The texts: genres, composition and techniques - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (War and Warfare) Exam Questions

Practise 30 exam-style questions on The texts: genres, composition and techniques for OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (War and Warfare). 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.

30 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

Source A: Horace, Odes 3.2

'dulce et decorum est pro patria mori'

Translate this line into English.

Model answer

It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.

Explanation

This is the most famous line of Odes 3.2, at the start of the third stanza, and it sums up the patriotic message of the Roman Odes. It echoes Greek war poetry such as Tyrtaeus' 'it is a fine thing for a brave man to die... fighting for his homeland'. During the First World War Wilfred Owen took the phrase as the title of his poem and rejected it, so modern readers often hear it ironically, which Horace's first readers would not have done.

Mark scheme

1 mark
It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country
The whole sense is needed: 'sweet' (or pleasant/delightful) AND 'fitting' (or proper/right/honourable/glorious) AND 'to die for one's country' (or homeland/fatherland/native land). Accept close paraphrases such as 'It is sweet and honourable to die for your country'.

Question 2

2 marks

Give two reasons why the story of Aeneas was useful to the emperor Augustus.

Model answer

The Julian family, into which Augustus was adopted, claimed descent from Aeneas' son Iulus, so the story gave Augustus a heroic ancestor and the goddess Venus as his ancestress. It also showed that Rome's foundation was planned by fate and the gods, which made Augustus' rule look like the fulfilment of Rome's destiny.

Explanation

Virgil makes these links clear in Book 2: the harmless flame on Iulus' head is an omen of his family's future, and Creusa's ghost foretells a kingdom in Hesperia. Aeneas' pietas, carrying his father and the household gods out of Troy, embodied the values Augustus wanted Romans to admire. Answers need a specific link to Augustus, not just 'it was a good story'.

Mark scheme

1 mark
A valid reason, e.g. Augustus' family, the Julii, claimed descent from Aeneas' son Iulus and so from the goddess Venus
Two from (max 2): the Julian family (into which Augustus was adopted) claimed descent from Aeneas' son Iulus / Ascanius, and so from Venus - divine ancestry (1); it gave Rome a heroic and divinely guided origin / showed Rome's destiny was planned by fate and the gods (1); Aeneas' pietas (duty to gods, family and country) modelled the values Augustus promoted (1); it presented Rome's history as leading to Augustus' rule (1); after the civil wars, a story of a people rising from the ruins of Troy to found a new city suited Augustus' claim to restore Rome (1); it gave Rome a national epic to rival Homer and Greek culture (1). Credit other valid points.
1 mark
A second, different reason
As above.

Question 3

4 marks

Source A: Homer, Iliad 24

'Great Priam came in unseen by them, and standing close he clasped Achilles' knees in his hands and kissed his hands, those terrible, man-slaying hands that had killed many of his sons. As when a heavy madness takes hold of a man, so that he kills someone in his own country and comes to the land of strangers, to the house of a rich man, and wonder seizes those who see him: so Achilles was amazed when he saw godlike Priam, and the others were amazed too, and looked at one another.'

How does Homer make this moment powerful? Make two points.

Model answer

Homer stresses how painful Priam's gesture is: he kisses 'those terrible, man-slaying hands that had killed many of his sons', so we feel the cost of his humility. The simile is also surprising: Priam is compared to a murderer who comes as an exile to a rich man's house, although Achilles is the real killer, and the amazement of Achilles and his men, who 'looked at one another', creates suspense about how he will react.

Explanation

This is the turning point of the Iliad's final book: the king of Troy supplicates the man who killed Hector. The simile reverses the expected roles, which makes the scene strange and powerful. Strong answers explain the effect of the detail on the audience as well as quoting it.

Mark scheme

2 marks
First point with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid point about how Homer makes the moment powerful, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation from the passage 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.
Two pairs from, e.g.: emotive description of Achilles' hands reminds us what Priam has lost (1) - 'terrible, man-slaying hands that had killed many of his sons' (1); Priam's humility as a suppliant (1) - 'clasped Achilles' knees... and kissed his hands' (1); a surprising, reversed simile (1) - Priam is compared to a killer seeking refuge, though it is Achilles who has killed (1); suspense created by the onlookers' amazement (1) - 'Achilles was amazed... the others were amazed too, and looked at one another' (1); contrast between Priam's royal dignity and his humiliation (1) - 'Great Priam', 'godlike Priam' (1); tension of his secret arrival (1) - 'came in unseen by them' (1). The second pair must make a different point from the first. Credit a relevant reference (1) even if the point is weak. Points must come from the passage.
2 marks
Second, different point with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid point, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation from the passage 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 point from the first.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Tyrtaeus, Fragment 10

'For it is a fine thing for a brave man to die, falling among the front-line fighters,
fighting for his homeland.
But to leave his own city and rich fields
and go begging is the most painful thing of all,
wandering with his dear mother and aged father,
with his little children and his wedded wife.
He will be hated by everyone he comes to,
giving way to need and hateful poverty;
he shames his family and disgraces his noble looks,
and every kind of dishonour and misery follows him.
If, then, no one cares for a wandering man,
and there is no respect for him or for his family after him,
let us fight with all our heart for this land, and die for our children,
no longer sparing our lives.'

To what extent does Tyrtaeus rely on emotive language to persuade his audience? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge of the poem.

Model answer

Tyrtaeus relies heavily on emotive language, but he combines it with argument, appeals to shame and practical instruction.

In Source A he paints two opposite pictures. Dying 'among the front-line fighters' is called 'a fine thing', while the coward's fate is 'the most painful thing of all'. The picture of the exile 'wandering with his dear mother and aged father, with his little children and his wedded wife' is designed to make every listener imagine his own family reduced to begging. Words such as 'hated', 'hateful poverty', 'shames his family' and 'every kind of dishonour and misery' pile up to make running away seem worse than death. For a Spartan, losing the war meant losing the land that gave him his status as a citizen, so this would hit hard.

The rest of the poem is even more emotive. Tyrtaeus describes an older man lying dead in front of the young, his head white and his beard grey, breathing out his life in the dust and clutching his bloody groin, his body stripped - a sight of shame and horror. Against this he sets the young man in the shining flower of youth, admired by men and desired by women, and 'beautiful when he falls among the front-line fighters'.

However, emotive language is not his only tool. The poem is built as an argument: 'If, then, no one cares for a wandering man... let us fight'. He uses direct address and commands ('Young men, fight standing firm beside one another') and the inclusive 'let us', and he ends with practical advice to stand with both feet planted, 'biting his lip', which suits hoplites who had to hold their place in the line. He also borrows Homer's language: the dead old man echoes Priam's speech in Iliad 22, which gives his message heroic authority.

Overall, emotive language is Tyrtaeus' main weapon, because his aim was to make citizens prefer death to disgrace, but its force comes from being combined with a clear argument and the direct commands of a battlefield poet.

Explanation

A strong answer analyses the emotive language of the source (family, poverty, shame) and of the rest of the poem (the old man and the young man), then weighs other techniques: argument, imperatives, practical instructions and Homeric echoes. The Spartan context explains why the threat of exile and dishonour was so powerful. A clear judgement 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 Fragment 10, using both Source A and own wider knowledge of the poem; very good understanding of the Spartan context and of how the original audience would respond; a well-argued response with a clear, substantiated judgement on how far Tyrtaeus relies on emotive language, supported by a range of well-selected evidence, including critical analysis of his other techniques.
Level 3 (5-6 marks): accurate knowledge, using both Source A and own knowledge of the poem; a focused response with relevant analysis of emotive language and other techniques, and a judgement.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): sound, mostly accurate knowledge; engages with the general topic of persuasion; limited range of evidence; some analysis.
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 - dying 'among the front-line fighters' is 'a fine thing'; begging is 'the most painful thing of all'; the exile wanders with 'his dear mother and aged father... his little children and his wedded wife'; 'hated', 'hateful poverty', 'shames his family', 'every kind of dishonour and misery'; 'let us fight... and die for our children'. Own knowledge of the poem - young men, stand together and do not begin shameful flight; do not abandon the old men whose knees are no longer nimble; the shocking picture of the old man lying in front of the young, white-haired and grey-bearded, breathing out his life in the dust, clutching his bloody genitals, his body stripped; 'everything is fitting' for the young man in the flower of youth, admired by men and desired by women, beautiful when he falls; 'stand firm, both feet planted, biting his lip'. Context - 7th-century Sparta, the Second Messenian War; a defeated citizen would lose his land (worked by helots) and his status; hoplites depended on each man holding his place; the poems were heard on campaign. AO2: emotive language is central - family imagery, shame, horror and beauty make death preferable to disgrace; but Tyrtaeus also argues logically ('If, then... let us fight'); uses imperatives, direct address and the inclusive 'let us'; gives practical battlefield instructions; borrows Homeric language and ideals (the old man echoes Priam's speech in Iliad 22), giving his message heroic authority; contrast and structure (death v. exile, old v. young). Judgement - e.g. emotive language is his main weapon, but its force comes from being combined with argument and direct command.

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