GRE Literature in English (REA) (53 page)

 

39.
(E)

This is from
Wordsworth
. The eye of the literary critic is obviously at work. References locate the piece more precisely as to time. Dryden (C) preceded Wordsworth, while Coleridge (A) and Goethe (B) were contemporaries. John Newman (D) was a clergyman known for his oratory.

 

40.
(D)

This is from Huxley's
Science and Culture
. The other four works promoted the idea of aesthetics and “art for art's sake,” a phrase actually taken from Pater's work.

 

41.
(D)

Social knowledge and critical commentary are emphasized in this short passage. These are qualities that make authorship by most of the other choices doubtful.

 

42.
(E)

This is from
Divinity School Address
. Puritanical origin (evil and weak man) and New England Renaissance belief in the unbounded moral potential of man should be clues here. Thoreau (A) spoke more of man's value to his fellow man rather than virtue, Freneau (B) is a satirist, while the tone of the passage does not match Poe (C) or Lincoln (D).

 

43.
(C)

While the exuberance at the beginning of the passage may seem out of character, the historical concern and concentration on individual psychology are characteristic of Hawthorne. E. B. White (B) and Emerson (E) wrote with a gentler tone than indicated in the passage. The narrator does seem to have an intensity that matches Poe (A), but Poe's narrators do not generally have an interest in historical figures.

 

44.
(A)

This is from “King Arthur's Order of Chivalry.” Tennyson had a particular interest in knighthood and the “glorious” days of the Middle Ages. Mansfield (B), Poe (C), and Arnold (E) did not utilize the knights of King Arthur in their poetry, and Marlowe (D) is better known as a dramatist.

 

45.
(D)

Morality was seen as a guiding factor in seventeenth-century England—during which it was written, as indicated by the language of this poem. (C) and (E) are guiding principles of Romantic poetry.

 

46.
(C)

This is from
Comus
. Note the clean, short, almost epigramic tone. Pope (A) wrote in the Romantic era, while Dryden (B) and Jonson (E) are better known for their comedies.

 

47.
(D)

Though written two hundred years before, the passage shows obvious elements of Scots (althocht/dur, etc.). Pronunciation indicates the presence of the heavy “r.” The passage is too anachronistic for Chaucer (A) and Shakespeare (E). Although the passage shares some characteristics with Old English [(B) and (C)], particularly the use of alliteration, there is the additional Scottish element to take in account.

 

48.
(D)

This is from
The Age of Reason
. The author means that there's something surprising in his viewpoint—even shocking. Paine, of course, was never one to strive for popularity by advancing traditional views, and his “Unitarian” orientation toward rationality and against iconoclasm are evidenced in this passage.

 

49.
(B)

This is from Lawrence's
Thomas Hardy
. Hardy's ability to ennoble the common man is what impresses D. H. Lawrence here. The other passages do not describe Hardy's display of naturalism, in which all men can be destined for equal greatness.

 

50.
(E)

This is from Lawrence's
Edgar Allan Poe
. A look at Poe's poem “The Bells” is evidence of the descriptive accuracy of this passage. Passages (A) and (C) can be easily eliminated as they describe writers more moralistic and didactic than Poe, while (D) can be eliminated because it describes characters and settings not normally utilized by Poe.

 

51.
(D)

In Silverma's
Pro Malo Publico
, usage such as “a body” is a clue to the satirist attempt to imitate Clemens' style. The passage's humor, which tweaks the subject in a manner seemingly gentle to the subject but a bit more caustic to the reader, is also characteristic of Twain.

 

52.
(B)

This is from Hopkins'
The Grand Old Duke Of York
. It is an exceptionally comic exaggeration of Salinger's style—as is easily found in Holden Caulfield's casual and qualified speaking in
The Catcher In The Rye
.

 

53.
(E)

This is Pellman in
Diary of a Stranger
. The internal joke, while not characteristic of Camus, makes the piece illustrative of the stranger's cold indifference to the universe that surrounds him.

 

54.
(B)

This is from
Tradition and the Individual Talent
. Eliot, the precise critic, is seen in this small excerpt.

 

55.
(C)

This is from
Criticism and Fiction
. The nineteenth-century writer did not feel awkward with “beseech,” and his message to the first or second generation of American critics as they start “anew” also places the time.

 

56.
(C)

In
Fleurs de Mal
the description is “Swarming city, city filled with dreams / Where the ghost in full daylight hails the passerby.” Flaubert (A) was a prose writer rather than a poet, and the setting is modern compared to the times of Dante (B), Shakespeare (D), and Ovid (E).

 

57.
(D)

It is from IV, 25-27: Heathen who uttered “sighs, which caused the eternal air to tremble.” The general portrayal here of London as an “Unreal City” and the imagery, which suggests hell, are also clues.

 

58.
(C)

It is from “The Waste Land,” lines 60-65. While all of the writers were American-born, only Eliot resided in England for much of his adult life.

 

59.
(D)

One person is speaking in a poetic form. The self-questioning emphasizes the monologic nature of the passage. Stream-of-consciousness (B) would include the senses perceived by the subject, and would not be transmitted through voice. Decalogue (A) is an alternative title for the Ten Commandments, and (C) and (E) imply a dialogue.

 

60.
(D)

See Ecclesiastes i.2. Vanity is in fact an important theme in Shelley's poem (C), but no priest is alluded to in the poem.
Pilgrim's Progress
(E) is concerned with the search for salvation.

 

61.
(C)

This is from “The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church.” Dramatic monologue is characteristic of many of Browning's finest works. The break from traditional Victorian poetry also placed Browning at odds occasionally with Rossetti (A) and Arnold (E). Swinburne (B) often shocked Victorian audiences with his celebration of physical love, while Wilde (D), of course, wrote in a satirical vein.

 

62.
(D)

Its main thrust is to reinforce the denial in the first sentence that man is not just a beast. (A), (B), and (C) contradict the meaning of the passage, and (E) is a non sequitur.

 

63.
(C)

This is from
Hamlet
IV.v. The Prince of Denmark wrestles with the meaning of life and the purpose of humanity in the famous play, even as the lofty thinker wrestles with his own base and murderous impulses. This passage is a good representation of the struggles Hamlet articulates in his soliloquies.

 

64.
(E)

The passage speaks of the coming of death (night). The agents of death prey on living creatures and kill them. (A) and (B) are objects that refer to night as well, while (C) and (D) are adversaries of night itself, rather than “night's black agents.”

 

65.
(D)

In III.ii., Shakespeare's command of the language indicates a character's need to slough off mortal fears and call up courage to face difficult deeds. The dark imagery in this passage is also particularly representative of
Macbeth
, which explores the descent into evil.

 

66.
(D)

Cassius is playing the devil's advocate. Brutus and Cassius do not mean to imply that it is better to die young [(A) and (E)] but that fear of death often consumes one.

 

67.
(C)

This is from Lawrence's
Thomas Mann
. Pope, author of “Whatever is, is right,” is considered the true believer in seventeenth-century logical methods. Whitman (A) and Eliot (E) utilize the aesthetic form as described to contrast with the method of Pope.

 

68.
(D)

The octave of the Petrarchan sonnet reads
abbaabba
. Two other famous forms of the sonnet are the Shakespearean sonnet (A), the first octave of which is rhymed
ababcdcd
, and the Spenserian sonnet (B) which utilizes the
ababbcbc
octet rhyme scheme.

 

69.
(D)

The traditional metaphor for marriage (or in contemporary parlance—commitment) is two people becoming one. The speaker is recalling their first meeting, remembering it as the first momentous step toward their union.

 

70.
(C)

This is from “Meeting and Passing.” Hills, walls, and footprints, as well as the typical lilt of Frostian poetry, indicate its origin. The tone of the passage is more subdued than that of Byron (D) or Browning (E).

 

71. (
C)

Chris is frustrated by his mother's belief in the fantasy that Larry will be found alive. Chris is attacking what his mother says, not providing information on his own (A), but at the same time, his intent is not to ridicule (B).

 

72.
(D)

Domestic arguments symbolizing greater issues are typical of Miller's work. Here, in what Miller used as practice for his later
Death of a Salesman
, mother and son argue for possession of memories and over Chris' effort to marry Larry's old girlfriend, Annie.

 

73.
(C)

Chaucer describes the Squire by his age in the Prologue. The Knight (D) and the Monk (E) can be dismissed out of hand due to age and lack of bachelorhood, respectively, and the Franklin (A) is certainly not “lusty.” The Yeoman (B) is typically recognized by his weapons and green apparel.

 

74.
(C)

The passage begins: “Ye know the spheres and various tasks assigned...” The items in the passage are the spheres' tasks. Answer (A) can be eliminated as the power being referred to is clearly not earthly. (E) can be discarded because it is not universal enough.

 

75.
(C)

More than just listing, cataloguing is generally employed to achieve a desired emotional effect. (A) is a general term for the form of a work rather than its content. The poet does not go into greater detail about the tasks [eliminate (B) and (D)].

 

76.
(D)

Rain, to be “kindly,” needs to fall on that which needs it, i.e., cultivated fields. (A) can be readily eliminated since the previous lines also refer to natural areas.

 

77.
(C)

It is from Pope's “The Rape of the Lock.” The violent acts of nature portrayed are consistent with the imagery used in the Romantic era [eliminate (B), (D), and (E)]. Congreve (A) was better known for his comedies.

 

78.
(C)

These words taken from the preceding paragraph: “Volkssprache”—people's language—reinforces the point. As a contrast, the author points to Europe where the different languages within Europe are further splintered within each country.

 

79.
(C)

Immigrants can “condition” American pronunciation and vocabulary. It is of interest that one of the prime conditionings is the addition of vocabulary (single words and expressions)—often associated with food from the countries of immigrant origin.

 

80.
(A)

This passage is from
The American Language
. A particular interest of Mencken was the influence of immigrants (such as his own family's German background) on American English. Eliot (C) did not live in America for most of his adult life. Michener (D) is famous for his gargantuan novels on different regions in the world.