Text 7 · AnthologyPearson Edexcel IGCSE · 4EA1/01 Paper 1
A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat
Emma Levine's account of watching a chaotic donkey race in Pakistan. Vivid, comic, energetic — packed with language devices.
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Context & Analysis Guide
Mrs RumseyGame of Polo — language and engagement
Context and writer's purpose
Author: Emma Levine — British travel writer. This is from her book about unusual sports in Pakistan (2000).
Context: Levine has travelled to Pakistan to document a traditional donkey cart race. This extract describes her efforts to film it.
Purpose: To entertain — the passage is primarily comic. Also to convey her enthusiasm and the energy of the event.
Tone: Humorous, lively, enthusiastic. Self-deprecating about her position stuffed in a car boot.
AO2 focus: dialogue, sensory imagery, kinetic verbs, hyperbole, the chaos and energy of the event.
Key language features
"fired up with enthusiasm" — metaphor. Sudden burst of energy; the phrase itself feels energetic.
"We waited for eternity" — hyperbole. The wait is exaggerated for comic effect.
"a cloud of fumes and dust" — vivid sensory image. Obscures the donkeys; creates anticipation.
"almost dwarfed by their entourage of fifty vehicles roaring in pursuit" — comic bathos. Tiny donkeys surrounded by massive cavalcade.
Listing of sounds: "horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles" — onomatopoeia creates the cacophony. Present participles maintain the energy.
"jockeys perched on their backs using their whips energetically" — visual image. "Perched" suggests precariousness; "energetically" adds comic urgency.
Key extract — A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat
Yaqoob and Iqbal were suddenly fired up with enthusiasm. They had been asking how I was planning to cover the event. I had said I wasn't sure, thinking of the obvious choice which was to stand at the finishing line and wait. But now Yaqoob came up with a better idea.
"We'll all get in the boot of the car!" said Iqbal.
It took a second or two to understand the suggestion. Then: "But how will I film it?"
"Just climb inside the boot, close the lid a little, and point your camera towards the race."
"But I won't be able to see."
"You'll hear it and feel it - that's enough!" said Yaqoob.
We waited for eternity. [...] Suddenly on the horizon I spotted movement, a cloud of fumes and dust, and through it emerged two donkeys, almost dwarfed by their entourage of fifty vehicles roaring in pursuit. The donkeys were going at an incredible rate, jockeys perched on their backs using their whips energetically. The noise was phenomenal; horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles used just for this purpose.
Model analysis (Q4 style): Levine uses the listing "horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles used just for this purpose" to recreate the overwhelming sensory experience of the race. The use of present participles ("tooting", "ringing") maintains the dynamic energy of the scene, placing the reader in the moment alongside Levine. The onomatopoeic "tooting" has a slightly comic quality, consistent with the playful tone throughout. The addition of "the special rattles used just for this purpose" — a detail that Levine cannot identify but specifically notes — adds to the sense that this is a fully ritualised cultural event with its own specific equipment, deepening the reader's engagement with the strangeness and specificity of the occasion.
Exam practice — 3 questions · 15 marks · 4EA1 style
⚡ Quote and analyse. Use Point → Evidence → Effect (PEE) or similar. The AI marks against the real 4EA1 mark scheme descriptors.
1 markEffect of "We waited for eternity"4EA1 Paper 1 style
What technique is used in "We waited for eternity" and what is its effect?
A Metaphor — the waiting literally felt like death
B Hyperbole — the exaggeration of the wait creates a comic, dramatic effect, building the reader's anticipation alongside Levine's
C Simile — she compares the wait to eternity
D Personification — eternity is given human qualities
5 marksThoughts and feelings4EA1 Q3 style
Explain the writer's thoughts and feelings as she waits for and then watches the race. Refer to the text. (5 marks)
+50 XP
10 marksLanguage and structure analysis4EA1 Q4 style
Analyse how Levine uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader. (10 marks)