#11 - Concept Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (C).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[Michaeltinti22]

Can anyone explain why C is correct but A isn't? I really have no idea for this one. Reading back on the passage, I felt like the author was quoting Pope to emphasize the critics' failure to analyze the poetic aspects of Homeric poems; I read it as a call to a literary authority to strengthen the claim. This seems to match A most closely. I didn't think it was C because it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the passage. How would the literary environment of the 1700s impact the rest of the passage, which is centered on the 1900s. That seems like irrelevant information to me, although since it's the correct answer it clearly isn't, so I feel like I'm missing something here.

[Malila Robinson]

Hi Michaeltinti22,
You are correct that the passage focuses on the literary environment of the 1900s. The Pope quote was written in the 1700s and the author is saying that it is as relevant in the 1900s as it was when it was written. So just like in the 1700s, critics in the 1900s are focusing on the nonpoetical aspects of the writings. This leads to Answer C being correct.
For answer A we would need to author to have defined "poor treatment" or at least specifically called something about the critics focus 'poor'. It is referred to as 'dry' around line 44-45, but again that doesn't necessarily get us to the fact that it the works have been treated poorly.
Hope that helps!
-Malila