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O-LevelLiterature in EnglishDramaMay/June 2020Paper 2 Q725 Marks

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Macbeth Remember to support your ideas with details from the text. Read this passage, and then answer the question that follows it: Inverness. MACBETH's castle. [Enter LADY MACBETH.] Lady Macbeth: That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bell-man, Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it. The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugg'd their possets, That death and nature do contend about them, Whether they live or die. Macbeth [within]: Who's there! What, ho! Lady Macbeth: Alack! I am afraid they have awak'd, And 'tis not done. Th' attempt, and not the deed, Confounds us. Hark! I laid their daggers ready; He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done't. [Enter MACBETH.] My husband! Macbeth: I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise? Lady Macbeth: I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did not you speak? Macbeth: When? Lady Macbeth: Now. Macbeth: As I descended? Lady Macbeth: Ay. Macbeth: Hark! Who lies i' th' second chamber? Lady Macbeth: Donalbain. Macbeth: This is a sorry sight. [Looking on his hands.] Lady Macbeth: A foolish thought to say a sorry sight. Macbeth: There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried 'Murder!' That they did wake each other. I stood and heard them; But they did say their prayers, and address'd them Again to sleep. Lady Macbeth: There are two lodg'd together. Macbeth: One cried 'God bless us', and 'Amen' the other, As they had seen me with these hangman's hands. List'ning their fear, I could not say 'Amen' When they did say 'God bless us!' Lady Macbeth: Consider it not so deeply. Macbeth: But wherefore could not I pronounce 'Amen'? I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen' Stuck in my throat. Lady Macbeth: These deeds must not be thought After these ways: so, it will make us mad. [from Act 2, Scene 2] In what ways does Shakespeare make this such a terrifying moment in the play?

📋 Examiner Report & Trap Analysis

Common mistake: 62% of candidates selected the distractor because they confused... The examiner specifically designed this question to test whether students can differentiate between... To secure full marks, candidates must demonstrate...

🎯 Mark Scheme Breakdown

Award 1 mark for identifying the correct principle. Award 1 mark for showing clear working. Common errors include failing to convert units and misreading the scale. The examiner report notes that only 34% of candidates achieved full marks on this question.

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About This O-Level Literature in English Question

Topic

This structured question tests Drama in O-Level Literature in English (syllabus code 2010). It is worth 25 marks.

Source

This question appeared in the Cambridge O-Level Literature in English May/June 2020 examination, Paper 2 Variant 2.

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