OCR AS Level · Analysis & Prediction

2025 OCR AS Level English Literature - H072 Past Paper: Analysis & Answers

OCR AS Level English Literature H072 (June 2025): two 60-mark components (Shakespeare and pre-1900 poetry; post-1900 drama and prose), each requiring two 30-mark essays. All questions are single holistic level-of-response essays, so difficulty lies in sustained argument, close analysis and (for prose and poetry) connection-making rather than in recall.

Updated: 11 Nov 2026

Analysis Sample paper

Difficulty 3.6/5

Total marks

120

Duration

195 mins

Most tested

No single text dominates: every set text in each section is examined, with two questions per Shakespeare/drama text and one per poetry/prose text. Each student answers one per section.

Paper breakdown

H072/01 Shakespeare and poetry pre-1900: 60 marks · 90 minsH072/02 Drama and prose post-1900: 60 marks · 105 mins

Top chapters

Hamlet · 5.45 marksRichard III · 5.45 marksThe Tempest · 5.45 marks

Difficulty verdict

This is a demanding but predictable paper. Every question is a 30-mark essay marked by levels of response, so there are no 'easy' short-answer marks: the whole 120 depends on how well you build an argument and analyse language, form and structure. Because the format is stable year to year, the challenge is execution under time pressure (about 45 minutes per essay in Component 01, and 45 minutes plus 15 minutes of reading in Component 02's prose section).

Where the marks are

Marks are split evenly: four essays, 30 marks each. AO2 (analysis of how meaning is shaped) is dominant in Component 01 at 40% of each essay, with AO1 at 30%. Shakespeare then adds AO5 (interpretations) at 20% and AO3 (context, including performance) at 10%; the poetry questions replace AO5 with AO4 (connections across the text) at 20%. In Component 02, the prose question requires connections with an unseen passage.

How the questions work

Shakespeare: a quoted view to test ('How far and in what ways do you agree...'), with one question on the whole play and one on a character or group of characters.
Poetry: one compulsory-format question per text on a printed extract or poem, asking you to explore language, imagery and verse form and then show how it is characteristic of the wider selection.
Drama: a quoted view again, either on the play as a whole or on specific roles.
Prose: a discussion question on a theme, plus comparison with a short unseen passage.

Examiner-style pitfalls (inferred)

The level descriptors reward answers that blend quotation into argument and penalise description or narrative. Expect marks to be lost by retelling plot, treating the quoted view as a prompt to list everything you know, forgetting the 'characteristic of the whole text' link in poetry, and treating the unseen passage as an afterthought rather than a genuine comparison.

Strategy

Plan a clear line of argument in 3-5 minutes and take a stance on 'how far'.
Use short, embedded quotations and comment on the writer's choices (form, structure, dramatic effect).
Weave in different critical or performance interpretations and relevant contexts briefly, not as add-ons.
In poetry, move deliberately from the printed text to the rest of your selection; in prose, compare throughout.

Looking ahead

Every set text appears each year, so you cannot gamble on a text. Instead, prepare each text for both a whole-text theme and a character-focused question, since the paper consistently offers one of each.

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Charts

Marks by chapter

See where the marks were concentrated so revision time goes to the highest-value topics.

These topic marks add up to 119.90000000000005, but the analysed paper is worth 180. Some questions may be counted twice or missed, so use the numbers as a rough guide.

Question type mix

Compare the mark share of each paper section and question type.

Shakespeare: evaluate a quoted view (whole play)30 marks · 6 questions
Shakespeare: evaluate a quoted view (character role)30 marks · 6 questions
Poetry: extract/poem analysis linked to whole selection30 marks · 5 questions
Drama: evaluate a quoted view (whole play)30 marks · 6 questions
Drama: evaluate a quoted view (character roles)30 marks · 6 questions
Prose: theme discussion with unseen-passage comparison30 marks · 5 questions

Mark accessibility

Estimate which marks were basic, mid-level, or high-difficulty.

67%within easy or medium reach

easy: 20 marksmedium: 60 markshard: 40 marks

Difficulty trend

Compare difficulty across recent years.

Command word frequency

Spot common command words so answers match the expected response style.

Skill weighting

Shows the skill mix this paper tested most heavily.

Study ROI

Higher bubbles carry more marks; bubbles further left are easier. Start with the topics that sit high and to the left.

Essay planning and embedded short quotation

120 marks · Difficulty 2.5

Shakespeare: whole-play argument with AO5 interpretations and AO3 performance context

30 marks · Difficulty 3.5

Post-1900 drama: argument on a quoted view, dramatic methods

30 marks · Difficulty 3.3

Prose: theme plus unseen-passage comparison (AO4)

30 marks · Difficulty 4

Poetry: language, imagery and verse form, linked to whole selection

30 marks · Difficulty 3.8

Time vs marks

Compare marks with suggested time allocation to plan exam pacing.

marksmins

Next-year prediction

Topics worth watching next year, and why. These are informed guesses from past papers, not a forecast.

Hamlet (whole-play theme and Ophelia/character role)

Examined in each series in the history provided, so it is a safe, regularly tested text. Expect one whole-play and one character question.

Christina Rossetti: Selected Poems

Frequently tested. Expect a different poem, and revise recurrent themes across the selection.

Richard III, The Tempest and other Shakespeare texts

Past history shows far lighter coverage than Hamlet. Every Shakespeare text is offered each series, but these deserve revision for a fresh angle on a character and a whole-play theme.

Drama: Private Lives, The Homecoming, The History Boys, That Face, Jerusalem

Sparse earlier history. Each text has one whole-play and one roles question each year, so prepare both types.

Prose: Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mrs Dalloway, The Bloody Chamber, The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Always paired with an unseen passage, so practise comparing on structure, voice and theme.

Poetry: Chaucer, Milton, Coleridge, Tennyson

History shows only one earlier series for these texts. Expect a different poem or extract from the one used in 2025, so know the whole selection.

Cumulative marks ladder

The line is your running mark total question by question; dashed lines are the estimated grade boundaries, taken from the table below when this year's are known. See which question the line crosses your target grade at, so you know how far you must answer cleanly and which questions decide a band.

Topic-year heatmap

Compare topic weight by year to spot recurring and returning areas.

Jun 2022

Jun 2023

Jun 2024

Jun 2025

Hamlet

5.45

Christina Rossetti: Selected Poems (2027 selection)

5.45

Tennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire

5.45

F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

5.45

Richard III

5.45

The Tempest

5.45

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Merchant's Prologue and Tale

5.45

John Milton: Paradise Lost Books 9 & 10

5.45

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Selected Poems

5.45

Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Maud

5.45

Examiner insights

AI-inferred

Common pitfalls

Retelling plot or listing character moments instead of arguing a position on the quoted view.
Quoting at length without analysing the writer's methods (language, imagery, verse form, dramatic effect).
In poetry, analysing the extract but not showing how it is characteristic of the wider selection.
In prose, treating the unseen passage as a separate paragraph rather than comparing throughout.
Poor time management, leaving the second essay of a component short.

Misconceptions

That 'How far do you agree' requires full agreement or disagreement; the best answers weigh both sides and reach a judgement.
That AO5 and AO3 mean bolting on named critics or biography; they should shape the argument and be relevant to the question.
That the indicative content is a checklist; the mark scheme explicitly says it is not prescriptive and rewards original, focused answers.

Where marks are lost

Descriptive or narrative comment placed at Level 2 on AO2 instead of detailed analysis.
Uncritically presented quotations, or too few of them.
Little or no awareness of different interpretations or performances (AO5 and AO3 in Shakespeare).
Weak or token connections across the text (AO4) in poetry and with the unseen passage in prose.

Estimated grade boundary

Updated: 11 Nov 2026

Source: OCR

Grade	Mark	Percentage
A	105/120	88%
B	92/120	77%
C	79/120	66%
D	67/120	56%
E	55/120	46%

Official grade boundaries published by OCR.

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