Introduction to the Pre-1900 Comparative Essay

Welcome to one of the most creative and thought-provoking parts of your OCR A Level English Literature course! In Component 01, Section 2, you are asked to bring two different worlds together: a pre-1900 drama text and a pre-1900 poetry text. Instead of looking at them in isolation, you will explore how they "talk" to each other about big ideas like power, gender, morality, or social class.

This essay is worth 30 marks and makes up a significant part of your final grade. Don't worry if comparing a play to a poem seems like comparing apples to oranges at first—by the end of these notes, you'll have a clear strategy to find the links that examiners love to see.

The Essentials: What the Examiners Want

In this section, you aren't just being tested on how well you know the stories. The exam board uses four Assessment Objectives (AOs) to grade your work. Here is a simple breakdown of what they mean for this specific essay:

  • AO1: Articulate informed, personal responses. This means writing clearly, using the right "lit-crit" terms (like soliloquy or iambic pentameter), and making sure your argument actually answers the question.
  • AO3: Understanding context. You need to show how the time and place the text was written influenced the writer. For example, how did Victorian values affect Christina Rossetti or Henrik Ibsen?
  • AO4: Explore connections across texts. This is the "comparative" bit. You must discuss both texts substantially. If you write five pages on the play and only one on the poem, you won't get the top marks!
  • AO5: Explore different interpretations. This involves looking at how other people might read the text. This could be a famous critic’s opinion or how a modern audience might see a character differently than an audience in the 1700s.

Quick Tip: Notice that AO2 (analysis of language and structure) is not specifically assessed in this section. While you should still use evidence, your focus should be on the big ideas (AO1), links (AO4), context (AO3), and interpretations (AO5).

The Set Texts (2027-2028)

You will have studied one text from each list below. In the exam, you will choose one question that fits your pair of texts.

Pre-1900 Drama

  • Christopher Marlowe: Edward II
  • John Webster: The Duchess of Malfi
  • Oliver Goldsmith: She Stoops to Conquer
  • Henrik Ibsen: A Doll's House
  • Oscar Wilde: An Ideal Husband

Pre-1900 Poetry

  • Geoffrey Chaucer: The Merchant's Prologue and Tale
  • John Milton: Paradise Lost Books 9 & 10
  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Selected Poems
  • Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Maud
  • Christina Rossetti: Selected Poems

How to Connect Drama and Poetry (AO4)

The secret to a great comparative essay is finding connective tissue. Even though a play is meant to be performed and a poem is often meant to be read (or heard), they often share the same "DNA."

Look for similarities and differences in:

  1. Themes: Do both texts explore the idea of a woman trapped by society? (e.g., A Doll's House and Rossetti’s poetry).
  2. Character Archetypes: Is there a "villain" in the play who reminds you of a figure in the poem? (e.g., Milton’s Satan and the ambitious characters in The Duchess of Malfi).
  3. Tone and Mood: Is the atmosphere dark and Gothic, or light and satirical?
  4. Values: Do the writers agree on what "honour" or "love" looks like, or do they have totally different views?

Key Takeaway: Use "linking words" to show the examiner you are comparing. Words like similarly, likewise, and in the same vein show connections. Words like conversely, on the other hand, and however show contrasts.

Understanding Context (AO3)

"Pre-1900" is a huge span of time! You need to know the specific "world" of your texts. For example:

  • The Elizabethan/Jacobean Era (Marlowe, Webster): Focused on the "Great Chain of Being," the power of monarchs, and often very bloody revenge.
  • The Victorian Era (Rossetti, Ibsen, Wilde, Tennyson): Concerned with strict morality, "The Angel in the House" (the ideal woman), and the rise of the middle class.
  • The Medieval Era (Chaucer): Focused on courtly love, the authority of the Church, and social hierarchies.

Common Mistake: Don't just "bolt on" history facts at the end of a paragraph. Instead, explain how the context shaped the writing. For example: "Ibsen’s challenge to the sacrificial role of the wife in A Doll’s House reflects the growing 'Woman Question' in late 19th-century Europe."

Exploring Interpretations (AO5)

To hit the high marks for AO5, you need to show that there isn't just one "correct" meaning for these texts. You can do this by:

  • Mentioning Literary Movements: How would a Feminist reader view the ending of the play versus the poem?
  • Historical vs. Modern Views: An audience in 1879 might have been shocked by Nora leaving her children in A Doll’s House, but a modern audience might see it as a necessary act of survival.
  • Critical Voices: You don't need to memorize long quotes from critics. Just knowing their general "angle" is enough. (e.g., "Some critics argue that Milton makes Satan the most attractive character in Paradise Lost...").

The "Closed-Book" Strategy

Since this is a closed-text exam, you won't have the books with you. This can be scary, but remember:

1. Quality over Quantity: You don't need hundreds of quotes. A few short, "explosive" quotes that you can use in multiple ways are better than long passages you might misremember.
2. Paraphrase is Okay: If you forget the exact words, describe the moment or the image accurately. Refer to specific episodes (e.g., "The scene where the Duchess is confronted by the wax figures").
3. Structural References: Mentioning where something happens (the prologue, the climax, the final stanza) counts as good textual knowledge!

Planning Your Essay: The "Integrated" Approach

The best essays don't talk about the play for 30 minutes and then the poem for 30 minutes. Instead, they weave them together. Try this structure:

  • Introduction: Briefly define the theme in the question and state how both texts explore it.
  • Point 1: A shared theme or idea. Compare how Text A handles it, then how Text B handles it. Use a "bridge" sentence to link them.
  • Point 2: A shared character type or conflict. Again, look at both texts and bring in context (AO3).
  • Point 3: A significant difference. How do the forms (Drama vs. Poetry) make the message different? Bring in different interpretations (AO5) here.
  • Conclusion: Summarize your main links. Which text offers a more radical or traditional view?

Summary Checklist

Before you finish your essay, ask yourself:

  • Have I discussed both the drama text and the poetry text?
  • Have I used comparative language (e.g., "whereas," "similarly")?
  • Have I explained why the historical context matters?
  • Have I mentioned different ways the text could be interpreted?
  • Is my writing clear and does it use literary terms?

Don't worry if this seems tricky at first! The more you practice looking for patterns between your two texts, the easier it will become to spot them under exam conditions.