The poetic expressiveness and creativity of Japanese women poets of

Question

The poetic expressiveness and creativity of Japanese women poets of the Manyoshu era is generally regarded as a manifestation of the freedom and relatively high political and economic status women of that era enjoyed. During the Heian period (A.D. 794-1185) which followed, Japanese women became increasingly relegated to domestic roles under the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism, which excluded women from the political and economic arenas. Yet, since poetry of the period came to be defined solely as short lyrical poetry, known as waka, and became the prevailing means of expressing love, women continued to excel in and play a central role in the development of classical Japanese poetry. Moreover, while official Japanese documents were written in Chinese, the phoenetic alphabet kana was used for poetry. Also referred to as onna moji ("women's letters"), kana was not deemed sufficiently sophisticated for use by Japanese men, who continued to write Chinese poetry, increasingly for expressing religious ideas and as an intellectual pastime. Chinese poetry ultimately yielded, then, to waka as the mainstream of Japanese poetry.   1 
 D 
 1. Based on the passage, mainstream Japanese poetry of the Heian period can best be described as

(A) philosophical in its concern 
(B) more refined than the poetry of the Manyoshu era 
(C) an outgowth of Buddhism and Confucianism 
(D) sentimental in nature and lyrical in style 
(E) written primarily for a female audience

2 
 C 
 2. Which of the following statements about kana finds the LEAST support in the passage?

(A) It was based on the sound of the Japanese language. 
(B) It was used primarily by Japanese women. 
(C) It was used for Japanese poetry but not for Japanese prose. 
(D) It was used in Japan after A.D. 793. 
(E) It was considered inappropriate for austere subject matter.

3 
 E 
 3. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to

(A) refute a commonly accepted explanation for the role of women in the development of Japanese poetry 
(B) identify the reasons for the popularity of a distinct form of literary expression in Japan 
(C) distinguish between the Japanese poetry of one historical period with that of another 
(D) trace the influence of religion on the development of Japanese poetry 
(E) provide an explanation for the role of women in the development of Japanese poetry

ALD · Answer

i have used the method of elimination to arrive at answer E which is closest to what the author is trying to say.

the author is not refuting any theory(choice A), not giving reasons(choice b), not distinguishing between (choice C) and neither has he elaborated on the role of religion.

geturdream · Answer

My ans:

D  Yet, since poetry of the period came to be defined solely as short lyrical poetry, known as waka, and became the prevailing means of expressing love, 
C No where its mentioned that the language was not used for prose
E the passage talks about the role of Japanese women in Japanese poetry

guanquan1981 · Answer

D - it mentioned 'short lyricl poetry ' ... ' became prevailing means of expressing love'.
 I take them to mean the answer.
C - The official language is written in Chinese, but it does not say that prose used strictly only chinese.   
E

goforgmat · Answer

for 2nd Question, how can D be inferred from the passage
 sayantanc2k  ,  chetan2u

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
The time period being spoken is Heian period from 794-1140AD..
And it is mentioned that kana was used during this time.
So it supports that Kana was used in Japan after 793AD..

Don't confuse this with that kana started to be used after 793AD, then this will not hold support.
But Q talks ONLY about usage..

VerbalBot · Answer

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The poetic expressiveness and creativity of Japanese women poets of

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The poetic expressiveness and creativity of Japanese women poets of

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