#7 - Critic: Emily Dickinson’s poetry demonstrates that

[ksandberg]

I was between A and B in this question, and I eventually chose A. I thought that B could be true and thus was not the correct answer based on the following facts: 1) the meaning that a reader gets from a poem is always the result of the reader's system of beliefs and the poem and 2) any two readers from different cultures and eras have radically different sets of beliefs. I thought that based on this, it was still possible for two people from two different eras with different beliefs to extract the same meaning from the poem because the stimulus does not say that a different set of beliefs leads to a different experience with the meaning of the poem. For example, Susie may believe that women should stay at home and take care of the house, while Johnny believes that women should go to work. These are opposing beliefs, but Susie and Johnny may apply their beliefs to the poem in different ways and end up at the same conclusion.

I thought A was correct because the stimulus specifies that the meaning is a "unique result between a reader's system of beliefs and a poem", which I interpreted to mean solely a result of A and B. This would mean that someone else's interpretation of it, factor C, does not have an impact.

Thank you so much for your help.

[AthenaDalton]

Hi ksandberg,

This is a cannot be true question, so we're looking for an answer choice that directly contradicts the rules set out in the stimulus. The stimulus tells us that a poem is an interaction between (1) the reader's belief system and (2) the poem, and further goes on to say that readers from different cultures or eras will have radically different belief systems.

Answer choice (A) raises the possibility that influences other than the poem and the reader's own belief system could impact how the poem is interpreted. Although the possibility of a third party's influence over the poem isn't mentioned in the stimulus, it's not specifically ruled out either. Since there's nothing in the stimulus that explicitly limits influences to the reader and the poem, this could be true.

Answer choice (B) does directly contradict the stimulus since it tell us that two readers from different eras reach the same interpretation of a poem. The example you gave -- of two readers from different eras with different beliefs nonetheless reaching the same interpretation of the poem -- could happen in the real world, but in the world of the LSAT we have to think in a more restrictive manner. The stimulus tells us that the reader's belief system changes how they will interpret the poem, and also states that readers from different times will have radically different belief systems. It doesn't leave open the possibility that the same poem combined with two radically different belief systems could nonetheless produce the same interpretation. Therefore, we can conclude that answer choice (B) cannot be true.

I hope this makes sense. Good luck studying!

[mollylynch]

How can we know that E could be correct?

[Adam Tyson]

Anything that is not disproven by the stimulus could be true, molly. Answer E could be true because there's nothing to say that it can't be. You don't need evidence that it can be true; you just need to see that there is no evidence against it!

Here are some other things that could be true based on that stimulus:

My dog enjoys listening to me read Dickenson's poetry.

My dog enjoys listening to me read limericks.

Pineapple on pizza is an abomination.

Pineapple on pizza is a delicacy that only those with very refined tastes can truly appreciate.

Emily Dickinson like pizza with pineapple on it.

Every one of these things could be true, because the stimulus doesn't prove they aren't. Don't go looking for evidence to support the things that could be true; look only for evidence that proves the correct answer to be false.