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English Literature Quiz - My Mother Said I Never Should - Setting (Questions)

Explore how Keatley’s language choices reveal tension, humour and silence in My Mother Said I Never Should, from broken sentences to playful rhymes and abrupt changes of tone.

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Fascinating Fact:

Keatley uses interrupted dialogue and unfinished sentences to show avoidance, as characters often stop themselves before revealing what they truly feel.

In GCSE English Literature, you study how language shapes meaning. This quiz focuses on the language of My Mother Said I Never Should, exploring how short phrases, pauses and incomplete sentences reveal conflict, love and secrecy between the generations.

Key Terms

  • Interrupted dialogue: Speech that is cut off or broken, suggesting tension, interruption or a character holding back their true thoughts.
  • Ellipsis: The three dots that show a pause or an unfinished sentence, often hinting at something left unsaid.
  • Subtext: The feelings or ideas suggested beneath the surface of the words, shown through tone, pauses and what is not said.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How does Keatley use language to show tension in the play?

Keatley often uses short, clipped lines, interruptions and unfinished sentences when the characters argue or avoid the truth. These language choices make the tension sound natural and believable on stage.

What should I look for when analysing language in My Mother Said I Never Should?

Focus on repeated words, pauses, questions and changes in tone. Notice when characters shift from jokey language to more serious phrases, as this often marks an important moment in the scene.

How can I write about language features in my GCSE exam answer?

Choose a short quotation, name the language feature if you can, then explain what it suggests about the character or relationship and link it clearly to the exam question.

Try These Related Quizzes

1. When is My Mother Said I Never Should set?
[ ] 1940s
[ ] 1950s and 1960s
[ ] 1970s and 1980s
[ ] All of the above
2. Where is the play set?
[ ] Oldham
[ ] Manchester
[ ] London
[ ] All of the above
3. In what time are the scenes in the Wasteground set?
[ ] 1940s
[ ] 1960s
[ ] 1980s
[ ] The Wasteground is timeless
4. What is significant about the Wasteground?
[ ] The Wasteground is important because it shows how much all of the characters dislike each other
[ ] The Wasteground gives the audience a break from thinking about the play
[ ] The characters are freed from their mother-daughter relationships and are all equals
[ ] The Wasteground is not significant
5. What provides shelter during the WWII air raids which take place in the second scene?
[ ] The bomb shelter
[ ] The piano
[ ] A neighbour's house
[ ] The cellar
6. Which of the following events does NOT take place in the month of December?
[ ] Margaret's death
[ ] The air raid
[ ] Margaret collects the baby Rosie from Jackie's flat
[ ] The women help Doris clear out her house after her husband's death
7. Besides the scenes set in the Wasteground, when do all of the characters appear together?
[ ] In the hospital, when Margaret is dying
[ ] In Margaret's home, for Rosie's birthday
[ ] In Doris's home, after her husband's death
[ ] In Jackie's flat in Manchester, when Rosie is a baby
8. One of the themes of the play is women's roles at work and how these relate to their familial roles. Whose workplace is the setting for one scene?
[ ] Doris's
[ ] Margaret's
[ ] Jackie's
[ ] All of the above
9. Which of the following is correct?
[ ] Events are presented chronologically in the play
[ ] Time moves back and forth in the play as the scenes skip around between related events
[ ] The entire play is set in a timeless place
[ ] Events are presented in reverse chronological order in the play
10. What event forces Doris to move to Oldham?
[ ] The birth of Rosie
[ ] Margaret's death
[ ] Jack's death
[ ] The air raids
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English Literature Quiz - My Mother Said I Never Should - Setting (Answers)
1. When is My Mother Said I Never Should set?
[ ] 1940s
[ ] 1950s and 1960s
[ ] 1970s and 1980s
[x] All of the above
The play spans the lives of four women from 1940, in Act One, Scene Two, to 1987, in Act Three, Scene Seven (the final scene returns to 1923)
2. Where is the play set?
[ ] Oldham
[ ] Manchester
[ ] London
[x] All of the above
The scenes take place in Manchester and its environs, including Cheadle Hulme and Oldham, and in London
3. In what time are the scenes in the Wasteground set?
[ ] 1940s
[ ] 1960s
[ ] 1980s
[x] The Wasteground is timeless
The women are all girls together in the Wasteground, the setting for the first scene
4. What is significant about the Wasteground?
[ ] The Wasteground is important because it shows how much all of the characters dislike each other
[ ] The Wasteground gives the audience a break from thinking about the play
[x] The characters are freed from their mother-daughter relationships and are all equals
[ ] The Wasteground is not significant
The women stand out more clearly as individuals when they do not play the role of mother or of daughter
5. What provides shelter during the WWII air raids which take place in the second scene?
[ ] The bomb shelter
[x] The piano
[ ] A neighbour's house
[ ] The cellar
Margaret shelters under the piano with her doll; later Jackie plays at hiding under the piano to get a feel for her mother's experience
6. Which of the following events does NOT take place in the month of December?
[x] Margaret's death
[ ] The air raid
[ ] Margaret collects the baby Rosie from Jackie's flat
[ ] The women help Doris clear out her house after her husband's death
December in the play is associated with upheaval
7. Besides the scenes set in the Wasteground, when do all of the characters appear together?
[ ] In the hospital, when Margaret is dying
[ ] In Margaret's home, for Rosie's birthday
[x] In Doris's home, after her husband's death
[ ] In Jackie's flat in Manchester, when Rosie is a baby
Act Two, at the centre of the play, sees all characters together as the younger generations help to clear out Doris's house after Jack's death. This is the only part of the play in which the audience sees how the characters interact when they are all together and the mother-daughter relationships are intact
8. One of the themes of the play is women's roles at work and how these relate to their familial roles. Whose workplace is the setting for one scene?
[ ] Doris's
[x] Margaret's
[ ] Jackie's
[ ] All of the above
Most of the settings are domestic, located in gardens or houses; Margaret's office is the only workplace to be portrayed on stage
9. Which of the following is correct?
[ ] Events are presented chronologically in the play
[x] Time moves back and forth in the play as the scenes skip around between related events
[ ] The entire play is set in a timeless place
[ ] Events are presented in reverse chronological order in the play
Act Three is the exception to the movement between different times. In Act Three, scenes proceed chronologically, with the exception of the Wasteground scene and the final scene to the day of Doris's engagement to Jack
10. What event forces Doris to move to Oldham?
[ ] The birth of Rosie
[ ] Margaret's death
[x] Jack's death
[ ] The air raids
Doris is left to the whims of her husband's will when he leaves the house to their granddaughter. The event demonstrates the helplessness of a woman who had been successful in her career before agreeing to marry
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