Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
An extract from a work first published in 1878.
This extract is from Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native and describes Egdon Heath as an ancient, untameable landscape whose sombre permanence contrasts with human change, storm-loving and mysterious, ending with the pale line of a road standing out against the deepening dusk.
Source A
1 The most thoroughgoing ascetic could feel that he had a natural right to wander on Egdon—he was keeping within the line of legitimate indulgence when he laid himself open to influences such as these. Colours and beauties so far subdued were, at least, the birthright of all. Only in summer days of highest feather did its mood touch the level of gaiety. Intensity was more usually
6 reached by way of the solemn than by way of the brilliant, and such a sort of intensity was often arrived at during winter darkness, tempests, and mists. Then Egdon was aroused to reciprocity; for the storm was its lover, and the wind its friend. Then it became the home of strange phantoms; and it was found to be the hitherto unrecognized original of those wild regions of obscurity
11 which are vaguely felt to be compassing us about in midnight dreams of flight and disaster, and are never thought of after the dream till revived by scenes like this. It was at present a place perfectly accordant with man’s nature—neither
16 ghastly, hateful, nor ugly; neither commonplace, unmeaning, nor tame; but, like man, slighted and enduring; and withal singularly colossal and mysterious in its swarthy monotony. As with some persons who have long lived apart, solitude seemed to look out of its countenance. It had a lonely face, suggesting tragical possibilities.
21 This obscure, obsolete, superseded country figures in Domesday. Its condition is recorded therein as that of heathy, furzy, briary wilderness—“Bruaria.” Then follows the length and breadth in leagues; and, though some uncertainty exists as to the exact extent of this ancient lineal measure, it appears from
26 the figures that the area of Egdon down to the present day has but little diminished. “Turbaria Bruaria”—the right of cutting heath-turf—occurs in charters relating to the district. “Overgrown with heth and mosse,” says Leland of the same dark sweep of country.
31 Here at least were intelligible facts regarding landscape—far-reaching proofs productive of genuine satisfaction. The untameable, Ishmaelitish thing that Egdon now was it always had been. Civilization was its enemy; and ever since the beginning of vegetation its soil had worn the same antique brown dress, the natural and invariable garment of the particular formation. In its
36 venerable one coat lay a certain vein of satire on human vanity in clothes. A person on a heath in raiment of modern cut and colours has more or less an anomalous look. We seem to want the oldest and simplest human clothing where the clothing of the earth is so primitive.
41 To recline on a stump of thorn in the central valley of Egdon, between afternoon and night, as now, where the eye could reach nothing of the world outside the summits and shoulders of heathland which filled the whole circumference of its glance, and to know that everything around and underneath had been from prehistoric times as unaltered as the stars overhead, gave
46 ballast to the mind adrift on change, and harassed by the irrepressible New. The great inviolate place had an ancient permanence which the sea cannot claim. Who can say of a particular sea that it is old? Distilled by the sun, kneaded by the moon, it is renewed in a year, in a day, or in an hour. The sea changed, the fields changed, the rivers, the villages, and the people changed,
51 yet Egdon remained. Those surfaces were neither so steep as to be destructible by weather, nor so flat as to be the victims of floods and deposits. With the exception of an aged highway, and a still more aged barrow presently to be referred to—themselves almost crystallized to natural products by long continuance—even the trifling irregularities were not caused by pickaxe,
56 plough, or spade, but remained as the very finger-touches of the last geological change. The above-mentioned highway traversed the lower levels of the heath, from one horizon to another. In many portions of its course it overlaid an old vicinal
61 way, which branched from the great Western road of the Romans, the Via Iceniana, or Ikenild Street, hard by. On the evening under consideration it would have been noticed that, though the gloom had increased sufficiently to confuse the minor features of the heath, the white surface of the road remained almost as clear as ever.
Questions
Instructions
- Answer all questions.
- Use black ink or black ball point pen.
- Fill in the boxes on this page.
- You must answer the questions in the spaces provided.
- Do not write outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
- Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked.
- You must refer to the insert booklet provided.
- You must not use a dictionary.
Information
- The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
- Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes
- The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
- There are 40 marks for Section A and 40 marks for Section B.
- You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your reading in Section A.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your writing in Section B.
Advice
- You are advised to spend about 15 minutes reading through the source and all five questions you have to answer.
- You should make sure you leave sufficient time to check your answers.
Section A: Reading
Answer all questions in this section. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Question 1
Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 5.
Answer all parts of this question.
Choose one answer for each question.
1.1 According to the narrator, when does Egdon Heath seem cheerful?
- Only at the height of summer
- Throughout the year without exception
- Mainly at sunrise
[1 mark]
1.2 According to the narrator, who would feel a natural right to wander on Egdon Heath?
- A strict ascetic
- A local landowner
- A visitor with an official permit
[1 mark]
1.3 What are stated as the birthright of all?
- Colours and beauties so far subdued
- summer days of highest feather
- a natural right to wander on Egdon
[1 mark]
1.4 In summer days of highest feather, what did Egdon’s mood touch?
- the level of gaiety
- the birthright of all
- the line of legitimate indulgence
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 10 of the source:
6 reached by way of the solemn than by way of the brilliant, and such a sort of intensity was often arrived at during winter darkness, tempests, and mists. Then Egdon was aroused to reciprocity; for the storm was its lover, and the wind its friend. Then it became the home of strange phantoms; and it was found to be the hitherto unrecognized original of those wild regions of obscurity
How does the writer use language here to present Egdon in wild weather? You could include the writer's choice of:
- words and phrases
- language features and techniques
- sentence forms.
[8 marks]
Question 3
You now need to think about the structure of the source as a whole. This text is from the beginning of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of calm?
You could write about:
- how calm deepens by the end of the source
- how the writer uses structure to create an effect
- the writer's use of any other structural features, such as changes in mood, tone or perspective.
[8 marks]
Question 4
For this question focus on the second part of the source, from line 41 to the end.
In this part of the source, where the heath is described as ancient and permanent, it seems like a reliable and solid place. The writer suggests that this unchanging landscape offers comfort to people who feel overwhelmed by the modern world.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the unchanging landscape
- comment on the methods the writer uses to convey the unchanging nature of Egdon
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
In a quiet moment after a training session, you decide to write a creative piece about competition.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe the moments before a race begins from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a rival who helps you.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]