Y11 English Literature

Mock (and Real!) Exam Revision Materials

Questions for the Last 4 Years

June 2014 – Higher Paper

June 2013 – Higher Paper

June 2012 - Higher Paper

June 2014 – Foundation Paper

June 2013 – Foundation Paper

June 2012 – Foundation Paper

How is Stanhope presented by Sherriff? How does Sherriff reveal how war has changed him? (grade = A*) At the start of Act One, before we have even met him, Sherriff presents Stanhope as a

character who is full of contradictions. He does this by using dramatic irony, presenting the

audience with lots of information and strong opinions about Stanhope, from the other

characters. Hardy, who is the highest-ranking character on the stage, says that “he’s by far

the best company commander we’ve got”. The ambiguous use of ‘we’ here could suggest

that Stanhope is one of the most effective and heroic soldiers in the British army. However,

Sherrif’s stage directions point out the ‘despite his stars of rank he is no more than a boy’,

which implies that he is young and vulnerable. Hardy has alread referred to Stanhope

‘drinking like a fish’ and shortly after, Osborne tried to explain why this might be, talking

about how ‘his nerves have got battered to bits.’ The word ‘battered’ is violent, with plosive

sibilant sounds, and it is also closely related to the word ‘battle.’ Here Sherriff starts the play

by creating sympathy for Stanhope, and clearly showing his youth, and establishing the war

as the cause of Stanhope’s drinking.

When Raleigh arrives, however, we get another portrayal of Stanhope: that of a schoolboy

hero who was brave and strong enough to be ‘skipper of rugger.’ Raleigh seems to have

been influenced by the propaganda about the war that was being directed at young people

like him at the time. He sees Stanhope as someone to look up to; he is particularly

impressed by his rank, saying ‘I say, I suppose I ought to call him Captain Stanhope?’ He

also reveals himself later to be blind to Stanhope’s terrible temper. After he has given

Raleigh a very cool reception, he still writes home at the end of Act 2 to tell his sister that

‘he’s the finest officer in the battalion, and the men simply love him.’ Here the audience feel

intensely sorry for the innocent, vulnerable Raleigh. In Act 1, Sherriff has told us enough

about Stanhope’s nerves (how he ‘lost control’ while they were on leave; then ‘sort of –

came to – and cried…’) for us to know that the war has caused him serious psychological

damage.

Later in Acts 2 and 3, Sherriff continues to show us Stanhope losing control. When Hibbert

tries to claim he is ill, Stanhope calls him a ‘swine’ and a ‘worm’ and threatens to shoot him

for desertion. This is not sympathetic action, and the audience might begin to harden

against him, in spite of all he has been through. His choice of words to describe Hibbert is

almost snobbish, as if Hibbert was a lower class of being (as both pigs and worms are

animals that are associated with dirt.) Here, perhaps, Sherriff is hinting at the kind of

snobbery a grammar-school background can create, even in an otherwise positive

character. Later in the act, when Osborne has died, Sherriff reveals Stanhope’s loneliness,

when he says Osborne was ‘the one man I could talk to as man to man.’ The repetition of

‘man’ here shows Stanhope’s obsession with masculinity and manhood, and perhaps hints

that this is one reason he is finding war so hard – he is expected to be brave and strong by

his fellow soldiers.

Finally, at the end of the play, Sherriff reveals Stanhope’s more caring side. This is

particularly effective as the audience have been waiting for Stanhope to behave in a caring

manner towards Raleigh for the entirety of the play. When Raleigh is injured and Stanhope

refers to him as ‘Jimmy’ this signals a shift in their relationship. Perhaps Sherriff leaves this

until now to show how they have finally cast of the stereotypes they’ve used to see each

other (the war hero and the innocent schoolboy) and started to see each other as people.

This is effectively tragic, because shortly after this line, Raleigh dies. The last action we see

him undertake on stage is when he ‘lightly runs his fingers over Raleigh’s tousled hair.’

Here Sherriff successful hints at the caring father that Stanhope might have been, and

leaves the audience angry at the war that forced him to try and be a stereotypical brave

soldier: the war that must surely kill him as the play finishes with a direct hit to the dugout.

How does Sherriff present the character of Stanhope in Journey’s End? (Grade = C) At the start of Act One, Sherriff presents Stanhope as a character who is full of

contradictions. Early on, Osborne says that “he’s by far the best company commander

we’ve got”. This suggests that Stanhope is one of the best soldiers in the army and his

troops respect him. Hardy asks if Stanhope is ‘drinking like a fish as usual?’ This makes the

audience wonder if Stanhope is an alcoholic. This is confusing because Osborne says that

he’s such a good commander. This means that at the start of the play Sherriff shows

different sides to Stanhope.

When Raleigh arrives later in the Act, we see Stanhope as a schoolboy hero who was brave

and strong. Raleigh is impressed because he was ‘skipper of rugger’ when they went to

school together. When Osborne reads his letter, Ralight says that ‘he’s the finest officer in

the battalion, and the men simply love him.’ It is really tense on stage because Stanhope

wanted to censor this letter. Maybe Sherriff really wanted to show the audience how much

Raleigh admires Stanhope.

Later in Acts 2 and 3, Stanhope starts losing control. For example, he calls Hibbert a ‘swine’

and a ‘worm’ and threatens to shoot him when he tries to prentend he’s ill. Worms and

swines are dirty animals that nobody really likes. This is not very sympathetic thing to say,

and the audience might start to dislike Stanhope. After Osborne has died, we find out that

Stanhope is really lonely, when he says Osborne was ‘the one man I could talk to as man to

man.’ This helps the audience to understand why Stanhope is under so much strain and

being nasty to everyone.

At the end of the play, Sherriff show Stanhope’s more caring side. When Raleigh is injured

and Stanhope refers to him as ‘Jimmy’ this shows that their relationship has changed. This

is really tragic because just after this, Raleigh dies. The last thing we see him do is that he

‘lightly runs his fingers over Raleigh’s tousled hair.’ Maybe Sherrif wants to show us that

Stanhope is a sort of father figure to Raleigh. This leaves us with a good impression of him.

Overall, Sherriff presents Stanhope as a man under too much pressure who is still very

popular and likeable.

Unseen Poetry

A* Poetry

Answer

C minus Poetry

Answer