Reaction to Leaving Certificate 2026 English Paper 2 (H) by Liam Dingle, English teacher at The Institute of Education.
- The paper challenged candidates to navigate the specifics of the question while also offering them a movable feast of material.
- A paper that required students to keep an eye on the moving parts of the question in order to stay purposeful.
On receiving their papers most candidates will have quickly flipped to the back to see whether their preferred poets appeared. The names “Bishop” and “Meehan” have been on everyone’s lips in the run up to this afternoon and so students will likely have started the exam on a little moment of triumph before venturing further.
Turning back to the beginning, candidates were met by a choice of Macbeth questions that were more fair than foul. Many students will have opted for the second question on order and disorder which placed them on steady ground. Those who knew their nature imagery or kingship will have found plenty of scope to integrate that work into their answers. The first question on dramatic techniques had a little twist as it specifies the effect on the audience, “sympathy for the central character Macbeth”. Students who remembered their soliloquies will have been able to adjust but the specificity of the question will be what differentiates candidates’ results.
Moving into the Comparative, the appearance of all three modes will have let candidates select the option that best suits them. While many of the questions had quite specific requirements, candidates who kept a constant eye on the verb “compare” will have been able to integrate their most different texts effectively. For Cultural Context students could focus on either social mobility or patriarchal power structures, with many likely finding the latter more accessible. The General Vision and Viewpoint section reflected a very human perspective for both authors and readers: the oft contrasting forces of rationality and emotion. Students were given the space to dive into the characters in really interesting ways, so those you really reflected on the ideas present will have enough for substantive answers. The Literary Genre questions were reminiscent of the previous years, only with the spin of focusing on beginnings rather than conclusions. Exactly where the beginning ends will be open to the candidate to argue and they will still be able to draw upon later events to make their arguments robust. If candidates took the time to note out the elements of the questions and contextualise them within their own revision, this was a movable feast of topics, ideas and moments.
The poetry section starts with unseen poetry. While Alvy Carragher’s “Library” might be unfamiliar to candidates, the questions’ approaches were not. Of the eight prescribed poets, five appear on the paper. Few will have had their fingers crossed for Smith or Eliot after their appearance last year, but those who preferred Heaney might be disappointed. Yet the other three Irish poets did appear, so students will have been gladdened by the familiar names of Meehan, Yeats and Ní Chuilleanáin. These were joined by Bishop and Donne to provide a spread that will have offered something for everyone. The questions were laid out in the consistent manner of concerns and styles that students will be familiar with and there were no peculiar twists that will send them scrambling to reassess their understanding. If you studied Yeats you will have the personal and political material ready to go. If you knew Bishop you will already know what her “precise” style is and how it builds to a “often troubling” mood. All questions were invitations to discuss statements and so passionate candidates to calibrate their responses to really show off their appreciation with a flourish.