5e. Literature post-1900 (Non-exam assessment component) suggested texts - THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD — OCR A-Level English Literature
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5e. Literature post-1900 (Non-exam assessment component) suggested texts - THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD explained
Seamus Heaney’s 2006 poetry collection, District and Circle, offers a profound exploration of the contemporary world through the lens of memory, conflict, and modernity.
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For the Non-exam assessment (NEA), students must analyse how Heaney connects the subterranean modern environment of the London Underground to the rural landscapes of his Irish past and the global anxieties of the post-9/11 era. Poems like the title track 'District and Circle' or 'The Tollund Man in Springtime' provide rich material for exploring themes of violence, technological shift, and human resilience. Students should evaluate Heaney's poetic methods, such as his use of tactile imagery, enjambment, and classical allusions, to articulate the complexities of 21st-century existence and historical continuity.
Jerusalem Jez Butterworth 2009 Drama
Jez Butterworth’s 2009 drama Jerusalem is a seminal text for exploring the contemporary world in the Non-exam assessment (NEA). The play interrogates modern English identity, contrasting the homogenised, bureaucratic reality of 21st-century suburban life with the anarchic, mythic traditions embodied by the protagonist, Johnny 'Rooster' Byron. Students must analyse Butterworth’s dramatic methods, including his use of tragicomic dialogue, staging, and the unities of time and place on St George's Day. By examining the tension between the encroaching Kennet and Avon council estate and the primal Wiltshire woodland, students can evaluate how the 2009 play critiques contemporary societal values, marginalisation, and the loss of cultural folklore.
Saturday Ian McEwan 2005 Prose
Ian McEwan’s 2005 prose novel 'Saturday' explores 'The Contemporary World' by restricting its narrative to a single day in the life of neurosurgeon Henry Perowne. Set against the February 2003 London protests against the Iraq War, the text examines the intersection of personal privilege and global anxiety. McEwan utilises a close third-person perspective to filter contemporary fears of terrorism, scientific rationalism, and social class through Perowne’s consciousness. By contrasting the protagonist's secure domestic sphere with the unpredictable violence of the post-9/11 world, the novel provides a rich basis for non-exam assessment essays focusing on modern societal tensions, the limits of rationalism, and the role of literature in a fractured twenty-first-century landscape.
Your focus
- Analyse Heaney's use of poetic form and imagery to depict the contemporary world.
- Evaluate the impact of the 2006 historical and cultural context on the collection's themes.
- Synthesise connections between individual poems to construct a coherent NEA argument.
Show all 9 objectives
- Analyse the dramatic methods used by Butterworth to construct character and tension.
- Evaluate the play's critique of contemporary English society and suburban expansion.
- Synthesise contextual knowledge of 2009 Britain with close textual analysis of the drama.
- Articulate how McEwan uses narrative structure to reflect the anxieties of the contemporary world.
- Analyse the function of scientific and literary discourses within the novel's prose style.
- Synthesise textual analysis with contextual understanding of early twenty-first-century political tensions.
5e. Literature post-1900 (Non-exam assessment component) suggested texts - THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD exam tips
Marking Points
- Demonstrate detailed understanding of Heaney's poetic techniques, including form, rhythm, and imagery.
- Analyse the significance of the 2006 contemporary context, particularly post-9/11 anxieties and modern urbanisation.
- Evaluate the connections between Heaney's rural Irish heritage and the globalised, modern settings depicted in the collection.
- Incorporate relevant critical interpretations regarding Heaney's late style and his reflections on mortality and history.
- Analyse Butterworth's dramatic techniques, including stage directions, monologue, and the use of the three unities.
- Evaluate the representation of contemporary English identity and the conflict between modern bureaucracy and traditional myth.
- Explore the significance of the 2009 context, focusing on themes of suburban expansion, marginalisation, and national disillusionment.
- Incorporate critical perspectives on the character of Johnny Byron as both a modern anti-hero and a mythological figure.
- Analyse McEwan's use of the close third-person narrative perspective to reflect the subjective experience of contemporary global anxieties.
- Evaluate the structural significance of the single-day timeframe in heightening the tension between domestic routine and external threats.
- Explore the thematic conflict between scientific rationalism, represented by Perowne's neurosurgery, and the unpredictable nature of human violence and art.
- Contextualise the novel within the post-9/11 political climate, specifically referencing the 2003 anti-war protests and the pervasive fear of terrorism.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Select three or four key poems from the collection to form a cohesive argument for your NEA essay rather than attempting to cover too many.
- 💡Contrast the urban, mechanical imagery of the title poem with the organic, rural imagery of his earlier-themed poems to highlight the contemporary shift.
- 💡Use the concept of the 'underworld' as a structural framework to connect classical allusions with modern transit systems.
- 💡Focus closely on Johnny Byron's monologues to explore how Butterworth blends contemporary slang with elevated, mythic language.
- 💡Contrast the physical setting of the chaotic woodland clearing with the unseen but constantly referenced modern housing estate to highlight the central conflict.
- 💡Consider the significance of the play taking place on St George's Day when discussing themes of English nationalism and identity.
- 💡For your NEA, select a comparative text that also addresses twenty-first-century anxieties to create a strong, cohesive argument about 'The Contemporary World'.
- 💡Closely analyse McEwan's precise, clinical vocabulary when describing surgery to contrast with the chaotic language used during the street encounter with Baxter.
- 💡Integrate contextual research on the 2003 Iraq War protests seamlessly into your analysis of Perowne's internal monologue, rather than bolting it on as historical background.
Common Mistakes
- Treating the collection solely as autobiographical nostalgia; correction: analyse the poems as complex responses to contemporary global issues and historical cycles.
- Ignoring the specific 2006 context of the collection; correction: explicitly link the subterranean imagery to post-7/7 and post-9/11 contemporary anxieties.
- Focusing only on thematic content without addressing poetic form; correction: integrate analysis of Heaney's structural choices, such as sonnet forms and phonetic textures, into thematic discussions.
- Viewing Johnny Byron purely as a heroic figure; correction: analyse the deep ambiguities and destructive elements of his character alongside his charismatic rebellion.
- Neglecting the dramatic form in favour of narrative summary; correction: focus on how meaning is constructed through staging, props (like the drum), and theatrical timing.
- Overlooking the specific 2009 contemporary context; correction: explicitly connect the play's themes to 21st-century issues such as the housing crisis, local council authority, and modern youth culture.
- Error: Treating the novel solely as a political manifesto against the Iraq War. Correction: Analyse the text as an exploration of individual consciousness reacting to political events, rather than a direct political statement.
- Error: Confusing the close third-person narrator with McEwan's own authorial voice. Correction: Clearly distinguish between McEwan as the author and the focalised, subjective perspective of Henry Perowne.
- Error: Ignoring the significance of the literary allusions, particularly Matthew Arnold's 'Dover Beach'. Correction: Examine how poetry and literature function within the novel as a counterpoint to Perowne's scientific worldview.