Critic: Emily Dickinson's poetry demonstrates that meaning cannot resi

Hi gmatophobia, in these types of could be true questions. Your not trying to prove the statements that could be true but your trying to find that ONE statement that definitely breaks the logics of the argument. We only know the line of reasoning this argument is putting forth to us. It could very well be there are things that influence a persons understanding of a poem that are not covered in this specific argument. For example I could make the argument that a persons favorite color could influence their understanding of a poem. If this came as a choice you would have no way to know if it is true or not true. Hence this COULD be true. But if I say someone from 500BC and 2023 will feel the same way about a poem it directly breaks the logic that is mentioned in the line and, (of course, any two readers from different cultures or eras have radically different systems of beliefs.) And since Beliefs influence the understanding two people from different eras cant have the same understanding.

Hope this helped!

could be true EXCEPT = CANNOT be true
The correct answer will directly contradict the passage and thus will constitute a statement that cannot be true.

According to the passage:
Readers from different eras have radically different systems of beliefs, and a reader's system of beliefs yields a meaning that is a unique result.
In other words:
If two people from different eras read the same poem, their different systems of beliefs will lead them to interpret the poem's meaning in different ways.

B. A modern reader and a nineteenth-century reader interpret one of Shakespeare's sonnets in the same way.
Since this option states that two people from different eras can interpret a poem in the same way, it directly contradicts the passage and thus cannot be true.



A. A reader's interpretation of a poem by Dickinson is affected by someone else's interpretation of it.
Since the passage says nothing about one reader affecting another, this option does not directly contradict the passage.
Eliminate A.

E: A reader's enjoyment of a poem is enhanced by knowing the poet's interpretation of it.
Since the passage says nothing about enjoyment, this option does not directly contradict the passage.
Eliminate E.

GMATGuruNY

thanks for your explaination.
one more doubt so in case of just could be true (without except)or most likely
all 4 choices will contradict,left out will could be true?

Yes!
Question stem: Which of the following statements could be true?
In this case, four answer choices will contradict information in the passage; the correct answer will not.