The writings of Emily Dickinson, considered by many the greatest poet

Correct Answer E.

Consider do not take any preposition such as considered as... or considered to be.... Hence B & C can be eliminated.
D uses unnecessary perfect tense. Hence can be eliminated.
A Considered is modifying writings. It should modify Emily Dickinson. Can be eliminated.

First Split :

1. The writings of Emily Dickinson, ........................ the greatest poet of the nineteenth century........... : The writings was the greatest poet = Does it make any sense ? = E

2. The greatest poet of the nineteenth century, ........................Emily Dickinson's writings : the greatest poet was Emily's writings = Does it make any sense ? = E

2nd Split : Consider X Y = Correct idiom

3. ........considered by many as the greatest of the nineteenth century poets................. : Eliminated

3rd split : Simple Past vs perfect

4. Emily Dickinson.................. had attempted in her writings : mainly used when there is a sequence of events in the Past, no such thing = Eliminated

5. Emily Dickinson...................attempted in her writings

Leading to 5/E , my take

My first attempt I got it as C, but 'considered as' is not the right idiom. The correct answer is E.


The writings of Emily Dickinson, considered by many the greatest poet of the nineteenth century, were attempts to capture the pain of love in a whimsical manner at odds with the stringent religious mores of the day.

A. The writings of Emily Dickinson, considered by many the greatest poet of the nineteenth century, were attempts - the greatest poet referring to writings
B. Considered by many to be the greatest poet of the nineteenth century, Emily Dickinson's writings were attempts - same error as A. Also noun in possessive case (Emily Dickinson's) cannot be good antecedent
C. Emily Dickinson, who is considered by many as the greatest of the nineteenth century poets, attempted in her writings - considered as is not the right idiom
D. Considered by many the greatest poet of the nineteenth century, Emily Dickinson had attempted in her writings - unnecessary past perfect
E. Emily Dickinson, considered by many the greatest poet of the nineteenth century, attempted in her writings - Correct usage of considered

More explanations can be found below
https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-writings-of-emily-dickinson-considered-by-many-the-9980.html

CORRECT. Participial phrase starting with "considered" correctly modifies Emily Dickinson and not her writings, and the simple verb tense is correct here.
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I understand that E is the correct answer, and I also agree with OA. Nevertheless. Can you explain to me the meaning of the phrase "considered by many great poets"?
Thank you.

chesstitans The phrase is "considered by many the greatest poet." The sentence is saying that Dickinson is considered the greatest poet of the 19th century. Who considers her the greatest? "Many [people.]" So she is considered the greatest poet by many people, or "considered by many the greatest poet."
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Official Explanation:

Since the sentence contains an underlined participial phrase, check for misplaced modifiers. [C]onsidered…the greatest poet currently refers to the writings of Emily Dickinson. The intention of the phrase is to modify Emily Dickinson. This is a misplaced modifier. Eliminate choice A and look for any obvious repeaters. Because none of the other answer choices begin the same way, there are no obvious repeaters. Now, evaluate the remaining answer choices individually, looking for reasons to eliminate each.

Choice B also commits a misplaced modifier error, with considered…the greatest poet incorrectly modifying the subject Emily Dickinson’s writings, which indicates that the writings were considered the greatest poet. Eliminate choice B. Choice C corrects the modifier error but commits an idiom error with the construction considered…as. The correct idiom structure leaves the word considered unaccompanied. Considered does not require a preposition to complete it. Eliminate choice C. Choice D also fixes the modifier error but introduces a new error with the use of the past perfect verb had attempted, which is incorrect because the sentence does not relate had attempted prior to any other action. This is a verb tense error, so eliminate choice D. Choice E fixes the original modifier error by using the phrase, considered…the greatest poet, to correctly modify Emily Dickinson, and does not introduce any new errors, so keep choice E.

Alternatively, if it is difficult to spot the grammar rule the sentence is testing, another strategy is to identify an error from the answers by looking for either a 2/3 split or differences among the answer choices. Because two of the answers both end with were attempts, and the remaining choices end with attempted in her writings, this difference is an indication to look for subject-verb agreement and verb tense errors.

Choice A: No. [C]onsidered…the greatest poet incorrectly refers to [t]he writings of Emily Dickinson. Misplaced modifier.

Choice B: No. [C]onsidered…the greatest poet incorrectly modifies Emily Dickinson’s writings. Misplaced modifier.

Choice C: No. The correct idiom for the word considered does not follow the word with a preposition. Idiom.

Choice D: No. The past perfect verb had attempted does not match the time frame of the sentence, since it is not placed prior to any other action. Verb tense.

Choice E: Correct.

The correct answer is choice E.

Hello,
Can someone please explain why the phrase - "considered by many the greatest poet of the nineteenth century" Can't modify Emily Dickinson??

Regards,
Tamal

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Hi Tamal, that phrase does modify Emily Dickinson (in options D and E).
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Hi, thanks for the reply.
Could you please explain why it's creating modification error in option A.

Thanks.,
Tamal

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Tamal, it is not as much a modifier problem in A, as is the issue of not making the agent (Emily Dickinson) the active subject of the sentence (as happens with E).
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Well i am still not getting why Option A is wrong as Verb ed modifier only modifies preceding noun . For reference https://gmatclub.com/forum/verb-ed-modi ... 25611.html

daagh sir can you please explain this point

Anshul

I am fully with you. Except that A is rather passive, which is not such a grave error, I would deem A as a hot contestant. On the other hand, E is an active voice. Perhaps this is not a high-level question since it seems to have two correct answers.

But the OE about A is not acceptable and has put in lot of confusion
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Article on the correct usage of "consider" https://magoosh.com/gmat/verbal/idioms/ ... mat-idiom/

A can never be the the correct answer and in fact should be easy to eliminate. Why
What is considered as the greatest poet? It's Emily and not Emily's writings. So A is wrong.

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