Few great American writers resist classification into eras, styles, an

Question

Few great American writers resist classification into eras, styles, and schools to the extent that nineteenth century poet Emily Dickinson does. While some readers cite her recurrent themes of nature and death in order to pigeonhole her work in the Romantic era that coincided with the years of her short life, others want to associate her with the end of Puritanism or the emergence of new, distinctly American, or even feminine, voices. Still others become mired in psychological interpretations related to the poet’s reclusive life. Yet, each characterization of this unique poet is, as Dickinson once wrote of a fly, a kind of “uncertain stumbling Buzz.” Dickinson’s poetry seems simultaneously behind, anchored in, and ahead of her time.

Much has been made of how Dickinson’s meter replicates the meter of Protestant hymns, especially those of Isaac Watts, who composed in the early 1700s. Her punctuation and capitalization, so bizarre by modern standards, reflects what she learned at the local Mount Holyoke Female Seminary and, to some degree, letter-writing conventions of her time. Her many uses of weapon imagery are consistent with the Civil War that raged during one of the most prolific eras of her output. Yet, the treatment of her themes is sometimes wholly modern, as when she dispenses with the grand gestures of death, God, and eternity to elevate the arrival of a fly. Indeed, there is a peculiarly modernist sensibility at work in a poet who interrupts death with the irritating buzz of a filthy pest, especially in an era that set so much store by the dignity of final words and parting gestures. There is even a kind of modern minimalism to Dickinson, who works single words and single marks of punctuation harder than any farmer ever worked a farm animal in a field. But no matter how she reaped or how she sowed, her work, like the effects of the speaker in “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—,” is not wholly “Assignable.” 
    1 
 1. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as characteristics of Dickinson’s work EXCEPT:

(A) unexpected punctuation.
(B) arms imagery.
(C) muted naturalism.
(D) unorthodox capitalization.
(E) modernist tendencies.

2 
 2. Which of the following statements can most reason ably be inferred from the passage?

(A) “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died” is Dickinson’s best known poem. 
(B) Words in a Dickinson poem typically evoke a multiplicity of meaning. 
(C) Dickinson sought to preserve the punctuation patterns of literary correspondence of her day. 
(D) Dickinson’s copying of the meter of Christian hymns has contributed to her reputation as a less than original poet. 
(E) The categorization of poets into specific schools, styles, and eras is typically misguided.

3 
 3. The author intersperses quotations from Dickinson’s work in order to

(A) illustrate the scope and variety of Dickinson’s major themes.
(B) contrast selected word choices with the Puritanism with which Dickinson is sometimes associated.
(C) compare selected word choices with minimalist expressions in modern poetry. 
(D) exemplify the bizarre punctuation and capitalization that characterize Dickinson’s work. 
(E) provide telling bits of poetic evidence that help present and prove the writer’s thesis.

4 
 4. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Historical influences from Protestant hymns to Puritanism to the Civil War combine to define Dickinson’s poetry.
(B) Dickinson is at the height of her powers when she reverses traditional expectations for poetry. 
(C) To interpret Dickinson’s work along narrowly psychological lines is patently wrong.
(D) Dickinson’s work is a label-defying mix of what Dickinson knew and the new ground that she broke. 
(E) Although Dickinson’s work has been called “feminist,” Romantic is a more apt label for the work

RC Butler 2021  -  Practice Two RC Questions Everyday.   
Passage # 198 Date: 19-May-2021
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2021 .  Click here for Details

gmatway · Answer

This one felt like 700 level .
 
1. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as characteristics of Dickinson’s work EXCEPT:

(A) unexpected punctuation.
(B) arms imagery.
 (C) muted naturalism.  - THis is not mentioned anywhere in the passage 
(D) unorthodox capitalization. refer lines - Her punctuation and capitalization, so bizarre by modern (unorthodox) standards
(E) modernist tendencies.

2. Which of the following statements can most reasonably be inferred from the passage?

(A) “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died” is Dickinson’s best known poem. - Reject as no evidence is mentioned .
 (B) Words in a Dickinson poem typically evoke a multiplicity of meaning . - This is the very reason why so many people are busy defining /associating Dickinson in a genre. 
(C) Dickinson sought to preserve the punctuation patterns of literary correspondence of her day. - no where this is mentioned .
(D) Dickinson’s copying of the meter of Christian hymns has contributed to her reputation as a less than original poet. - extreme case - reject
(E) The categorization of poets into specific schools, styles, and eras is typically misguided. - no evidence in passage

3. The author intersperses quotations from Dickinson’s work in order to

(A) illustrate the scope and variety of Dickinson’s major themes.
(B) contrast selected word choices with the Puritanism with which Dickinson is sometimes associated.
(C) compare selected word choices with minimalist expressions in modern poetry. 
(D) exemplify the bizarre punctuation and capitalization that characterize Dickinson’s work. 
 (E) provide telling bits of poetic evidence that help present and prove the writer’s thesis.  - correct - refer lines - like the  effects  of the speaker in “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—,” is not wholly “Assignable.”

4. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Historical influences from Protestant hymns to Puritanism to the Civil War combine to define Dickinson’s poetry.- reject .. there are multiple meanin so we can't fit D's poems in one cateory of civil war. 
(B) Dickinson is at the height of her powers when she reverses traditional expectations for poetry. 
(C) To interpret Dickinson’s work along narrowly psychological lines is patently wrong.
 (D) Dickinson’s work is a label-defying mix of what Dickinson knew and the new ground that she broke.   by REFUSING SO MANY MULTIPLE SINLE CATEORIES TO FIT IN & BY SHOWIN EVIDENCES of how dickinson used diffrent experiences author wants us to beleive D was aware of what D was doin and defied a single lable .
(E) Although Dickinson’s work has been called “feminist,” Romantic is a more apt label for the work.reject .. there are multiple meanin so we can't fit D's poems in one cateory of romanticism .

ricardorr04 · Answer

3/4 in ~8 minutes.

had trouble with question 3... how did you guys approach it? I found the concept of "thesis" out of scope but guess I was wrong.

MBAB123 · Answer

Hey, Sharing my POE for Q3 -

3. The author intersperses quotations from Dickinson’s work in order to

(A) illustrate the scope and variety of Dickinson’s major themes.  Incorrect - The author is not concerned with the variety or scope of major themes. 
(B) contrast selected word choices with the Puritanism with which Dickinson is sometimes associated.  Incorrect - out of scope 
(C) compare selected word choices with minimalist expressions in modern poetry.  Incorrect - out of scope.  
(D) exemplify the bizarre punctuation and capitalization that characterize Dickinson’s work.  Incorrect - this is mentioned in the passage but has nothing to do with quoting Dickinson. 
(E) provide telling bits of poetic evidence that help present and prove the writer’s thesis.  Correct - The author is trying to add evidence to his point.

Happy to discuss any of the options in more detail.

akadiyan · Answer

Took 9 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions. Got 3/4 and answered Q3 incorrectly. The questions associated with the passage are not tough but the subject in discussion is dense and i felt hard to engage with the content.

1. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as characteristics of Dickinson’s work EXCEPT:

(A) unexpected punctuation.
(B) arms imagery.
(C) muted naturalism. - This is not given anywhere in the passage. 
(D) unorthodox capitalization.
(E) modernist tendencies.

Ans:  C

2. Which of the following statements can most reason ably be inferred from the passage?

(A) “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died” is Dickinson’s best known poem.
(B) Words in a Dickinson poem typically evoke a multiplicity of meaning.
(C) Dickinson sought to preserve the punctuation patterns of literary correspondence of her day.
(D) Dickinson’s copying of the meter of Christian hymns has contributed to her reputation as a less than original poet.
(E) The categorization of poets into specific schools, styles, and eras is typically misguided.

Through the passage, author presents multiple interpreter about the poet and her works.

Ans:  B

3. The author intersperses quotations from Dickinson’s work in order to

(A) illustrate the scope and variety of Dickinson’s major themes.
(B) contrast selected word choices with the Puritanism with which Dickinson is sometimes associated.
(C) compare selected word choices with minimalist expressions in modern poetry.
(D) exemplify the bizarre punctuation and capitalization that characterize Dickinson’s work.
(E) provide telling bits of poetic evidence that help present and prove the writer’s thesis

Author throught the passage quotes lines from the poet's work to explain his or her message.

Ans:  E

4. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Historical influences from Protestant hymns to Puritanism to the Civil War combine to define Dickinson’s poetry.
(B) Dickinson is at the height of her powers when she reverses traditional expectations for poetry.
(C) To interpret Dickinson’s work along narrowly psychological lines is patently wrong.
(D) Dickinson’s work is a label-defying mix of what Dickinson knew and the new ground that she broke.
(E) Although Dickinson’s work has been called “feminist,” Romantic is a more apt label for the work

Ans:  D

rs47 · Answer

Can someone explain the answer to Q2?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. Which of the following statements can most reason ably be inferred from the passage?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

In  paragraph 3 , the author states that  “Dickinson . . . works single words . . . harder than any farmer ever worked a farm animal in the field.”  This suggests getting a great deal of meaning or resonance out of a single word.

The correct answer is (B).

TBT · Answer

Can someone explain the answer to Q3?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. The author intersperses quotations from Dickinson’s work in order to

Difficulty Level:   700+

Explanation

In  paragraph 1 , the quotation is used to help present the thesis: that pigeonholing Dickinson’s work into a single category is not possible, or a kind of stumbling around. In  paragraph 3 , the first quotation is used to emphasize the irritating buzz of a filthy pest at the moment of death or the point about modernist sensibility. The final quoted word relates directly to the thesis: Dickinson is not  “assignable.”

The correct answer is (E).

mmdfl · Answer

Reason why option C in 2 is  wrong : The passage mentions that her punctuation reflects conventions of her time, including what she learned at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary and letter-writing conventions. However, it doesn't specifically say she sought to "preserve" these patterns.

Few great American writers resist classification into eras, styles, an

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Few great American writers resist classification into eras, styles, an

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