Lesson 4.2.1.9

4.2.1.9 A Long, Long Way by Sebastian Barry Quiz: AQA English Literature, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.2.1.9, A Long, Long Way by Sebastian Barry: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA English Literature (7712), Unit 2: Texts in shared contexts, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. The title of Sebastian Barry's novel refers to a song about which Irish town?

    • Dublin
    • Cork
    • Galway
    • Tipperary

  2. In which country is the protagonist Willie Dunne from?

    • Ireland
    • Scotland
    • Wales
    • England

  3. Which 1916 armed rebellion in Dublin forms key historical background to A Long, Long Way?

    • Easter Rising
    • Fenian Rising
    • Somme Offensive
    • Gallipoli Campaign

  4. On what date did the Battle of the Somme begin?

    • 4 August 1914
    • 11 November 1918
    • 1 July 1916
    • 28 June 1919

  5. Which period of conflict does the First World War in the novel belong to?

    • 1899 to 1902
    • 1914 to 1918
    • 1939 to 1945
    • 1870 to 1871

  6. What main thematic conflict do Irish soldiers serving in the British Army face in the novel?

    • Class struggle
    • Colonial expansion
    • Religious heresy
    • Divided loyalty

  7. What literary device is used by contrasting a cheerful song title with brutal trench warfare?

    • Irony
    • Hyperbole
    • Personification
    • Allegory

  8. Which Irish author wrote the 2005 First World War novel A Long, Long Way?

    • Seamus Heaney
    • Colm Tóibín
    • Sebastian Barry
    • James Joyce

  9. Which pre-1914 political crisis heightened tensions regarding Irish enlistment in the British Army?

    • Partition crisis
    • Land War
    • Famine crisis
    • Home Rule crisis

  10. Which characteristic feature defined static warfare on the Western Front in A Long, Long Way?

    • Naval blockade
    • Guerrilla warfare
    • Mobile warfare
    • Trench warfare

  11. What emotion is primarily heightened by the soldiers' physical distance from Ireland in the novel?

    • Indifference
    • Nostalgia
    • Ambition
    • Patriotism

  12. Which First World War phrase describes soldiers climbing out of trenches to attack enemy lines?

    • Over the top
    • Falling back
    • Digging in
    • Holding the line

  13. Studying Irish soldiers in WW1 literature primarily highlights which aspect of historical experience?

    • Technological progress
    • Military strategy
    • Cultural complexity
    • Economic profit

  14. Which critical term describes how overlapping social identities such as class, religion and nation shape a character?

    • Pathetic fallacy
    • Dramatic irony
    • Enjambment
    • Intersectionality

  15. What genre classification best fits Sebastian Barry's 2005 novel about the First World War?

    • Gothic fiction
    • Historical fiction
    • Science fiction
    • Contemporary fiction

  16. In which 1916 Somme battle were tanks used for the first time in military history?

    • Passchendaele
    • Ypres
    • Gallipoli
    • Flers-Courcelette

  17. What literary effect is created by contrasting optimistic song titles with horrific trench suffering?

    • Moral ambiguity
    • Dramatic irony
    • Heroic grandeur
    • Comic relief

  18. What term describes the dangerous, unoccupied ground lying between opposing First World War trench lines?

    • The home front
    • The reserve line
    • The staging area
    • No man's land

  19. What historical term was given to the severe psychological trauma suffered by soldiers during WW1?

    • Shell shock
    • Combat fatigue
    • Trench foot
    • Battle fatigue

  20. What shapes Willie Dunne's complex perspective on WW1 in A Long, Long Way?

    • Religious extremism
    • Class resentment
    • Dual national identity
    • Political apathy

All AQA English Literature quizzes