The essential issue in the Wordsworths' relationship is not whether

The author implies that which of the following were obstacles to Dorothy Wordsworth's becoming a poet?

The fact that women were traditionally the subjects rather than the authors of poetry.
The omission of the word "I" in her journals.
Her relationship with her brother.
I only
II only
III only
I and III only
II and III only

Official explanation

The topic and scope of the passage is how the relationship between William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy affected her ability to perceive herself as a writer. While (I) and (III) are clearly indicated in the text, (II)'s "omission of the word 'I' in her journals" is evidence of Dorothy Wordsworth's unselfconsciousness" but not an obstacle in itself.


The author would most probably identify which of the following as "the essential issue" (line 1) in the Wordsworths' relationship?

Whether Dorothy felt taken advantage of by William's use of her journal entries
Whether Dorothy was familiar with mainstream literary tradition
How William altered Dorothy's writings for inclusion in his poems
How the relationship reinforced Dorothy's assumptions about herself
Whether the relationship was psychologically harmful


Official explanation

(A) is contrary to the passage. Sentence 1 states that "whether William's 'borrowing' ... constituted … exploitation" is not the essential issue. The correct answer, (D), paraphrases the end of that sentence "how the relationship influenced Dorothy's inability to conceive of herself as a writer."


Which of the following provides the most appropriate substitute for the term other, as used in line 20?

The object of male aggression
A personification of nature
Acted upon rather than acting
The "I" of poetry
Emotive rather than Intellectual


Official explanation


The line referred to speaks of the "authorial self, the ‘I’ and of the "dominated other." So the other is the thing about which the author writes, the object "acted upon rather than acting" (Choice (C)). Nature (Choice (B)) is only one example of the "other" in this sense. (D) is directly contrary—the "other" is contrasted with the "I" of poetry.

Hope This Helps.
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