Pliny's letters - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Roman City Life) Exam Questions

Practise 36 exam-style questions on Pliny's letters for OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (Roman City Life). Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.

36 questions
1–15 marks each
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20 questions, marked as you go

Sample questions with model answers

Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.

Question 1

1 mark

Zosimus, the subject of Pliny's Letter 5.19, was Pliny's freedman.

What was a freedman?

Model answer

A former slave who had been given his freedom by his master.

Explanation

A freedman (libertus) remained bound to his former master, now his patron, by duties of respect and service; Zosimus still performs and reads for Pliny. In return a good patron looked after his freedmen, as Pliny does by paying for Zosimus' journeys to recover his health.

Mark scheme

1 mark
A former slave who had been freed (manumitted) by his master
Accept 'an ex-slave'. Do not accept 'a free-born man', 'a slave' or 'a client'.

Question 2

2 marks

Source A: Pliny, Letters 4.19

'Nothing else would suit a girl brought up by your hands and trained by your teaching, who saw nothing in your household that was not pure and honourable, and who learned to love me through your praise of me. For you respected my mother like a parent, and from my boyhood you used to guide me, praise me and predict that I would become the man my wife now thinks I am. So we compete with each other in thanking you - I because you gave her to me, she because you gave me to her, as if you had chosen us for each other.'

Why does Pliny thank Calpurnia Hispulla? Give two reasons from the passage.

Model answer

Pliny thanks her because she brought Calpurnia up with a pure and honourable upbringing, and because she taught Calpurnia to love him by praising him, so that she gave them to each other as if she had chosen them for each other.

Explanation

Pliny presents his marriage as the result of good family connections: Hispulla respected his mother and admired him from boyhood. Marriages among wealthy Romans were usually arranged by families, so thanking the aunt who raised the bride was both affectionate and socially proper.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Any one from: she brought Calpurnia up and taught her / gave her a pure and honourable upbringing / she taught Calpurnia to love Pliny by praising him / she gave them to each other (arranged the marriage) as if she had chosen them for each other / she had guided and praised Pliny since boyhood and predicted the man he would become
Two different reasons, one mark each; max 2. Reasons must come from the passage.
1 mark
A second, different reason from the list above
Must be different from the first.

Question 3

4 marks

Source A: Pliny, Letters 3.14

'Larcius Macedo, a man of praetorian rank, has suffered a dreadful fate at the hands of his own slaves - something too terrible for a mere letter. He was, it is true, an arrogant and cruel master in other ways, a man who remembered too little - or rather too much - that his own father had been a slave.'

Later in the letter Pliny adds a story:

'Once, when Macedo was bathing at a public bath in Rome, a Roman eques was touched lightly by one of Macedo's slaves, who wanted him to make way. The eques turned round and struck, not the slave who had touched him, but Macedo himself, with the flat of his hand, so hard that he almost fell over.'

What impressions do you gain of Larcius Macedo from these passages? Make two points.

Model answer

Macedo seems arrogant and cruel: Pliny openly calls him 'an arrogant and cruel master', and even in the public baths he expected his slave to clear a path for him. He also seems to have been resented by others, because the Roman eques who was pushed struck 'not the slave... but Macedo himself', so hard that he almost fell over.

Explanation

Pliny gives a mixed picture: Macedo is a victim of a 'dreadful fate', but also a harsh master whose slave background Pliny mentions pointedly. Pliny presents the slap at the public baths as an omen: the baths were for Macedo first the scene of an insult and later the scene of his death.

Mark scheme

2 marks
First impression with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression of Macedo, 1 mark for a relevant reference to or quotation from the passages that supports it. The evidence mark is awarded for a relevant reference or quotation even if the impression is missing, weak or wrong. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.
Two pairs from, e.g.: arrogant / proud (1) - 'an arrogant... master' / he expected others to make way for him (1); cruel to his slaves (1) - 'cruel master' (1); insecure / touchy about his origins (1) - he remembered 'too much' that his father had been a slave (1); successful / had risen high from humble origins (1) - 'a man of praetorian rank' although his father was a slave (1); self-important / used his slaves to push others aside (1) - his slave touched the eques so that he would 'make way' (1); disliked / resented by others (1) - the eques struck Macedo himself, not the slave (1); humiliated / unlucky (1) - struck so hard 'that he almost fell over' / 'a dreadful fate' (1). The second pair must make a different point. Points must come from the passages.
2 marks
Second, different impression with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression of Macedo, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation that supports it. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.
As above; must be a different impression from the first point.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Pliny, Letters 9.6

'I have spent all this time among my writing tablets and my books in the most pleasant peace. "How," you ask, "could you do that in the city?" The races were on, and that kind of show does not hold my interest in the slightest... When I think of these men sitting so insatiably at something so pointless, so dull, so repetitive, I take some pleasure in the fact that this pleasure does not take hold of me. And so during these days, which others waste in the idlest of occupations, I have been very happily spending my leisure on literature.'

To what extent do Pliny's letters present him as a serious man of letters? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A shows Pliny presenting himself as a serious man of letters. He has spent his days 'among my writing tablets and my books', and while thousands watch the races he spends his leisure on literature, mocking those who waste their days 'in the idlest of occupations'. Even his witty play on 'pleasure' shows a writer enjoying words. The same image appears in 1.9, where at Laurentum he reads and writes, talks 'only with myself and my books' and criticises himself only 'when I write badly'. In 4.19 literature even shapes his marriage: Calpurnia reads and learns his books by heart, sets his verses to the lyre and listens to his readings. In 5.19 he praises Zosimus as a reader of speeches, histories and poems and quotes Homer.

However, this is not the whole picture. Pliny is also a busy public man: in 4.19 he is proud of his speeches in court, of the applause and of the verdicts that messengers report to Calpurnia. He presents himself as a kind master and patron in 5.19 and 2.6, and some letters are simply lively news, like the story of Macedo in 3.14, which he writes partly because he has paper left and a holiday to fill. His enjoyment of praise suggests vanity as much as seriousness, and the contrast with the racing crowd in Source A may be a pose to make him look superior.

Overall, the letters present Pliny very strongly as a man of letters - the published letters themselves are polished literary works - but this is one part of a wider image of the ideal cultured senator: lawyer, patron, master and husband as well as writer.

Explanation

Good answers combine Source A with several other letters and then test the image: Pliny's public career, his practical letters and his love of praise complicate the picture of a pure scholar. A judgement on how far the image holds, and why Pliny projects it, is needed for Level 4.

Mark scheme

8 marks
Levels of response (8 marks). AO1 (4) and AO2 (4) are equally weighted.
Level 4 (7-8 marks): consistently accurate and detailed knowledge of how Pliny presents himself, using both Source A and own wider knowledge of the letters (e.g. study at Laurentum in 1.9, Calpurnia and his books and readings in 4.19, Zosimus' reading in 5.19, his roles as lawyer, master and host); very good understanding of the context (the ideal of cultured leisure, publication of the letters) and of possible interpretations; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement, supported by a range of well-selected evidence, including critical analysis.
Level 3 (5-6 marks): accurate knowledge, using both Source A and own knowledge of other letters; good understanding of the context; a focused response with relevant analysis and a judgement.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): sound, mostly accurate knowledge; engages with the general topic with a limited range of evidence; some analysis; any judgement is undeveloped.
Level 1 (1-2 marks): limited knowledge, may only use Source A; isolated analysis with little or no judgement.
0 marks: no response or no response worthy of credit.
A mainly descriptive or narrative answer with little analysis or judgement cannot go above Level 2.
Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): AO1: Source A - days spent among his writing tablets and books; the races do not interest him at all; others waste their days in idle occupations while he spends his leisure on literature; the play on 'pleasure'. 1.9 - at Laurentum he reads and writes, talks only with himself and his books, criticises himself when he writes badly; 'O sea, O shore, my true and private home of the Muses'; advice to give oneself to study or leisure. 4.19 - Calpurnia reads and learns his books by heart, sets his verses to the lyre, listens to his readings; his speeches in court. 5.19 - values Zosimus' skill at reading speeches, histories and poems; quotes Homer. 2.6 - moral advice to Avitus. 3.14 - chatty news and gossip, written because he has paper and a holiday to fill. Context: his letters themselves are polished literary works published in nine books; recitations and literary circles; a senator, lawyer and consul. AO2: For - he consistently contrasts his literary leisure with others' wasted time; literature runs through his family and household; the polished style itself shows his literary ambition. Against - he is also a busy public man (lawyer, senator) proud of applause and verdicts; he is a master, husband and patron with practical concerns (5.19 is a request for a favour); some letters are news and gossip (3.14); the self-portrait is selective and may be a pose; his pleasure in praise suggests vanity rather than pure seriousness. Possible judgement: being a man of letters is central to the image he chooses to present, but it is one part of a wider self-portrait as the ideal cultured senator.

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