GCSEEnglish LiteratureAQAExam Questions4. The Poetry AnthologyPower & Conflict

Power & Conflict (AQA GCSE English Literature): Exam Questions

Exam code: 8702

13 hours286 questions

Select a download format for Power & Conflict

Scroll for more

Select an answer set to view for
Power & Conflict

Easy
Medium
Hard
11 mark

Who is the speaker in Storm on the Island?

  • an individual soldier on patrol

  • a collective community voice

  • a priest in a church

  • a fisherman at sea

Choose your answer

21 mark

Why are trees not planted near the houses?

  • the soil is too rocky for roots

  • the sea air poisons plants

  • the wind would uproot them

  • the farmers dislike trees

Choose your answer

31 mark

What is compared to a tame animal in the poem?

  • the sea

  •  the wind

  • the roof

  • the lightning

Choose your answer

41 mark

What effect is created by the oxymoron “exploding comfortably”?

  • It shows how nature can be violent yet distant.

  • It shows the speaker enjoys the storm.

  •  It shows the houses are completely safe.

  • It shows explosions from war are nearby.

Choose your answer

51 mark

What is the effect of the phrase “the wizened earth has never troubled us”?

  • It shows the land is harsh but rarely dangerous.

  • It shows the land is fertile and therefore reassuring.

  • It shows the land is young but still untested.

  • It shows the land is barren but not threatening.

Choose your answer

61 mark

What is the effect of the line “it is a huge nothing that we fear”?

  • It shows fear comes from an invisible, intangible force.

  • It shows the storm is only noise without real danger.

  • It shows the villagers fear the silence after a storm.

  • It shows the storm’s power is exaggerated in memory.

Choose your answer

71 mark

What is suggested by the use of military language in the poem?

  • that the island is preparing for battle against enemy soldiers

  • that the storm feels like a physical war against nature

  • that the government sends troops to help the island

  • that the villagers are trained as soldiers

Choose your answer

81 mark

What central theme is expressed in Storm on the Island?

  • the power of nature over human life

  • the security found in strong communities

  • human ability to withstand and control nature

  • the comfort of home in times of danger

Choose your answer

11 mark

What is revealed by Heaney’s use of the collective “we” in the poem’s opening?

  • It distances the speaker from the community, stressing isolation.

  • It builds a sense of shared endurance and mutual vulnerability.

  • It exaggerates the danger by suggesting everyone feels the same panic.

  • It makes the poem sound impersonal, like a weather report rather than emotion.

Choose your answer

21 mark

What attitude towards the island’s harsh landscape is shown in the building imagery of “rock” and “slate”?

  • respectful acceptance of a tough environment that demands effort and adaptation

  • frustration that the barren ground prevents beauty or comfort

  • confidence that human design can permanently control the weather

  • admiration for the scenery as a symbol of artistic creativity

Choose your answer

31 mark

Which technique most effectively conveys the storm’s unpredictability and violence?

  • harsh alliteration and brief pauses that show the storm striking in sudden bursts

  • personification that makes the storm appear both threatening and strangely human

  •  jarring shifts in tone between calm and panic that suggest changing emotional control

  • forceful verbs and fragmented imagery that plunge the reader into turbulence and fear

Choose your answer

41 mark

What does presenting the poem as one long stanza most strongly achieve?

  • The single block neatly divides the experience into ordered stages.

  • The single block makes the account feel calm, regular, and controlled.

  • The single block sustains relentless pressure, mirroring an unbroken assault.

  • The single block shortens the storm’s duration and contains the threat.

Choose your answer

51 mark

Why does Heaney compare the spray to “a tame cat turned savage”?

  • to show how something once safe and familiar can suddenly become violent and uncontrollable

  • to suggest that nature’s calm appearance can briefly disguise its underlying threat

  • to imply that the aggression of the storm reflects human fear more than real and present danger

  • to show how homely, everyday images can only partly capture nature’s violent energy

Choose your answer

61 mark

What broader view of humanity’s place in nature is implied by the ending?

  • People ultimately command natural forces through ingenuity and courage.

  • Enduring humility and acceptance, not control, enable survival beside vast power.

  • Nature offers moral guidance, rewarding virtue and punishing arrogance.

  • Fear is temporary and ends once the storm’s damage is repaired.

Choose your answer

11 mark

How do Storm on the Island and Ozymandias present humanity’s attempts to control natural power?

  • Both show humanity believing it can master nature — Heaney’s “we are prepared” and Shelley’s “Look on my works” reveal arrogance undermined by destruction.

  • Both suggest humanity and nature exist in balance — Heaney’s “we are prepared” sounds confident, while Shelley’s “colossal wreck” implies nature’s acceptance of decay.

  • Storm on the Island shows humans powerless before nature, whereas Ozymandias seems to glorify the “king of kings” who defies time and desert alike.

  • Both claim human creativity resists destruction — Heaney’s island endures storms, and Shelley’s sculptor immortalises pride through “hand that mocked them.”

Choose your answer

21 mark

How do Storm on the Island and The Prelude explore humanity’s fear of nature?

  • Both portray awe turning to dread — Heaney’s “huge nothing that we fear” and Wordsworth’s “struck and struck again” show realisation of insignificance.

  • Storm on the Island shows confident mastery, while The Prelude shows a joyous connection with nature.

  • Both suggest fear arises from misunderstanding, which is quickly resolved through reason.

  • Storm on the Island treats fear as communal strength, whereas The Prelude sees fear as childish exaggeration.

Choose your answer

31 mark

Which interpretation best explains how Storm on the Island and The Prelude depict conflict between humanity and the natural world?

  • Both dramatise nature’s overwhelming power — Heaney through violent imagery of attack, Wordsworth through a psychological storm of conscience.

  •  Storm on the Island shows peace after the storm, while The Prelude ends in chaos and despair.

  • Both treat nature as nurturing; fear arises only from human imagination.

  • Storm on the Island views nature as divine punishment, while The Prelude denies moral meaning.

Choose your answer