Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · English Literature
Course version: 9ET0 · Version from Sept 2015
Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Post-1900 – The…
Full specification wording
Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Post-1900 – The Modernist Period – T S Eliot: Selected Poems (Faber, 2009): II. A Game of Chess
'A Game of Chess', the second section of 'The Waste Land', explores the breakdown of human connection and the sterility of modern relationships across different social classes.
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9ET0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 3 of 7
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
'A Game of Chess', the second section of 'The Waste Land', explores the breakdown of human connection and the sterility of modern relationships across different social classes. Eliot contrasts the opulent, claustrophobic setting of an upper-class woman—evoking Shakespeare's Cleopatra but devoid of her tragic grandeur—with the stark, colloquial pub conversation of working-class women discussing abortion and infidelity. The section highlights the universal inability to communicate, epitomised by the desperate, unanswered questions of the wealthy woman.
What earns the marks
- Analyse the structural juxtaposition between the wealthy woman's opulent boudoir and the working-class pub setting.
- Evaluate the use of sensory imagery and synthetic perfumes to create a claustrophobic, sterile atmosphere in the opening stanza.
- Explore the significance of the Philomel myth depicted in the tapestry, symbolising silenced voices and sexual violence.
- Assess the use of colloquial dialogue and the recurring pub call 'HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME' to convey urgency and mortality.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Assuming the two halves of the section are entirely disconnected.
Put it right: Draw thematic parallels between the two settings, noting that both depict loveless, transactional relationships and female suffering.
Overlooking the significance of the title.
Put it right: Explain the allusion to Middleton's 'Women Beware Women', where a game of chess distracts from a seduction or rape, linking to the theme of sexual exploitation.
Misinterpreting the pub scene as purely comedic.
Put it right: Analyse the tragic undertones of Lil's physical decay and the casual discussion of abortion in a post-war context.
Exam tips
- Contrast the elevated, blank verse of the opening with the fragmented, colloquial speech of the pub scene to demonstrate Eliot's mastery of different registers.
- Use the motif of the 'withered stumps of time' to discuss how the past intrudes upon and degrades the present.
- Connect the lack of meaningful communication in this section to the broader Modernist theme of isolation in the modern world.
Try the lesson
The start of the Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Post-1900 – The Modernist Period – T S Eliot: Selected Poems (Faber, 2009): II. A Game of Chess lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
Which two contrasting settings are depicted in Section II, 'A Game of Chess', to illustrate the pervasive nature of modern spiritual emptiness?
Listen
A Game of Chess', the second section of 'The Waste Land', explores the breakdown of human connection and the sterility of modern relationships across different social classes. Eliot contrasts the opulent, claustrophobic setting of an upper-class woman—evoking Shakespeare's Cleopatra but devoid of her tragic grandeur—with the stark, colloquial pub conversation of working-class women discussing abortion and infidelity. The section highlights the universal inability to communicate, epitomised by the desperate, unanswered questions of the wealthy woman. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Analyse the structural juxtaposition between the wealthy woman's opulent boudoir and the working-class pub setting. Evaluate the use of sensory imagery and synthetic perfumes to create a claustrophobic, sterile atmosphere in the opening stanza. Explore the significance of the Philomel myth depicted in the tapestry, symbolising silenced voices and sexual violence. Assess the use of colloquial dialogue and the recurring pub call 'HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME' to convey urgency and mortality. A common slip: Assuming the two halves of the section are entirely disconnected. Instead, Draw thematic parallels between the two settings, noting that both depict loveless, transactional relationships and female suffering. Exam tip: Contrast the elevated, blank verse of the opening with the fragmented, colloquial speech of the pub scene to demonstrate Eliot's mastery of different registers.
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Breakdown of communication
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Class disparity
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Sexual sterility and exploitation
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Isolation
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
See every definition
- Breakdown of communication
- The failure of human connection, epitomised by the wealthy woman's desperate, unanswered questions and the section's universal inability to communicate.
- Class disparity
- The contrast between the opulent, claustrophobic setting of an upper-class woman and the stark, colloquial pub conversation of working-class women.
- Sexual sterility and exploitation
- Loveless, transactional relationships, with chess as a metaphor for sexual deception and the allusion to Middleton's play linking to sexual exploitation.
- Isolation
- A broader Modernist theme of the modern world, connected to the lack of meaningful communication in this section.
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