It has been commonly accepted for some time now that certain scenes in

Question

It has been commonly accepted for some time now that certain scenes in Shakespeare’s Macbeth are interpolations from the writing of another author  Act III, scene 5, and parts of Act IV, scene 1, have been determined to be the writing of one of his contemporaries, Thomas Middleton.  This can be regarded as both illuminating and problematic, depending upon how the play is being studied. It allows us to infer a great deal about the conventions and practices of writing for the stage at the time. For example, it may have been more collaborative than previously thought, or perhaps Elizabethan notions of plagiarism were different from ours. While historically significant, this does complicate our interpretation of the characters in the play.  It is more difficult to assess authorial intention with regard to a character’s motives if the text has been redacted by multiple authors.     1 
 1. Select the statement or statements that are correct according to the passage.

A. The author feels that Shakespeare is guilty of plagiarism.
B. The interpolations found in plays such as Macbeth makes it more difficult to assess the author’s motives in writing the play.
C. Our current understanding of plagiarism may have arisen after Shakespeare’s time.

2 
 2. Which of the following could aid in the further study of the interpolations discussed in the above passage?

A. an investigation of thematic and technical irregularities in other plays by Shakespeare
B. an examination of the themes and techniques of other writers contemporary with Shakespeare
C. a search through legal documents of Shakespeare’s time for references to plagiarism or intellectual property rights

3 
 3. Which CANNOT be inferred from the passage?

A. The example of interpolation discussed in the passage would be illegal today.
B. Authors and playwrights in Shakespeare’s time might have recruited assistance when composing their works.
C. Shakespeare used Middleton’s writing without his consent.

4 
 4. Which of the following best describes the relationship between the highlighted phrases?

A. concept and example
B. cause and effect
C. thesis and defense
D. thesis and synthesis
E. synthesis and antithesis

Vissamsetty · Answer

Dude the question 2 and 3 have not mentioned those are multiple answer questions, how are we gonna know?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Point! Fixed.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. Select the statement or statements that are correct according to the passage.

This type of question gives you three statements and asks you to select which ones are true. Break it down statement by statement.

Statement (A)  is untrue because the term “plagiarism” is used in the passage in the phrase  “perhaps Elizabethan notions of plagiarism were different from ours” — which indicates that one cannot be certain of what might have constituted plagiarism at the time.

Statement (B)  is a 180: the passage does refer to the assessment of authorial intention if the text has been redacted by several authors, but the passage states the exact opposite of statement (B).

Statement (C)  is correct because you are told that our current notion of plagiarism might be different from the notion of plagiarism in Shakespeare’s time. 
 
  Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. Which of the following could aid in the further study of the interpolations discussed in the above passage?

This Inference question asks you to consider possibilities based on what is in the text but not necessarily stated within it.

(A)  The passage raises the question of how collaborative writing for the stage may have been during Shakespeare’s time. Conducting an investigation into the existence of collaborative writing partnerships would be a good way to determine an answer for this question.

(B)  Familiarizing yourself with the style of other writers who might have helped write or had their work used in the writing of Shakespeare’s plays would help in the determination of the actual authorship of passages in Macbeth (and other plays), as well as provide insight into authorial intention.

Finally,  (C)  is an interesting alternative to a strictly literary study and would help to solve the question posed in the text of what constituted plagiarism in the Elizabethan era. All three are good choices for further study. 
 
  Answer: A,B,C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

3. Which CANNOT be inferred from the passage?    
 
This is an Inference  EXCEPT  question: you must select the answers you cannot infer from the passage.

(A) , that this example of interpolation would be illegal today, is impossible to tell as the passage does not address issues of legality and we do not even know whether Middleton was a willing collaborator.

(B)  is suggested within the passage in the supposition that writing such as Macbeth might have, in fact, been collaborative—this allows you to eliminate choice  (B) .

(C)  you know to be also a correct response for the same reason you specified for  (A) —you do not know precisely Middleton’s role in the composition. Answer choices  (A)  and  (C)  are both correct.

Answer: A,C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

4. Which of the following best describes the relationship between the highlighted phrases?

In this question, you are asked to determine the rhetorical roles of the two highlighted statements. The first highlighted statement is used as an example of the interpolations that the first clause in the sentence mentions. The highlighted portion states that parts of Shakespeare’s work were in fact written by his peer Middleton. So the first highlighted portion appears to be an example.

The second highlighted statement presents an opinion regarding the impact of interpolations on literary analysis. According to this statement, because others wrote certain parts of Shakespeare’s work, it is more difficult to determine a character’s motives. Your prediction should be that the first statement is an example and the second is an opinion or conclusion (remember that in arguments, the words  “opinion”  and  “conclusion”  will often be used interchangeably). Answer  choice (B)  matches this prediction perfectly.

The other choices miss the mark completely. For instance,  choice (A)  incorrectly states that the second highlighted portion is the example. Similarly, choice  (C)  indicates that the first statement is the opinion and the second is the evidence, the exact opposite of our prediction.  (D)  states that the passage opposes an argument, but there is no conflict addressed in the passage. Finally,  choice (E)  identifies both statements as conclusions, which is not correct. 
 
  Answer: B

It has been commonly accepted for some time now that certain scenes in

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