English HL P2 May-June 2023

GRAAD 12
SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS

NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS
ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE P2
2023
MARKS: 80
TIME: 2½ hours
This question paper consists of 27 pages.
Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P2 2 DBE/2023
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INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION
1. Read these instructions carefully before you begin to answer the questions.
2. Do NOT attempt to read the entire question paper. Consult the table of
contents on page 4 and mark the numbers of the questions set on texts you
have studied this year. Thereafter, read these questions and choose the ones
you wish to answer.
3. This question paper consists of THREE sections:
SECTION A: Poetry (30)

SECTION B: Novel (25)
SECTION C: Drama (25)
4. Answer FIVE questions in all: THREE in SECTION A, ONE in SECTION B

and ONE in SECTION C as follows:
SECTION A: POETRY
PRESCRIBED POETRY – Answer TWO questions.
UNSEEN POEM – COMPULSORY question
SECTION B: NOVEL
Answer ONE question.
SECTION C: DRAMA
Answer ONE question.
5. CHOICE OF ANSWERS FOR SECTIONS B (NOVEL) AND C (DRAMA):
 Answer questions ONLY on the novel and the drama you have studied.
 Answer ONE ESSAY QUESTION and ONE CONTEXTUAL QUESTION.
If you answer the essay question in SECTION B, you must answer the
contextual question in SECTION C.
If you answer the contextual question in SECTION B, you must answer
the essay question in SECTION C.
Use the checklist to assist you.
6. LENGTH OF ANSWERS:
 The essay question on Poetry should be answered in about 250–300

words.
 Essay questions on the Novel and Drama sections should be answered
in 400–450 words.
 The length of answers to contextual questions should be determined by
the mark allocation. Candidates should aim for conciseness and
relevance.
7. Follow the instructions at the beginning of each section carefully.

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8. Number your answers correctly according to the numbering system used in

this question paper.
9. Start EACH section on a NEW page.
10. Suggested time management:
SECTION A: approximately 40 minutes

SECTION B: approximately 55 minutes
SECTION C: approximately 55 minutes
11. Write neatly and legibly.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION A: POETRY
Prescribed Poetry: Answer ANY TWO questions.

QUESTION NO. QUESTION MARKS PAGE NO.
1. 'An African Thunderstorm' Essay question 10 6
2. 'The Zulu Girl' Contextual question 10 7
3. 'Funeral Blues' Contextual question 10 8
4. 'Remember' Contextual question 10 9

AND
Unseen Poetry: COMPULSORY question
5. 'The Clothes' Contextual question 10 10
SECTION B: NOVEL
Answer ONE question.*

6. The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay question 25 11
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray Contextual question 25 11
8. Life of Pi Essay question 25 14
9. Life of Pi Contextual question 25 14
SECTION C: DRAMA
Answer ONE question.*

10. Hamlet Essay question 25 17
11. Hamlet Contextual question 25 17
12. Othello Essay question 25 21
13. Othello Contextual question 25 21
14. The Crucible Essay question 25 25
15. The Crucible Contextual question 25 25

*
NOTE: In SECTIONS B and C, answer ONE ESSAY and ONE CONTEXTUAL question.
You may NOT answer TWO essay questions or TWO contextual questions.

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CHECKLIST
Use this checklist to ensure that you have answered the correct number of questions.
NO. OF
QUESTION TICK
SECTION QUESTIONS
NUMBERS ()
ANSWERED
A: Poetry
(Prescribed Poetry) 1–4 2
A: Poetry
(Unseen Poem) 5 1
B: Novel
(Essay OR Contextual) 6–9 1
C: Drama
(Essay OR Contextual) 10–15 1
NOTE: In SECTIONS B and C, ensure that you have answered ONE ESSAY and
ONE CONTEXTUAL question.
You may NOT answer TWO essay questions or TWO contextual questions.

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SECTION A: POETRY
PRESCRIBED POETRY
Answer any TWO of the following questions.
QUESTION 1: ESSAY QUESTION
Read the poem below and then answer the question that follows.
AN AFRICAN THUNDERSTORM – David Rubadiri

1 From the west
2 Clouds came hurrying with the wind
3 Turning
4 Sharply
5 Here and there
6 Like a plague of locusts
7 Whirling
8 Tossing up things on its tail
9 Like a madman chasing nothing.
10 Pregnant clouds
11 Ride stately on its back
12 Gathering to perch on hills
13 Like dark sinister wings;
14 The Wind whistles by
15 And trees bend to let it pass.
16 In the village
17 Screams of delighted children
18 Toss and turn
19 In the din of whirling wind,
20 Women –
21 Babies clinging on their backs –
22 Dart about
23 In and out
24 Madly
25 The Wind whistles by
26 Whilst trees bend to let it pass.
27 Clothes wave like tattered flags
28 Flying off
29 To expose dangling breasts
30 As jaggered blinding flashes
31 Rumble, tremble, and crack
32 Amidst the smell of fired smoke
33 and the pelting march of the storm.
With close reference to diction, imagery and structure, discuss how the speaker
reflects on the power of nature in this poem.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 250–300 words
(about ONE page). [10]

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QUESTION 2: CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
THE ZULU GIRL – Roy Campbell
1 When in the sun the hot red acres smoulder,

2 Down where the sweating gang its labour plies,
3 A girl flings down her hoe, and from her shoulder
4 Unslings her child tormented by the flies.
5 She takes him to a ring of shadow pooled

6 By thorn-trees: purpled with the blood of ticks,
7 While her sharp nails, in slow caresses ruled,
8 Prowl through his hair with sharp electric clicks.
9 His sleepy mouth, plugged by the heavy nipple,

10 Tugs like a puppy, grunting as he feeds:
11 Through his frail nerves her own deep languors ripple
12 Like a broad river sighing through its reeds.
13 Yet in that drowsy stream his flesh imbibes

14 An old unquenched, unsmotherable heat –
15 The curbed ferocity of beaten tribes,
16 The sullen dignity of their defeat.
17 Her body looms above him like a hill

18 Within whose shade a village lies at rest,
19 Or the first cloud so terrible and still
20 That bears the coming harvest in its breast.
2.1 What does the word, 'Prowl' (line 8) convey about the mother? (2)
2.2 Refer to lines 5–6: 'She takes him … By thorn-trees'.
Discuss the atmosphere created in this image. (2)
2.3 Refer to lines 19–20: 'Or the first … in its breast.'
Comment on the effectiveness of the imagery in the context of the poem. (3)
2.4 Critically discuss how the speaker's admiration for the Zulu people is
conveyed in stanza 4 ('Yet in that … of their defeat'). (3)
[10]

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FUNERAL BLUES – WH Auden
1 Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

2 Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
3 Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
4 Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
5 Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

6 Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead.
7 Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
8 Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
9 He was my North, my South, my East and West,

10 My working week and my Sunday rest,
11 My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
12 I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
13 The stars are not wanted now; put out every one;
14 Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
15 Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
16 For nothing now can ever come to any good.
3.1 Refer to lines 1–4: 'Stop all the … the mourners come.'
Why does the speaker give these instructions? (2)
3.2 Refer to line 12: 'I was wrong.'
Explain what this short statement implies about the speaker's feelings. (2)
3.3 Refer to lines 10–11: 'My working week … talk, my song'.
Comment on what the imagery conveys about the nature of the couple's
relationship. (3)
3.4 By close reference to the diction used, critically discuss the mood that is
created in stanza 4. (3)
[10]

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REMEMBER – Christina Rossetti
1 Remember me when I am gone away,

2 Gone far away into the silent land;
3 When you can no more hold me by the hand,
4 Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
5 Remember me when no more day by day
6 You tell me of our future that you planned:
7 Only remember me; you understand
8 It will be late to counsel then or pray.
9 Yet if you should forget me for a while
10 And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
11 For if the darkness and corruption leave
12 A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
13 Better by far you should forget and smile
14 Than that you should remember and be sad.
4.1 What does the phrase, 'hold me by the hand' (line 3) reveal about the
speaker's relationship with her loved one? (2)
4.2 Refer to line 4: 'Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.'
Explain why the speaker feels hesitant about dying. (2)
4.3 Refer to lines 7–8: 'Only remember me … then or pray.'
Discuss how the tone in these lines reinforces the speaker's attitude toward
her fate. (3)
4.4 Comment on the effectiveness of the structure in conveying the meaning of

the poem. (3)
[10]
AND

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UNSEEN POEM (COMPULSORY)
THE CLOTHES – Mongane Wally Serote
1 I came home in the morning.

2 There on the stoep,
3 The shoes I knew so well
4 Dripped water like a window crying dew;
5 The shoes rested the first time
6 From when they were new.
7 Now it's forever.
8 I looked back,
9 On the washing line hung
10 A shirt, jacket and trousers
11 Soaked wet with pity,
12 Wrinkled and crying reddish water, perhaps also salty;
13 The pink shirt had a gash on the right,
14 And stains that told the few who know
15 An item of our death-live lives.
16 The colourless jacket still had mud,

17 Dropping lazily from its body
18 To join the dry earth beneath.
19 The over-sized black striped trousers,

20 Dangled from one hip,
21 Like a man from a rope 'neath his head,
22 Tired of hoping to hope.
5.1 Refer to lines 5–6: 'The shoes rested … they were new.'
What impression is created of the person to whom the shoes belonged? (2)
5.2 Refer to lines 3–4: 'The shoes I … window crying dew'.
Explain how the mood is created in these lines. (2)
5.3 Comment on the speaker's personifying the clothing throughout the poem. (3)
5.4 Refer to stanza 4: 'The over-sized black … hoping to hope.'
Critically discuss how this stanza conveys the central message of the poem. (3)
[10]
TOTAL SECTION A: 30

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SECTION B: NOVEL
Answer ONLY on the novel you have studied.
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – Oscar Wilde
Answer EITHER QUESTION 6 (essay question) OR QUESTION 7 (contextual

question).
QUESTION 6: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – ESSAY QUESTION
The degeneration of Dorian Gray is at the heart of the novel.
Critically discuss this statement.
(2–2½ pages). [25]
QUESTION 7: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and then answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT A
'Mother, Mother,' she cried, 'why does he love me so much? I know why I love him.
I love him because he is like what Love himself should be. But what does he see in
me? I am not worthy of him. And yet – why, I cannot tell – though I feel so much
beneath him, I don't feel humble. I feel proud, terribly proud. Mother, did you love my
father as I love Prince Charming?' 5
The elder woman grew pale beneath the coarse powder that daubed her cheeks, and
her dry lips twitched with a spasm of pain. Sibyl rushed to her, flung her arms round
her neck, and kissed her. 'Forgive me, Mother. I know it pains you to talk about our
father. But it only pains you because you loved him so much. Don't look so sad. I am
as happy to-day as you were twenty years ago. Ah! let me be happy for ever!' 10
'My child, you are far too young to think of falling in love. Besides, what do you know of
this young man? You don't even know his name. The whole thing is most inconvenient,
and really, when James is going away to Australia, and I have so much to think of,
I must say that you should have shown more consideration. However, as I said before,
if he is rich …' 15
[Chapter 5]
7.1 Refer to line 3: 'I am not worthy of him.'
Explain why Sibyl feels that she is not worthy of Dorian's love. (2)
7.2 What impression of Dorian Gray is created in Sibyl's use of 'Prince Charming'
(line 5)? (3)

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7.3 Refer to line 10: 'Ah! let me be happy for ever!'
Discuss the irony in this line. (3)
7.4 Refer to lines 14–15: 'However, as I said before, if he is rich …'.
Discuss what Mrs Vane's reaction to Dorian as a suitor for Sibyl reveals about
her character. (3)
AND
EXTRACT B
After the coffee had been brought in, he stopped, and looking over at Lord Henry, said,
'Harry, did it ever occur to you that Basil was murdered?'
Lord Henry yawned. 'Basil was very popular, and always wore a Waterbury watch.
Why should he have been murdered? He was not clever enough to have enemies. Of
course he had a wonderful genius for painting. But a man can paint like Velasquez and 5
yet be as dull as possible. Basil was really rather dull. He only interested me once, and
that was when he told me, years ago, that he had a wild adoration for you, and that you
were the dominant motive of his art.'
'What would you say, Harry, if I told you that I had murdered Basil?' said the younger
man. He watched him intently after he had spoken. 10
'I would say, my dear fellow, that you were posing for a character that doesn't suit you.
All crime is vulgar, just as all vulgarity is crime. It is not in you, Dorian, to commit a
murder. I am sorry if I hurt your vanity by saying so, but I assure you it is true. Crime
belongs exclusively to the lower orders. I don't blame them in the smallest degree.
I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring 15
extraordinary sensations.'
'I should fancy, however, that murder is always a mistake. One should never do
anything that one cannot talk about after dinner.'
[Chapter 19]
7.5 Just prior to this extract, Lord Henry tells Dorian that people are discussing
Basil's disappearance.
Explain why there is uncertainty about what has happened to Basil. (3)
7.6 Refer to lines 7–8: '… he had a … of his art.'
Explain the effect that Basil's 'adoration' has on Dorian's view of himself. (2)

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7.7 Refer to lines 9–10: 'What would you … he had spoken.'
Critically discuss what these lines reveal about Dorian Gray. (3)
7.8 Refer to line 17: 'I should fancy, however, that murder is always a mistake.'
Critically discuss how this line influences your response to Lord Henry. (3)
7.9 Refer to line 11: 'I would say, my dear fellow, that you were posing for a
character that doesn't suit you '
Do you agree with Lord Henry's assessment of Dorian Gray? Justify your
response by drawing on your knowledge of the novel as a whole. (3)
[25]

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LIFE OF PI – Yann Martel

question).
QUESTION 8: LIFE OF PI – ESSAY QUESTION
Pi's transformation, both positive and negative, is the main focus of the novel.
Critically discuss this statement.
(2–2½ pages). [25]
QUESTION 9: LIFE OF PI – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
EXTRACT C
I'm a little early. I've just set foot on the cement steps of the front porch when a
teenager bursts out the front door. He's wearing a baseball uniform and carrying
baseball equipment, and he's in a hurry. When he sees me he stops dead in his tracks,
startled. He turns around and hollers into the house, 'Dad! The writer's here.' To me he
says, 'Hi,' and rushes off. 5
His father comes to the front door. 'Hello,' he says.
'That was your son?' I ask, incredulous.
'Yes.' To acknowledge the fact brings a smile to his lips. 'I'm sorry you didn't meet
properly. He's late for practice. His name is Nikhil. He goes by Nick.'
I'm in the entrance hall. 'I didn't know you had a son,' I say. There's a barking. A small 10
mongrel mutt, black and brown, races up to me, panting and sniffing. He jumps up
against my legs. 'Or a dog,' I add.
'He's friendly. Tata, down!'
Tata ignores him. I hear 'Hello.'
I turn. Leaning against the sofa in the living room, looking up at me bashfully, is a little 15
brown girl, pretty in pink, very much at home. She's holding an orange cat in her arms.
'And this is your daughter,' I say.

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'Yes. Usha. Usha darling, are you sure Moccasin is comfortable like that.'
Usha drops Moccasin. He flops to the floor unperturbed.
Then Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as Pi Patel, bends down and picks up his 20
daughter.
This story has a happy ending.

[Chapter 36]
9.1 Refer to line 4: ' "Dad! The writer's here." '
Describe the events that have led to 'the writer's' interest in Pi. (2)
9.2 Refer to line 7: ' "That was your son?" I ask, incredulous.'
Account for 'the writer's' amazement when he arrives at Pi's house. (3)
9.3 Refer to line 16: 'She's holding an orange cat in her arms.'
Discuss the significance of the colour orange in the context of the novel as a
whole. (3)
9.4 Refer to line 22: 'This story has a happy ending.'
Why do you think this revelation is provided prior to the story of Pi's ordeal at
sea? (3)
AND
EXTRACT D
'Here's another story.'
'Good.'
'The ship sank. It made a sound like a monstrous metallic burp. Things bubbled at the
surface and then vanished. I found myself kicking water in the Pacific Ocean. I swam
for a lifeboat. It was the hardest swim of my life. I didn't seem to be moving. I kept 5
swallowing water. I was very cold. I was rapidly losing strength. I wouldn't have made it
if the cook hadn't thrown me a lifebuoy and pulled me in. I climbed aboard and
collapsed.
'Four of us survived. Mother held on to some bananas and made it to the lifeboat. The
cook was already aboard, as was the sailor. 10

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'He ate the flies. The cook that is. We hadn't been in the lifeboat a full day; we had food
and water to last us for weeks; we had fishing gear and solar stills; we had no reason
to believe that we wouldn't be rescued soon. Yet there he was, swinging his arms and
catching flies and eating them greedily. Right away he was in a holy terror of hunger.
He was calling us idiots and fools for not joining him in the feast. We were offended 15
and disgusted, but we didn't show it. We were very polite about it. He was a stranger
and a foreigner. Mother smiled and shook her head and raised her hand in refusal. He
was a disgusting man.'
[Chapter 99]
9.5 Why does Pi have to offer 'another story' (line 1)? (3)
9.6 Discuss the importance of the solar stills (line 12) on the lifeboat. (2)
9.7 Refer to line 3: 'The ship sank … monstrous metallic burp.'
Discuss the effectiveness of this image in the context of this extract. (3)
9.8 Refer to line 17: 'Mother smiled and … hand in refusal.'
Critically discuss Mother's response to the cook by drawing on your

knowledge of the novel as a whole. (3)
9.9 Based on your knowledge of the novel as a whole, comment on whether you
think the cook is integral to Pi's survival. (3)
[25]
TOTAL SECTION B: 25

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SECTION C: DRAMA
Answer ONLY on the play you have studied.
HAMLET – WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

question).
QUESTION 10: HAMLET – ESSAY QUESTION
There are two sides to Claudius: the skilled statesman and the cowardly, treacherous
villain.
Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement.
(2–2½ pages). [25]
QUESTION 11: HAMLET – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
EXTRACT E
HAMLET
Follow him, friends, we'll hear a play to-morrow. (He stops the First
Player) Dost thou hear me, old friend–can you play The Murder of
Gonzago?
1 PLAYER
Ay, my lord.
HAMLET
We'll ha't to-morrow night. You could for a need study a speech of 5
some dozen or sixteen lines, which I would set down and insert in't,
could you not?
1 PLAYER
Ay, my lord.
Polonius and the Players off
HAMLET
Very well. Follow that lord, and look you mock him not. 10
First Player off
(To Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) My good friends,
I'll leave you till night. You are welcome to Elsinore.
ROSENCRANTZ
Good my lord.
They go off 15
HAMLET
Ay, so, God bye to you! Now I am alone.
O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!

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Is it not monstrous that this player here,

But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit 20
That from her working all his visage wanned,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit, and all for nothing!
Yet I, 25
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damned defeat was made. Am I a coward? 30
[Act 2, Scene 2]
11.1 Place this extract in context. (2)
11.2 Explain why Hamlet wants the play, The Murder of Gonzago, to be performed
at court. (3)
11.3 Refer to line 12: '(To Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) My good friends'.
Discuss the irony in this line. (3)
11.4 Refer to line 30: 'Am I a coward?'
In your view, is Hamlet a coward? Justify your response by drawing on your

knowledge of the play as a whole. (3)
AND

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EXTRACT F
MESSENGER
Letters, my lord, from Hamlet.
This to your majesty, this to the queen.
CLAUDIUS
From Hamlet! Who brought them?
MESSENGER
Sailors, my lord, they say, I saw them not.
They were given me by Claudio, he received them. 5
CLAUDIUS
Laertes, you shall hear them
Leave us.
The Messenger off
(Reads) 'High and mighty, you shall know I am set naked on your
kingdom. To-morrow I shall beg leave to see your kingly eyes, when I 10
shall, first asking your pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my
sudden and more strange return.
Hamlet.'
What should this mean? Are all the rest come back?
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing? 15
LAERTES
Know you the hand?
CLAUDIUS
'Tis Hamlet's character … 'Naked'!
And in a postscript here he says 'alone.'
Can you advise me?
LAERTES
I am lost in it, my lord. But let him come! 20
It warms the very sickness in my heart
That I shall live and tell him to his teeth,
'Thus did'st thou.'
CLAUDIUS
If it be so, Laertes,
(As how should it be so, how otherwise?) 25
Will you be ruled by me?
Enter Gertrude
GERTRUDE
One woe doth tread upon another's heel,
So fast they follow. Your sister's drowned, Laertes.
LAERTES
Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, 30
And therefore I forbid my tears. But yet
It is our trick, nature her custom holds,

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Let shame say what it will. When these are gone,

The woman will be out … Adieu, my lord!
I have a speech o' fire that fain would blaze, 35
But that this folly douts it.
Off
CLAUDIUS
Let's follow, Gertrude.
How much I had to do to calm his rage!
Now fear I this will give it start again, 40
Therefore let's follow.
[Act 4, Scene 7]
11.5 Refer to line 3: 'From Hamlet! Who brought them?'
Account for Claudius's reaction in this line. (2)
11.6 Refer to line 29: 'Your sister's drowned, Laertes.'
Explain what has led to Ophelia's death. (3)
11.7 Refer to lines 20–23: 'But let him … Thus did'st thou.'
Is Laertes's behaviour in these lines consistent with his behaviour elsewhere

in the play? Motivate your response. (3)
11.8 Refer to lines 30–34: 'Too much of … will be out'.
If you were the director of a production of Hamlet, how would you instruct the
actor to deliver these lines? Pay specific attention to body language and tone.
Motivate your instructions. (3)
11.9 Using EXTRACT F as a starting point, comment on the portrayal of women as

presented in the play as a whole. (3)
[25]

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OTHELLO – WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

question).
QUESTION 12: OTHELLO – ESSAY QUESTION
In the play, Iago tells Roderigo, 'I am not what I am.'
Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with Iago's self-assessment.
(2–2½ pages). [25]
QUESTION 13: OTHELLO – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
EXTRACT G
Enter Iago
CASSIO
In happy time, Iago.
IAGO
You have not been abed then?
CASSIO
Why, no. The day had broke before we parted.
I have made bold, Iago, 5
To send in to your wife. My suit to her
Is that she will to virtuous Desdemona
Procure me some access.
IAGO
I'll send her to you presently,
And I'll devise a mean to draw the Moor 10
Out of the way, that your converse and business
May be more free.
CASSIO
I humbly thank you for it. (Iago off) I never knew
A Florentine more kind and honest.
Enter Emilia 15
EMILIA
Good morrow, good lieutenant. I am sorry
For your displeasure, but all will soon be well.
The General and his wife are talking of it,
And she speaks for you stoutly. The Moor replies
That he you hurt is of great fame in Cyprus 20
And great affinity, and that in wholesome wisdom
He might not but refuse you. But he protests he loves you
And needs no other suitor but his likings
To take the safest occasion by the front
To bring you in again. 25

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CASSIO
Yet I beseech you,
If you think fit or that it may be done,
Give me advantage of some brief discourse
With Desdemona alone.
EMILIA
Pray you, come in. 30
I will bestow you where you shall have time
To speak your bosom freely
CASSIO
I am much bound to you.
Enter Desdemona, Cassio and Emilia

DESDEMONA
Be thou assured, good Cassio, I will do 35
All my abilities in thy behalf.
EMILIA
Good madam, do. I warrant it grieves my husband
As if the case were his.
[Act 3, Scenes 1 and 3]
13.2 Refer to lines 6–8: 'My suit to … me some access.'
Explain how Cassio's plea to Desdemona will assist Iago in his plan of
revenge. (3)
13.3 Refer to lines 35–36: 'Be thou assured … in thy behalf.'
In your view, are Desdemona's words typical of her character? Motivate your
response by drawing on your knowledge of the play as a whole. (3)
13.4 Refer to lines 37–38: 'I warrant it … case were his.'
Discuss the irony of Emilia's statement. (3)
AND

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EXTRACT H
OTHELLO
Lie with her? Lie on her? We say lie on her when they belie her. Lie
with her! Zounds, that's fulsome! Handkerchief … confessions …
handkerchief! To confess and be hanged for his labour. First to be
handed and then to confess! I tremble at it. Nature would not invest
herself in such shadowing passion without some instruction. It is not 5
words that shake me thus! Pish! Noses, ears, and lips! Is't possible? …
Confess? … Handkerchief! … O devil!
He falls in a trance
IAGO
Work on,
My medicine, work! Thus credulous fools are caught, 10
And many worthy and chaste dames even thus,
All guiltless, meet reproach. What ho, my lord!
My lord, I say! Othello!
Enter Cassio
How now, Cassio? 15
CASSIO
What's the matter?
IAGO
My lord is fallen into an epilepsy.
This is his second fit; he had one yesterday.
CASSIO
Rub him about the temples.
IAGO
No, forbear. 20
The lethargy must have his quiet course.
If not, he foams at mouth, and by and by
Breaks out to savage madness. Look, he stirs.
Do you withdraw yourself a little while.
He will recover straight. When he is gone, 25
I would on great occasion speak with you.
Cassio off
How is it, General? Have you not hurt your head?
OTHELLO
Dost thou mock me?
IAGO
I mock you? No, by heaven! 30
Would you would bear your fortune like a man!
OTHELLO
A horned man's a monster and a beast.
IAGO
There's many a beast then in a populous city,
And many a civil monster.
[Act 4, Scene 1]

SC/NSC
13.5 Refer to lines 20–25: 'No, forbear. The … will recover straight.'
Why does Iago not want to wake Othello from his trance in Cassio's
presence? (2)
13.6 Refer to lines 2–3: 'Handkerchief … confessions … handkerchief!'
Discuss the significance of the handkerchief in the play as a whole. (3)
13.7 Refer to line 31: 'Would you would bear your fortune like a man!'
Is Iago's assessment of Othello's behaviour as being unmanly at this point in

the play, justified? Motivate your response. (3)
13.8 Refer to lines 9–12: 'Work on, My … guiltless, meet reproach.'
If you were the director of a production of Othello, how would you instruct the
actor to deliver these lines? Pay specific attention to body language and tone.
Motivate your instructions. (3)
13.9 Refer to lines 32–34: 'A horned man's … a civil monster.'
Comment on how Othello and Iago's views on marriage influence Othello's

actions later in the play. (3)
[25]

SC/NSC
THE CRUCIBLE – ARTHUR MILLER

question).
QUESTION 14: THE CRUCIBLE – ESSAY QUESTION
In The Crucible, Abigail is a complex character who might be perceived as a saint.
Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement.
(2–2½ pages). [25]
QUESTION 15: THE CRUCIBLE – CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
EXTRACT I
PARRIS (smiling, but nervous because Danforth seems to be struck by Mary

Warren's story): Surely Your Excellency is not taken by this simple lie.
DANFORTH (turning worriedly to Abigail): Abigail, I bid you now search your heart
and tell me this – and beware of it, child, to God every soul is precious
and His vengeance is terrible on them that take life without cause. Is it 5
possible, child, that the spirits you have seen are illusion only, some
deception that may cross your mind when –
ABIGAIL Why, this – this – is a base question, sir.
DANFORTH Child, I would have you consider it –
ABIGAIL I have been hurt, Mr Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin' out! 10
I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty
pointing out the Devil's people – and this is my reward? To be
mistrusted, denied, questioned like a –
DANFORTH (weakening): Child, I do not mistrust you –
ABIGAIL (in an open threat): Let you beware, Mr Danforth. Think you to be so 15
mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it!
There is – (Suddenly, from an accusatory attitude, her face turns,
looking into the air above – it is truly frightened.)
DANFORTH (apprehensively): What is it, child?
ABIGAIL (looking about in the air, clasping her arms about her as though cold): 20
I know not. A wind, a cold wind, has come. (Her eyes fall on Mary
Warren.)
MARY (terrified, pleading): Abby!
[Act 3]
15.1 Explain the 'story' (line 2) that Mary Warren has come to tell the court. (2)
15.2 How has Parris contributed to the current state of affairs in Salem? (3)
15.3 Refer to lines 4–5: '… to God every ... life without cause.'
Discuss the irony in these lines. (3)

SC/NSC
15.4 In your view, is Abigail's behaviour in this extract consistent with her
behaviour elsewhere in the play? Justify your response by drawing on your
knowledge of the play as a whole. (3)
AND
EXTRACT J
ELIZABETH (now pouring out her heart): Better you should know me!
PROCTOR I will not hear it! I know you!
ELIZABETH You take my sins upon you, John –
PROCTOR (in agony): No, I take my own, my own!
ELIZABETH John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could 5
come to me! Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I
should say my love. It were a cold house I kept! (In fright, she
swerves, as HATHORNE enters.)
HATHORNE What say you, Proctor? The sun is soon up.
PROCTOR, his chest heaving, stares, turns to Elizabeth. She comes 10
to him as though to plead, her voice quaking.
ELIZABETH Do what you will. But let none be your judge. There be no higher judge
under Heaven than Proctor is! Forgive me, forgive me, John – I never
knew such goodness in the world! (She covers her face, weeping.)
PROCTOR turns from her to Hathorne; he is off the earth, his voice 15
hollow.
PROCTOR I want my life.
HATHORNE (electrified, surprised): You'll confess yourself?
PROCTOR I will have my life.
HATHORNE (with a mystical tone): God be praised! It is providence! (He rushes out 20
the door, and his voice is heard calling down the corridor.) He will
confess! Proctor will confess!
PROCTOR (with a cry, as he strides to the door): Why do you cry it? (In great pain
he turns back to her.) It is evil, is it not? It is evil.
ELIZABETH (in terror, weeping): I cannot judge you, John, I cannot! 25
PROCTOR Then who will judge me? (suddenly clasping his hands.) God in
Heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor?
[Act 4]
15.6 Explain how this extract demonstrates the change in Elizabeth and
John's relationship. (3)
15.7 Refer to lines 21–22: 'He will confess! Proctor will confess!'
Discuss why it is important for the court that Proctor confesses to

witchcraft. (3)

SC/NSC
15.8 Refer to line 19: 'I will have my life.'
If you were the director of a production of The Crucible, how would you
instruct the actor to deliver these lines? Motivate your instructions with
reference to both body language and tone. (3)
15.9 Proctor's decisions in the play are motivated by his concern for his reputation.
Using EXTRACT J as a starting point, critically discuss the extent to which

you agree with this statement. (3)
[25]
TOTAL SECTION C: 25
GRAND TOTAL: 80
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GRAAD 12

SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS

ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE P2

This question paper consists of 27 pages.

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INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION

3. This question paper consists of THREE sections:

SECTION A: Poetry (30)

4. Answer FIVE questions in all: THREE in SECTION A, ONE in SECTION B

5. CHOICE OF ANSWERS FOR SECTIONS B (NOVEL) AND C (DRAMA):

 The essay question on Poetry should be answered in about 250–300

7. Follow the instructions at the beginning of each section carefully.

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8. Number your answers correctly according to the numbering system used in

9. Start EACH section on a NEW page.

10. Suggested time management:

SECTION A: approximately 40 minutes

11. Write neatly and legibly.

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Prescribed Poetry: Answer ANY TWO questions.

2. 'The Zulu Girl' Contextual question 10 7

3. 'Funeral Blues' Contextual question 10 8

4. 'Remember' Contextual question 10 9

Answer ONE question.*

7. The Picture of Dorian Gray Contextual question 25 11

8. Life of Pi Essay question 25 14

9. Life of Pi Contextual question 25 14

Answer ONE question.*

11. Hamlet Contextual question 25 17

12. Othello Essay question 25 21

13. Othello Contextual question 25 21

14. The Crucible Essay question 25 25

15. The Crucible Contextual question 25 25

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Answer any TWO of the following questions.

QUESTION 1: ESSAY QUESTION

AN AFRICAN THUNDERSTORM – David Rubadiri

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QUESTION 2: CONTEXTUAL QUESTION

THE ZULU GIRL – Roy Campbell

1 When in the sun the hot red acres smoulder,

5 She takes him to a ring of shadow pooled

9 His sleepy mouth, plugged by the heavy nipple,

13 Yet in that drowsy stream his flesh imbibes

17 Her body looms above him like a hill

2.2 Refer to lines 5–6: 'She takes him … By thorn-trees'.

Discuss the atmosphere created in this image. (2)

2.3 Refer to lines 19–20: 'Or the first … in its breast.'

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QUESTION 3: CONTEXTUAL QUESTION

FUNERAL BLUES – WH Auden

1 Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

5 Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

9 He was my North, my South, my East and West,

Why does the speaker give these instructions? (2)

3.2 Refer to line 12: 'I was wrong.'

3.3 Refer to lines 10–11: 'My working week … talk, my song'.

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QUESTION 4: CONTEXTUAL QUESTION