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Key Facts: A-Level English Literature Exam

A*-E

Grading scale

Ofqual

May-June

Exam series

AQA, Edexcel, OCR timetable

3 boards

Specifications available

AQA, Edexcel, OCR

100

Free practice questions here

OpenExamPrep

AQA, Edexcel, OCR A-Level English Literature is assessed through linear end-of-course exam papers (Year 13). Coverage spans love through the ages, modern times, poetry pre-1900, and grading uses the A*-E scale on 2026 specifications.

Sample A-Level English Literature Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the A-Level English Literature exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1In Shakespeare's Othello, what is the principal motive Iago gives in his soliloquies for destroying Othello?
A.A genuine love for Desdemona that Othello has blocked
B.Resentment at being passed over for promotion and suspicion that Othello has slept with Emilia
C.A direct order from the Venetian state to test Othello's loyalty
D.Religious hatred because Othello has converted to Christianity
Explanation: Iago's stated grievances in his soliloquies are Cassio's promotion to lieutenant ahead of him and the rumour that Othello has 'done my office' with Emilia. Critics from A.C. Bradley onward have noted these motives feel insufficient, which Coleridge famously called Iago's 'motiveless malignity'.
2Which object becomes the central piece of 'ocular proof' through which Iago convinces Othello of Desdemona's infidelity?
A.A locket containing Cassio's portrait
B.A handkerchief embroidered with strawberries
C.A love letter intercepted at the docks
D.A ring given by Brabantio
Explanation: The handkerchief, a wedding gift from Othello and described as having strawberries embroidered on it, is planted in Cassio's lodging and becomes the trifle 'light as air' that Iago weaponises. Its symbolic weight is far greater than its material value.
3F.R. Leavis's influential 1937 essay on Othello argued that the tragedy is principally caused by which factor?
A.Iago's diabolical cunning, which would overcome any man
B.A flaw in Othello himself: egotism and a self-dramatising imagination
C.The racist structure of Venetian society
D.Desdemona's naive disregard for social propriety
Explanation: In 'Diabolic Intellect and the Noble Hero' Leavis attacked Bradley's view of Othello as a noble victim, arguing instead that Othello's egotism, self-deception and 'habit of approving self-dramatisation' make him complicit in his own fall. The essay reshaped twentieth-century debate about the play.
4How does the language used about Othello in Act 1 by Iago, Roderigo and Brabantio most clearly characterise Venetian attitudes?
A.It celebrates Othello's military service to the state
B.It dwells on bestial and racialised imagery ('old black ram', 'Barbary horse', 'thick-lips')
C.It treats him as fully assimilated into Venetian nobility
D.It focuses on his Christian piety
Explanation: Iago and Roderigo wake Brabantio with explicitly bestial, racialised language, framing Othello's marriage as monstrous miscegenation. This opening establishes the racial anxiety that post-colonial critics such as Ania Loomba see as structural to the play's tragedy.
5In what verse form is the bulk of Othello, like Shakespeare's other tragedies, written?
A.Rhyming couplets in iambic tetrameter
B.Unrhymed iambic pentameter (blank verse)
C.Free verse modelled on classical Greek metres
D.Trochaic octameter
Explanation: Shakespeare's tragedies are dominated by blank verse: unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, five feet of unstressed-stressed syllables. Prose is reserved for lower-status characters, comic scenes, or moments where a character is destabilised.
6What is the dramatic significance of Emilia's final speech in Act 5 of Othello?
A.She confesses to plotting with Iago all along
B.She exposes Iago's lies about the handkerchief and dies defending Desdemona, providing a feminist counter-voice
C.She forgives Othello and absolves him of murder
D.She marries Cassio in a final reconciliation
Explanation: Emilia openly defies Iago, reveals that she took the handkerchief at his urging, and insists 'I will speak as liberal as the north'. Feminist critics such as Marilyn French read her as the play's belated moral voice, paying with her life for that speech act.
7When Othello calls jealousy 'the green-ey'd monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on', what is the rhetorical effect of the line?
A.It dismisses jealousy as a trivial feeling
B.It personifies jealousy as a self-consuming predator, prefiguring Othello's own destruction
C.It claims that jealousy is sent by God as a moral test
D.It compares jealousy to military strategy
Explanation: The personification turns jealousy into a monster that toys with its prey before devouring it. Spoken by Iago in 3.3 (often misattributed), the line dramatically ironises what is about to happen: Othello becomes the 'meat' on which the monster feeds.
8In Antony and Cleopatra, how does the contrast between Rome and Egypt structure the play?
A.Rome represents disorder and Egypt represents civic duty
B.Rome represents duty, reason and martial values; Egypt represents pleasure, theatricality and fluidity of identity
C.Both settings are presented identically
D.Rome is depicted as feminine and Egypt as masculine
Explanation: Critics from Janet Adelman onwards have noted the play's binary structure: Roman discipline and Caesarian politics against Egyptian abundance, sensuality and Cleopatra's 'infinite variety'. Antony's tragedy is his inability to choose between the two value systems.
9Which famous line from Enobarbus's speech describes Cleopatra's enduring fascination?
A.'She is the dish from which I take my fill'
B.'Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety'
C.'A serpent that hath stung my heart with love'
D.'The Nile shall be her grave'
Explanation: Enobarbus's 'barge' speech in 2.2 culminates in the lines 'Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety', a paradoxical compliment that has become the play's signature account of Cleopatra's theatrical power.
10Cleopatra's suicide by asp at the end of Antony and Cleopatra is often read as which kind of act?
A.A pure act of cowardice
B.A self-fashioning theatrical performance that asserts agency and reunites her with Antony 'husband, I come'
C.A Christian martyrdom
D.A political surrender to Caesar
Explanation: Cleopatra stages her death: she dresses in regalia, calls 'give me my robe, put on my crown', and frames the act as marriage to Antony. Critics such as Phyllis Rackin read it as the assertion of feminine theatrical agency against Roman triumph.

About the A-Level English Literature Exam

A-Level English Literature is offered by AQA, Edexcel, OCR as part of the UK A-Level qualification framework. The course covers love through the ages, modern times, poetry pre-1900, shakespeare and is assessed primarily through written exam papers at the end of the two-year course.

Exam sponsor: AQA, Edexcel, OCR. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Questions

100 questions

Time Limit

5-7 hours total across multiple papers

Passing Score

Grade E is the minimum pass, Grades A*-E count as a pass (A*-A-B-C-D-E)

Exam / Certification Fees

£75-£130 per subject (school-set entry fee)

Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

Core

Love Through the Ages

Shakespeare play (Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, The Taming of the Shrew); pre-1900 poetry; modern text

Core

Texts in Shared Contexts

World War One; Modern Times — literature 1945 to present day

Core

Poetry Pre-1900

Pre-1900 poetry anthology (Romantic, Metaphysical, Victorian poets)

Core

Drama

A Shakespeare play and another drama text

Core

Prose

Two prose texts compared on a theme (gothic, dystopia, political crime)

Core

NEA Comparative Coursework

An independent comparative critical study (2500 words)

Preparing for the A-Level English Literature Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Grade E is the minimum pass, Grades A*-E count as a pass (A*-A-B-C-D-E)
  • Exam length: 100 questions
  • Time limit: 5-7 hours total across multiple papers
  • Exam / certification fees: £75-£130 per subject (school-set entry fee) Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

  • Work through all 100 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

A-Level English Literature: Suggested Study Strategy

1Use past papers from your specific exam board — questions follow the same style year on year
2Time yourself on full papers to build pacing for the long extended-response questions
3Build a clear understanding of mark schemes — examiners reward specific assessment objectives
4Review examiner reports each summer; common errors repeat

Frequently Asked Questions

What exam boards offer A-Level English Literature?

A-Level English Literature is offered by AQA, Edexcel, OCR. All boards follow Ofqual subject content but vary in the choice of set texts, optional topics, and paper structure.

When is the A-Level English Literature exam taken?

Exams are written in the May-June series at the end of the two-year linear A-Level course. Most students sit the papers in Year 13.

How is A-Level English Literature graded?

A-Levels are graded A*-E. A* is the highest grade and E is the minimum pass. UCAS tariff points are awarded for A-Level grades on most university applications.

How many papers does A-Level English Literature have?

Most A-Level subjects have 3 written papers. The exact number, timing, and weighting depend on the chosen exam board. Some subjects also include a non-examined assessment (NEA) coursework component.