English Literature A-Level

Death and the afterlife

What Death and the afterlife means in English Literature A-Level, as defined for OCR, Pearson Edexcel.

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Reference: Pearson Edexcel

The grave imagery through which Donne subverts traditional fears of death, asserting that the lovers' souls will remain united eternally.

Pearson Edexcel · Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – Metaphysical Poetry – John Donne Selected Poems (Penguin Classics, 2006) (study guide)

Death figured not as an end but as an 'inn' providing universal sanctuary and rest, with the promise of spiritual salvation.

OCR · 5c. Component 01 – Drama and poetry pre-1900 selected poems - Christina Rossetti – Selected Poems

The silent, invisible state of the ghostly speaker, contrasted with the vibrant, sensory world of the living.

Pearson Edexcel · Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – The Victorian Period – Christina Rossetti Selected Poems, editor Dinah Roe (Penguin, 2008) (study guide)

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