CCEA GCSE English Literature
CCEA GCSE English Literature Anthology Three: Conflict Exam Questions
Free CCEA GCSE English Literature practice questions for Anthology Three: Conflict. Covers the 15 CCEA conflict anthology poems, from the charge of the Light Brigade to Poppies, and comparing two poems.
Anthology Three: Conflict practice questions
1 pack of exam-style practice questions for Anthology Three: Conflict. Plan and write as many answers as you can under timed conditions, then compare them with the guidance on this page and your notes.
About CCEA GCSE English Literature Anthology Three: Conflict
Anthology Three: Conflict is one of three poetry anthologies in CCEA GCSE English Literature Unit 2: The Study of Drama and Poetry, Section B. Its 15 poems run from Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade and Newbolt's Vitai Lampada to Jane Weir's Poppies and Simon Armitage's Out of the Blue, covering war, patriotism, fear, grief, remembrance and Irish history. Each exam question names one poem and a theme, and you compare it with a second poem of your choice. Examiners reward close analysis of language, comparison of what the speakers say and context that explains each poet's attitude.
Key poems and themes
- The 15 poems The Charge of the Light Brigade (Tennyson), Vitai Lampada (Newbolt), The Man He Killed (Hardy), Who's for the Game? (Jessie Pope), Easter Monday (Eleanor Farjeon), Anthem for Doomed Youth (Owen), An Irish Airman Foresees His Death (Yeats), What lips my lips have kissed (Edna St Vincent Millay), Vergissmeinnicht (Keith Douglas), Bayonet Charge (Hughes), Requiem for the Croppies (Heaney), Mametz Wood (Owen Sheers), Last Post (Duffy), Poppies (Jane Weir) and Out of the Blue 12 (Armitage).
- Glory and propaganda Tennyson honours the Light Brigade's charge in the Crimean War despite the blunder behind it. Vitai Lampada links the team spirit of school cricket to duty in battle, and Pope's Who's for the Game? (1915) uses sporting language to pressure young men to enlist.
- The reality of war Anthem for Doomed Youth replaces funeral rites with the noise of guns. Bayonet Charge shows a soldier's terror overwhelming his ideals. The Man He Killed has a Boer War soldier puzzling over why he shot a man he might have befriended. In Vergissmeinnicht a soldier finds a dead German with a photograph of his girlfriend.
- Grief and remembrance Farjeon wrote Easter Monday after Edward Thomas was killed at Arras in April 1917. Poppies presents a mother's grief as her son leaves for war. Mametz Wood describes farmers uncovering the remains of soldiers from the Somme, and Last Post imagines running time backwards so the dead of the First World War could live.
- Ireland and individual choice Requiem for the Croppies is a sonnet about the rebels of 1798, ending with barley growing from their graves. In An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, written about Robert Gregory, the speaker fights not from hatred or patriotism but from a lonely impulse.
- Personal and modern conflict What lips my lips have kissed is a Petrarchan sonnet about loss and ageing rather than battle. Out of the Blue 12 gives the voice of a man trapped in the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001.
- Good pairings Fear: Out of the Blue 12 with Bayonet Charge. Grief: Poppies with Easter Monday or Anthem for Doomed Youth. Glory and propaganda: The Charge of the Light Brigade with Who's for the Game? or Vitai Lampada. The enemy as human: The Man He Killed with Vergissmeinnicht. Remembrance: Mametz Wood with Last Post.
Common mistakes in Anthology Three: Conflict
- Treating every poem as anti-war. Tennyson, Newbolt and Pope present war as glorious or a duty, which is what makes them useful contrasts with Owen and Hughes.
- Forgetting the non-battle poems. Poppies, Easter Monday and What lips my lips have kissed explore conflict through grief and loss at home.
- Writing a history essay. Context such as the Crimean War, the First World War, the 1798 rebellion or 9/11 should explain the speaker's attitude, not take over the answer.
- Writing two separate essays. Compare and contrast what each speaker says about the named theme throughout.
- Ignoring form. Comment on Owen's and Heaney's use of the sonnet, Tennyson's driving rhythm and Duffy's reversal of time in Last Post.
Try three Anthology Three: Conflict practice questions
1. Look again at The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, which deals with the theme of heroism, and at one other poem from the CONFLICT anthology which also deals with the theme of heroism. With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about heroism. You should include relevant contextual material. (40 marks)
Show what a strong answer includes
A strong answer would pair the poem with Vitai Lampada, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death or Bayonet Charge; analyse Tennyson's repetition, rhythm and celebration of obedience despite the blunder; compare how the other speaker sees heroism, whether as duty, personal impulse or terror; use context such as the Crimean War; and compare throughout.
2. Look again at The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy, which deals with the theme of the enemy, and at one other poem from the CONFLICT anthology which also deals with the theme of the enemy. With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about the enemy. You should include relevant contextual material. (40 marks)
Show what a strong answer includes
A strong answer would pair the poem with Vergissmeinnicht; analyse Hardy's conversational voice, hesitations and the speaker's struggle to justify killing; compare how Douglas humanises the dead German soldier; and use context such as the Boer War and the Second World War desert campaign.
3. Look again at Mametz Wood by Owen Sheers, which deals with the theme of remembrance, and at one other poem from the CONFLICT anthology which also deals with the theme of remembrance. With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about remembrance. You should include relevant contextual material. (40 marks)
Show what a strong answer includes
A strong answer would pair the poem with Last Post, Anthem for Doomed Youth or Requiem for the Croppies; analyse Sheers' imagery of the earth giving up the dead and the fragility of the bodies; compare how the other poem remembers the dead; and judge what each speaker suggests we owe them.
Anthology Three: Conflict FAQs
What does CCEA GCSE English Literature Anthology Three: Conflict cover?
It covers the 15 Conflict poems, from The Charge of the Light Brigade and Anthem for Doomed Youth to Poppies and Out of the Blue 12, and how to compare two of them on a shared theme such as fear, grief, heroism or remembrance.
Which unit is Anthology Three: Conflict examined in?
In Unit 2: The Study of Drama and Poetry, Section B, you spend about 1 hour on one 40-mark question. Each anthology has a choice of two questions, (a) or (b). Each names one poem and a theme, and you compare it with one other poem of your choice from the same anthology on that theme. You should have an unannotated copy of the anthology.
Which Conflict poems pair well for comparison?
Strong pairs include Poppies and Easter Monday (grief), Out of the Blue 12 and Bayonet Charge (fear), The Man He Killed and Vergissmeinnicht (the enemy) and The Charge of the Light Brigade and Who's for the Game? (glory and propaganda). Prepare at least two partners for every poem.
