Gautier was indeed a poet and a strongly representative one a French

Question

Gautier was indeed a poet and a strongly representative one – a French poet in his limitations even more than in his gifts; and he remains an interesting example of the manner in which, even when the former are surprisingly great, a happy application of the latter may produce the most delightful works. Completeness on his own scale is to our mind the idea he most instantly suggests. Such as his finished task now presents him, he is almost sole of his kind. He has had imitators who have imitated everything but his spontaneity and his temper; and as they have therefore failed to equal him we doubt whether the literature of our day presents a genius so naturally perfect. We say this with no desire to transfer Gautier to a higher pedestal than he has fairly earned – a poor service, for the pedestal sometimes sadly dwarfs the figure. His great merit was that he understood himself so perfectly and handled himself so skilfully. Even more than Alfred de Musset (with whom the speech had a shade of mock-modesty) he might have said that, if his glass was not large, as least it was all his own glass.

There are a host of reasons why we should not compare Gautier with such a poet as Browning; and yet there are several why we should. If we do so, with all proper reservations, we may wonder whether we are the richer, or, at all events, the better entertained, as a poet‘s readers should before all things be, by the clear, undiluted strain of Gautier‘s minor key, or by the vast, grossly commingled volume of utterance. It is idle at all times to point a moral. But if there are sermons in stones, there are profitable reflections to be made even on Théophile Gautier; notably this one – that a man‘s supreme use in the world is to master his intellectual instrument and play it in perfection.

He brought to his task a sort of pagan bonhomie which makes most of the descriptive and pictorial poets seem, by contrast, a group of shivering ascetics or muddled metaphysicians. He excels them by his magnificent good temper and the unquestioning serenity of his enjoyment of the great spectacle of nature and art. His world was all material, and its outlying darkness hardly more suggestive, morally, than a velvet canopy studded with silver nails. To close his eyes and turn his back on it must have seemed to him the end of all things; death, for him, must have been as the sullen dropping of a stone into a well. His observation was so penetrating and his descriptive instinct so unerring, that one might have fancied grave nature, in a fit of coquetry, or tired of receiving but half- justice, had determined to construct a genius with senses of a finer strain than the mass of human family.   1 
 1. In the passage, the author suggests that the French poet Théophile Gautier‘s talents included all of the following EXCEPT:

A. an innovative and unique artistic view of nature.
B. the ability to quickly and immediately compose poetry.
C. extensive training in rhetorical and literary techniques.
D. a strong understanding of his world and himself.
E. he had sharp observation powers

2 
 2. For what purpose can it reasonably be concluded does the author reference other writers in this passage, including Musset and Browning?

A. To prove that Gautier, as a poet, was unique among his contemporaries
B. To show that Gautier‘s poetry was representative of French lyricism at the time
C. To criticize Gautier‘s limited talent and creativity
D. To refute the idea that Gautier‘s colleagues could easily imitate his style
E. To prove how inferior the other writers were compared to Gautier

3 
 3. The author makes a few noteworthy remarks about Gautier‘s attitude towards death. This attitude would most support which of the following conclusions?

A. None of Gautier‘s literary works focused on human frailty.
B. Gautier believed that people are inherently linked to the divine.
C. The fleeting passage of time was a common poetic theme that Gautier neglected.
D. In his poetry, Gautier often focused on the vibrancy of human and natural life.
E. Gautier was a strong believer in the theory of life after death

sananoor · Accepted Answer

Cinematiccuisine , Its a long journey but finally i have started feeling confidence while attempting RC the only Key to RC is Practice-Analyse-Repeat 1) Try to practice atleast 4 RC's daily, all four on different topics 2) Analyse you mistakes in depth 3)Repeat these same Rc's after couple of days The above is a general tip that works for anyone try this passage and let me know your performance https://gmatclub.com/forum/while-there- ... 47046.html

honneeey · Answer

Definitely one of the toughest and condense passages.
Managed to get all correct in 10 minutes.

1. In the passage, the author suggests that the French poet Théophile Gautier‘s talents included all of the following EXCEPT:
A. an innovative and unique artistic view of nature.-False, Gautier was innovative and unique.
B. the ability to quickly and immediately compose poetry.-False, refer the word "spontaneity" 
C. extensive training in rhetorical and literary techniques.-True, this is no where mentioned in the passage.
D. a strong understanding of his world and himself.-False, he understood the world and himself very well.
E. he had sharp observation powers-False, refer"He excels them by his magnificent good temper and the unquestioning serenity of his enjoyment of the great spectacle of nature and art."

2. For what purpose can it reasonably be concluded does the author reference other writers in this passage, including Musset and Browning?

A. To prove that Gautier, as a poet, was unique among his contemporaries-True, Comparison was to prove that G was unique.

B. To show that Gautier‘s poetry was representative of French lyricism at the time-False, partially correct but no the underlying reason.

C. To criticize Gautier‘s limited talent and creativity-Author never criticized G but rather he said despite his limitations he was an excellent poet

D. To refute the idea that Gautier‘s colleagues could easily imitate his style-False, in fact opp is true.

E. To prove how inferior the other writers were compared to Gautier-False, author didnt prove anyone inferior to G.

3. The author makes a few noteworthy remarks about Gautier‘s attitude towards death. This attitude would most support which of the following conclusions?

A. None of Gautier‘s literary works focused on human frailty.-False, human frailty is no where mentioned.

B. Gautier believed that people are inherently linked to the divine.-False, not mentioned anywhere

C. The fleeting passage of time was a common poetic theme that Gautier neglected.-False, author didn't neglect this theme.

D. In his poetry, Gautier often focused on the vibrancy of human and natural life.-True refer "To close his eyes and turn his back on it must have seemed to him the end of all things; death, for him, must have been as the sullen dropping of a stone into a well. His observation was so penetrating and his descriptive instinct so unerring,"

E. Gautier was a strong believer in the theory of life after death- False, no where this is mentioned.

dvishal387 · Answer

1. In the passage, the author suggests that the French poet Théophile Gautier‘s talents included all of the following EXCEPT:
A. an innovative and unique artistic view of nature- In the 1st para the author states-"he is almost sole of his kind" for the poet. So this option is ruled out.
B. the ability to quickly and immediately compose poetry- In the 1st para the author speaks about the spontaneity with which Gautier would compose his poetry is spoken about. This option also ruled out.
C. extensive training in rhetorical and literary techniques- Nowhere stated.Is the correct choice.
D. a strong understanding of his world and himself- This is stated in 1st para - "His great merit was that he understood himself so perfectly and handled himself so skilfully". So this option is also ruled out.
E. he had sharp observation power- In the last para the author states -"His observation was so penetrating and his descriptive instinct so unerring, that one might have...." about Gautier. So this option is also ruled out.

2. For what purpose can it reasonably be concluded does the author reference other writers in this passage, including Musset and Browning?

A. To prove that Gautier, as a poet, was unique among his contemporaries - This is clearly stated in 1st para of the passage and is the correct choice.

B. To show that Gautier‘s poetry was representative of French lyricism at the time- The author does not seem to use other author's reference to show that Gautier‘s poetry represents French lyricism at the time.

C. To criticize Gautier‘s limited talent and creativity - The author is praises in passage how Gautier even with limited talent was unique and compares him with some of the other good poets. So this option is not relevant.

D. To refute the idea that Gautier‘s colleagues could easily imitate his style - Although he states that his style is imitated but they were not able to copy the spontaneity and temper. Not the correct choice.

E. To prove how inferior the other writers were compared to Gautier - This is not the objective of the comparison.

3. The author makes a few noteworthy remarks about Gautier‘s attitude towards death. This attitude would most support which of the following conclusions?

We need to focus more towards last para for this question

A. None of Gautier‘s literary works focused on human frailty- No specific mention made on this.

B. Gautier believed that people are inherently linked to the divine- This is not the correct choice. we can infer this from lines such as -"His world was all material, and its..."

C. The fleeting passage of time was a common poetic theme that Gautier neglected- Cannot be inferred.

D. In his poetry, Gautier often focused on the vibrancy of human and natural life- From last para this can be inferred and is the correct choice.

E. Gautier was a strong believer in the theory of life after death - Similar explanation as for choice B

sananoor · Answer

I am surprised i answered all questions right in just 5 mins
I guess the passage is tough but questions are easy....
 " He excels them by his magnificent good temper and the unquestioning serenity of his enjoyment of the great spectacle of nature and art"  ---->this line give me hint to answer question 3

"Such as his finished task now presents him,  he is almost sole of his kind"  this line as well first two para give me hint that he was unique and helped me answer question 2

Nothing was mentioned about  "extensive training in rhetorical and literary techniques" --->nothing is mentioned about training so i picked this in question 1

Cinematiccuisine · Answer

sananoor :
Can you please suggest your technique while reading such paragraph? i read and solved the para in almost 13 mins.
I had to re-read many sentences again and again and ensure that i understood the meaning.

sananoor · Answer

PeepalTree

I was thinking to text you two days back to let u know that you are posting great passages. Your passages really give me tough time
I started practicing RC's from gmatclub and initially i started with 500 level passages. The day i felt that my accuracy has reached 100% in easy passages i started doing 650 level passages. I am still struggling tough! No specific source as i have gmatclub!

LordStark · Answer

Yeah these RC99 passages are tough. Sometimes the questions may not seem GMAT like, but nevertheless these passages are good for getting comfortable with difficult content.

thanks

Arro44 · Answer

This was by far my most painful RC experience to date on this forum.

It is not because the text or the questions are of low quality, on the contrary, but the overall writing style made me cringe.
I really hope I do not have to face something similar come test day.

KanishkM · Answer

2/3 Correct in 5 mins, Passage was not that easy to comprehend

C, A,  B

When you read the passage, you notice that traits about Gautier are discussed throughout the passage.
What was his style of writing, How he was different from his contempraries , What were his views about life

1. In the passage, the author suggests that the French poet Théophile Gautier‘s talents included all of the following EXCEPT:
A. an innovative and unique artistic view of nature.
enjoyment of the great spectacle of nature and art.

B. the ability to quickly and immediately compose poetry.

C. extensive training in rhetorical and literary techniques.
I didn't see this part anywhere in the passage-> Correct Answer

D. a strong understanding of his world and himself.
His great merit was that he understood himself so perfectly and handled himself so skillfully.

E. he had sharp observation powers
The idea was present in the passage

2. For what purpose can it reasonably be concluded does the author reference other writers in this passage, including Musset and Browning?

A. To prove that Gautier, as a poet, was unique among his contemporaries
Correct Answer

B. To show that Gautier‘s poetry was representative of French lyricism at the time
Nowhere present in the whole passage.

C. To criticize Gautier‘s limited talent and creativity
He was not criticized rather he was praised

D. To refute the idea that Gautier‘s colleagues could easily imitate his style
Not the intent of the passage

E. To prove how inferior the other writers were compared to Gautier
This is a negative tone, Out

ArmaanBajaj · Answer

Can someone please share a good explanation of Q1 & 3

guddo · Answer

1. In the passage, the author suggests that the French poet Théophile Gautier‘s talents included all of the following EXCEPT:

The passage praises Gautier for understanding himself, using his talents skillfully, writing with spontaneity, enjoying nature and art with unusual serenity, and observing/describing the world with great precision.  The unsupported idea  is that he had extensive formal training in rhetorical and literary techniques.

(A) an innovative and unique artistic view of nature.

This is supported broadly. The author says Gautier had an unusually strong descriptive instinct and unusually fine senses in observing nature and art.

(B) the ability to quickly and immediately compose poetry.

This is supported by the mention of his “spontaneity.” His imitators could imitate many things, but not his spontaneity.

(C) extensive training in rhetorical and literary techniques.

This is correct. The passage praises Gautier’s skill and mastery, but it does not say that these came from extensive training in rhetoric or literary technique.

(D) a strong understanding of his world and himself.

This is supported. The passage says his great merit was that he “understood himself so perfectly” and handled himself skillfully.

(E) he had sharp observation powers.

This is directly supported. The passage says his observation was “penetrating” and his descriptive instinct was  unerring .

Answer: (C)

guddo · Answer

3. The author makes a few noteworthy remarks about Gautier‘s attitude towards death. This attitude would most support which of the following conclusions?

The author suggests that Gautier saw the material world of nature and art as everything. Death, for him, seemed like the end of all experience, not a passage to some higher or spiritual realm.  This supports the idea that Gautier’s poetry was centered on vivid earthly life , not on death, divinity, or the afterlife.

A. None of Gautier’s literary works focused on human frailty.

This is too absolute. The passage does not prove that none of his works dealt with human weakness.

B. Gautier believed that people are inherently linked to the divine.

This is the opposite of the passage’s implication. The author presents Gautier’s world as material, not spiritual.

C. The fleeting passage of time was a common poetic theme that Gautier neglected.

This is unsupported. The passage discusses Gautier’s attitude toward death, but does not compare his themes with common poetic themes.

D. In his poetry, Gautier often focused on the vibrancy of human and natural life.

This is correct. If Gautier saw the material world as central and death as the end of that world, then it makes sense that his poetry would focus on the vividness of life, nature, and art.

E. Gautier was a strong believer in the theory of life after death.

This is the opposite of the passage. Death is described as an end, not as a transition to an  afterlife .

Answer: (D)

egmat · Answer

Hi ArmaanBajaj,

Both of these are "go back to the exact line" questions, so for each one I'll pin the choice to the precise words in the passage. That's the whole game in a dense RC like this.

Question 1 - the EXCEPT

The stem asks which talent the passage does  not  credit to Gautier. Four choices are anchored in the text; one is a ghost. Match them:

-  A - unique view of nature:  "he is almost sole of his kind," plus nature built him "with senses of a finer strain than the mass of human family." ✔ supported
-  B - quick, spontaneous composing:  his imitators "imitated everything but his  spontaneity ." ✔ supported
-  D - understanding of his world and himself:  "he understood himself so perfectly and handled himself so skilfully." ✔ supported
-  E - sharp observation:  "His observation was so  penetrating ." ✔ supported
-  C - extensive training in rhetorical and literary techniques:  nowhere in the passage. ✘

So  C  is the answer. And here's the part that makes it more than "I couldn't find it": the passage calls Gautier "a genius so  naturally  perfect."  Natural  perfection is the opposite of  trained  skill - the text doesn't just omit training, its whole portrait leans against it. That's your confirmation you haven't simply missed a line.

Question 3 - attitude toward death

Anchor on two lines in the last paragraph: "His world was all  material ," and death was "the sullen dropping of a stone into a well." Together they say Gautier saw the physical world as  all there is  - death is a full stop, no divine, no beyond.

Now the inference the question wants: if this life is everything to him, his poetry would celebrate exactly that -  the vibrancy of human and natural life . That's  D , and it's reinforced by "the unquestioning serenity of his enjoyment of the great spectacle of nature and art."

Test the others against those same lines and they snap:
-  B  (linked to the divine) and  E  (life after death) directly contradict "world was all material" and death-as-an-end.
-  A  ("none of his works") is too absolute - the passage never makes a claim that sweeping.
-  C  is a theme the passage simply never raises.

A quick way to feel the Q3 move: if someone treats  this  world as all there is, you'd expect their art to dwell on the here-and-now, not the hereafter. That instinct is D - and matching an inference to what the text actually commits to (not what's merely plausible) is the skill both questions reward.

Answer: Q1 - C; Q3 - D

Gautier was indeed a poet and a strongly representative one a French

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Gautier was indeed a poet and a strongly representative one a French

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards