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GCSE English Literature · key term
An opinion or feeling formed in advance which influences later judgement.
Used by Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas
Paper 2
An opinion or feeling formed in advance, which can influence how later evidence is understood.
Revise: Elizabeth BennetIn the same speech, she admits, “I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away”. “Courted” suggests actively welcoming something, while “driven” suggests deliberately excluding it. She accepts responsibility for encouraging flattering assumptions and rejecting fair reasoning.
Paper 1
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She then admits, “I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away”. “Courted” suggests actively welcoming something, with an additional association with romantic pursuit. “Driven” likewise makes her responsible: she has not merely lacked information, but encouraged the assumptions she preferred and rejected rational scrutiny.
Component 2
A favourable or unfavourable opinion formed in advance, which influences later judgement.
Revise: Elizabeth BennetHer admission, “I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away” (Chapter 36), makes the failure active. “Courted” suggests that she has welcomed her prejudices almost as deliberately as someone pursuing a relationship. The personification of “reason” as something expelled exposes her responsibility for resisting unwelcome evidence.
