Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English 0475/22 is the May/June 2026 Paper 2 (Drama), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, is worth 50 marks and you answer two questions on two different plays: one (a) passage-based question and one (b) essay question, 25 marks each. Five plays were set, each with one of each question type, so the biggest decision is which pairing of plays and question types plays to your strengths. This guide covers all ten questions and explains how the official mark scheme places answers. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of both 0475 papers from this series, see IGCSE Literature in English 0475 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

0475/22 at a glance

Rubric: answer two questions, on two different set texts, one (a) passage-based and one (b) essay. All questions are worth equal marks.

Question	Play	(a) Passage question	(b) Essay question	Marks
1	Cleage: Blues for an Alabama Sky	Act 1 Scene 2: what makes it entertaining	How far is Delia a strong woman?	25 each
2	Delaney: A Taste of Honey	Act 1 Scene 2: how Jo and Boy are portrayed	What makes Peter so dislikeable	25 each
3	Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire	Scene 1: what makes it revealing	How far is Mitch a “natural gentleman”?	25 each
4	Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream	Act 2 Scene 2: what makes it memorable	How conflict is dramatised at two moments	25 each
5	Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra	Act 5 Scene 2: what makes it moving	How Octavius Caesar and Antony are contrasted	25 each
	Total (one (a) and one (b) answered)			50

Question-by-question walkthrough

How every question is marked

The 0475/22 mark scheme states that all questions are marked out of 25 and that one set of level descriptors, covering 0 to 25, applies to each of them. There is no play-specific content.

• Four assessment objectives sit inside every level. AO1 is detailed knowledge of the text supported by reference; AO2 is understanding meanings and contexts beyond the surface; AO3 is how the writer uses language, structure and form; AO4 is a sensitive, informed personal response. They are judged together, not scored separately.
• Eight levels. Level 8 is 23–25, Level 7 20–22, Level 6 17–19, Level 5 14–16, Level 4 11–13, Level 3 8–10, Level 2 5–7 and Level 1 1–4. Level 0 is no answer or not enough for Level 1.
• Climbing the middle levels is about the dramatist’s methods. A little reference to language sits at Level 4, some response to how the writer uses language at Level 5, and a developed response to how effects are achieved at Level 6. In a play, methods include stage directions, entrances and exits, dialogue, verse and what the audience knows that characters do not.
• The top two levels reward integration and insight. Level 7 asks for much well-selected reference woven into the argument, a clear critical understanding and a perceptive, convincing personal response. Level 8 adds individuality and insight, considerable detail on the writer’s effects and evaluative engagement sustained across the answer.
• The annotations flag what holds answers back. They include narrative, no use of text, repetition and relating to the question. A scene summary scores little however accurate it is.

The scheme also reminds examiners that indicative content is never a prescription and that they should meet candidates on their chosen ground, provided it is relevant. Your reading of a character or scene is credited if the play supports it.

Question 1: Blues for an Alabama Sky (Pearl Cleage)

• 1(a), Act 1 Scene 2: Angel is nursing a hangover the morning after a night at Small’s when Delia calls in from church. Guy sews throughout, as the stage directions say he always does, while the three discuss Delia’s plan to teach Angel to type, Angel’s hazy memory of the night, a well-dressed Southern stranger who walked them part of the way home, and a hunt for aspirin that turns up none. The key word is entertaining: banter, comic timing, stage business and the contrast between Delia’s church morning and Angel’s night out are all material. The stranger’s brief mention can also be read as a hint of what is to come.
• 1(b), “Delia is a strong woman”: a “to what extent” essay. Gather evidence for and against across the play and reach a judgement about how Cleage shapes your view.

Question 2: A Taste of Honey (Shelagh Delaney)

• 2(a), Act 1 Scene 2: a scene after Helen and Peter leave the flat, focusing on Jo and Boy. How strikingly are the two portrayed? Look at what their dialogue reveals about each of them and about the relationship.
• 2(b), Peter: what makes Peter so dislikeable. The question assumes he is, so the task is to show how Delaney’s methods make the audience respond that way.

Question 3: A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams)

• 3(a), Scene 1: Blanche’s arrival at Elysian Fields. What makes this early moment so revealing? An opening scene is a chance to discuss what the audience learns about Blanche, the setting and the tensions to come.
• 3(b), Mitch as a “natural gentleman”: Blanche’s own phrase, and a “how far” question. Weigh the evidence for and against, and consider that the label comes from Blanche, whose judgement the play invites you to test.

Question 4: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (William Shakespeare)

• 4(a), Act 2 Scene 2: Lysander and Hermia, lost in the wood, settle to sleep. He argues in witty wordplay that they should lie together; she insists, courteously, on a modest distance. After they sleep, Puck enters, mistakes Lysander for the Athenian Oberon described and anoints his eyes with the love juice. What makes it memorable? The rhymed couplets, the shift in tone from tender to comic, and the dramatic irony of Puck’s mistake all repay close analysis.
• 4(b), conflict at two moments: choose two moments and explore how each dramatises conflict. Picking contrasting kinds of conflict gives you more to compare.

Question 5: Antony and Cleopatra (William Shakespeare)

• 5(a), Act 5 Scene 2: Cleopatra, robed and crowned, prepares for death, imagines Antony calling her, says farewell to Iras and Charmian, and applies the asp; Charmian mourns her, and the guard arrives too late. What makes it moving? Her imagery of death, her calling Antony husband, the death of Iras and the guard’s late entrance are all strong material.
• 5(b), Octavius Caesar and Antony: explore how vividly the two are contrasted. Range across the play and compare their values, language and conduct.

Where the marks are on 0475/22

Part	What you write	Marks
One (a) passage question	Close analysis of a printed extract	25
One (b) essay question	A whole-play argument from memory, on a different play	25
	Total	50

• The two answers test different skills under one grid. The passage answer rewards close reading of the printed text; the essay rewards knowing the whole play well enough to quote and refer from memory.
• Two of the five essays ask “how far”. Questions 1(b) and 3(b) need a balanced argument that reaches a judgement, while 4(b) asks you to select and compare two moments.
• No objective is scored on its own. A strong personal response without close attention to the dramatist’s methods will not climb beyond the middle levels.

How to self-mark 0475/22 with the mark scheme

1. Check the rubric first. Two different plays, one (a) and one (b). Plan both answers before you mark either.
2. Read the whole answer and find the closest level. The descriptors are general guidance, not hurdles, so judge best fit.
3. Use the AO3 line to decide between Levels 4 and 7. Do you only mention language, respond to it, develop a response to how effects are achieved, or analyse them in detail?
4. Look for dramatic awareness. Highlight every point about staging, action or audience response. Answers that treat a play like a novel miss part of AO3.
5. Annotate as an examiner would. Mark narrative, unsupported points, repetition and anything off the question’s key word. Then choose the mark within the level by how consistently the descriptors are met.
6. Compare your two marks. If one answer is a level lower, that is usually the one where you ran short of time or retold the plot.

Sit 0475/22 as a timed mock

The paper allows 90 minutes for two equal answers.

Block	Marks	Time
Read the passages and choose your pairing	–	5 minutes
Plan the passage answer	–	7 minutes
Write the passage answer	25	33 minutes
Plan the essay answer	–	7 minutes
Write the essay answer	25	33 minutes
Check both answers against the question’s key word	–	5 minutes

Other May/June 2026 0475 papers

• 0475 Paper 12 (Poetry and Prose)

Practise and download

• Download 0475/22 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 0475 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free IGCSE Literature in English quiz

Need help with a 0475 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE Literature in English tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What is the rubric for 0475 Paper 22 May/June 2026? +

Answer two questions on two different plays: one (a) passage-based question and one (b) essay question. Each is worth 25 marks, so the paper is out of 50 and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes.

Which plays were on 0475/22 in 2026? +

Five: Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky, Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey, Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Antony and Cleopatra. Each had one passage question and one essay question.

Can I answer both questions on the same play in 0475/22? +

No. The front cover says your two answers must be on two different set texts, and one must be an (a) passage question and the other a (b) essay question.

Does the 0475/22 mark scheme give points for each play? +

No. It gives one set of level descriptors, from 0 to 25, that applies to every question. There is no list of expected content for any play, so the whole answer is placed in one of eight levels.

How do I answer the 'how far do you agree' essays on 0475/22? +

Questions 1(b), on Delia as a strong woman, and 3(b), on Mitch as a natural gentleman, ask you to weigh a claim. Look at evidence on both sides and reach a judgement, keeping the focus on how the playwright shapes your view.

Where can I download 0475/22 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge IGCSE Literature in English 0475 past papers page.

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