Pearson Edexcel International GCSE In English Literature (4ET1) Paper 1R: Poetry and Modern Prose, Mark Scheme (Results) January 2022

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Question Number Indicative content 1 Examiners should be alert to a variety of responses and should reward points that are clearly based on evidence from the text. Evidence of a degree of persona... l response must be given. It is not sufficient to summarise or paraphrase, nor is it sufficient simply to list literary devices. The writer’s descriptive skills: • the speaker describes an imaginary friend, Brendon Gallacher, who is said to be one year older than the speaker: ‘He was seven and I was six’ • details and contrasts are given about the nationalities of the friends, ‘He was Irish and I was Scottish’, but both live in Glasgow: ‘He’d get his mum out of Glasgow’ • the speaker describes how their families differ: ‘His father was in prison’; ‘my father was a communist party full-time worker’. Brendon ‘had six brothers and I had one’ • Brendon Gallacher is described as being in charge: ‘hold my hand and take me’ • Brendon’s childhood is described as being difficult and full of troubles as he lives with a mother who drinks and his father ‘was a cat burglar’. The speaker prefers to keep the fact that the friendship is imaginary secret so makes the excuse that Brendon has ‘big holes in his trousers’ when the speaker’s mother invites Brendon to dinner • the speaker reveals how his/her mother questions the truth of Brendon’s existence, stating that ‘there are no Gallachers at 24 Novar’ and how after this, the imaginary friend dies in the speaker’s mind ‘Flat out’ on the bedroom floor • Brendon’s physical appearance is only described at the end of the poem, suggesting that his personality is more important to the speaker. The writer’s choice of language: • the use of the personal pronoun ‘my’ emphasises how the speaker sees Brendon as his/her very own property: ‘my Brendon Gallacher’ • the alliterative ‘hold my hand and take me by the river’ in the largely monosyllabic line emphasises childhood innocence and companionship • childish lexicon is used to suggest feelings as a child: ‘his daddy was a cat burglar’ • repetition is used to emphasise the imaginary better place: ‘some place nice. Some place far’, suggesting that Brendon wishes to be far away from his current situation • the asyndetic list describes Brendon’s physical appearance in an almost cartoonlike fashion: ‘his spiky hair, / His impish grin, his funny flapping ear’. The use of adjectives ‘spiky’ and ‘impish’ suggest that Brendon is mischievous and the alliterative ‘funny flapping’ draws attention to the detail, suggesting that Brendon can be naughty • Scottish dialect or colloquialisms are used with references to ‘A wee holiday’ and ‘the burn’ • the use of contractions gives the poem an informal and playful tone: ‘He’d get’, ‘I’d tell’, ‘She’d say’. https://britishstudentroom-b430a.web.app/6 The writer’s use of form and structure: • the poem is structured in five stanzas each of five lines. There is a clear developmental structure, with the third and fourth stanzas acting as a pivot in the narrative, almost like a volta. The poem is possibly autobiographical and is an elegy for an imaginary friend who dies, along with childhood innocence • the use of the refrain ‘my Brendon Gallacher’ is repeated. Where it is not used in the mother’s section, it serves to differentiate the speaker’s narrative from the mother’s dialogue and her conversation with the speaker • the use of the mother’s questions shows her curiosity about the child’s stories • the use of ‘One day’ and the past tense gives a story-like feel to the narrative • enjambement between the stanzas about the mother builds to the climax • the caesura adds emphasis, such as the repetitive ‘some place nice. Some place far’, suggesting that the only ‘nice’ place is far away • the final line repeats the refrain. The repeated ‘oh’ gives the poem a tone of sadness, regret and loss. These examples are suggestions only. Accept any valid responses [Show More]

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