hear of this?” Briefly explain what each suggests about the observers’ situation, quoting the relevant words.

Identify three examples of violent or exaggerated imagery in the Second Gentleman’s speech beginning “A segregation of the Turkish fleet”. Briefly explain how each presents the storm, quoting the relevant words.

Identify three expressions that alter the apparent certainty of the Third Gentleman’s news, from “News, lads! Our wars are done” to “With foul and violent tempest”. Briefly explain the effect of each, quoting the relevant words.

Analyse how Shakespeare turns waiting into dramatic action in the passage from Montano’s “Pray heavens he be” to Cassio’s “For I have lost him on a dangerous sea”.

Analyse how the spoken responses and offstage sounds interact to create suspense from “His bark is stoutly timber’d” to “give us truth who ’tis that is arriv’d”.

Comment on the effect of the change of subject and the timing of the returning Gentleman in the final exchange, from “But, good lieutenant, is your general wiv’d?” to “’Tis one Iago, ancient to the general”.

To what extent is the storm threatening because it prevents knowledge as well as because it endangers ships? Discuss the opening descriptions and the later attempts to establish Othello’s safety.

Evaluate how effectively Shakespeare makes the absent Othello the centre of attention. Discuss the reports about him, the responses of Montano and Cassio, and the identification of the final arrival.

Discuss how Shakespeare balances reassurance and renewed anxiety across the extract. Evaluate whether the sequence from “Our wars are done” to “’Tis one Iago” gives the audience a sense of resolution.