8702 · aqa-8702-v1, verified 15 Aug 2026

GCSE English Literature

AQA

Three modern texts ended with the 2024 series. The map records all fifteen so the change is preserved, but only the twelve live texts are listed here.

Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel

105 minutes · 64 marks · 40 per cent

Section A: Shakespeare

Choose one play, extract then whole text

Section B: The 19th-century novel

Choose one novel, extract then whole text

Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry

135 minutes · 96 marks · 60 per cent

Section A: Modern texts

Choose one from twelve live texts

Section B: Poetry anthology

One cluster, all 15 poems studied

Section C: Unseen poetry

Compulsory

Macbeth

1606 · Aspects of tragedy

From the specialist's desk

The knowledge organiser earns its place here: it holds 1606, read through aspects of tragedy, on one sheet built for self-quizzing. The scheme keeps returning to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, so retrieval never drifts from what the paper rewards.

Who it turns on

Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo

Context we build in

Jacobean kingship and the divine right of kings
James I and the Daemonologie of 1597

Sample retrieval questions

Where do Macbeth and Banquo first meet the witches?
What does Lady Macbeth call on the spirits to do in Act 1 Scene 5?
Whose ghost appears at the banquet, and to whom?
What does the sleepwalking scene reveal about Lady Macbeth?

Is this a dagger which I see before me2.1

Order

Full scheme of work, lesson by lesson
Lesson decks in the house template
Knowledge organiser
Retrieval grids
Assessment pack with mark schemes

This topicMacbeth£12.99

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