GRE Literature in English (REA) (25 page)

 

188.
(B)

“Art for art's sake” was the aesthetic philosophy of Oscar Wilde. It is typical of modern art generally, except when a particular philosophy, such as Freudianism or Marxism, dominates the art. The others, Plato, Eliot, Pope, and Horace, all embrace some degree of didacticism. Plato (A) argued in
The Republic
that the arts must serve a moral purpose or be excluded from society. Eliot (C) believed that art should be subordinate to religion. Horace (E) articulated the classical belief that art must “teach and delight.” Pope (D) followed Horace in his neoclassicism.

 

189.
(D)

The passage is an example of an Elizabethan soliloquy, a speech delivered by a character alone on the stage, talking to the audience. In this case it is Edmund from Shakespeare's
King Lear
. Browning's monologues (A) are poems in which a character, not the poet himself, speaks throughout. An eclogue (B) is a pastoral poem in which the poet speaks through the voice of a shepherd, or often through a dialogue between two shepherds. In the Anglo-Saxon elegies (C), “The Seafarer” and “The Wanderer,” a speaking voice bewails the loss of comrades and the transience of all things. In a mock-epic invocation (E) the poet uses the formulas of epic style for comic effect.

 

190.
(C)

Edmund argues in this soliloquy that the rights of inheritance are imposed by artificial and unnatural customs. He opposes nature to custom. According to nature, he is just as much his father's son as is his legitimate brother Edgar. In taking nature as his goddess, Edmund is justifying his plot to get rid of his brother and claim the inheritance for himself.

 

191.
(A)

The speaker is Machiavellian in that he plots immoral political action for his own well being and without regard for moral considerations. An anti-hero (B) is a somewhat comic figure who has a heroic role but lacks heroic stature. Bloom in Joyce's
Ulysses
would be an example. A foil (C) is a character who sets off the heroic character by being more practical. An example would be Emilia (to Desdemona) in Shakespeare's
Othello
. A personification (D) is a character who represents an abstraction, like Good Deeds in
Everyman
. The protagonist (E) is the hero or heroine of a drama or narrative, the character who is trying to accomplish something or who takes a stand for moral values. An example would be Antigone in Sophocles'
Antigone
.

 

192.
(B)

These lines from Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 could best be classified as anti-Petrarchan. The term indicates a reversal of the Petrarchan conventions. Petrarch perfected the rhetoric of the love sonnet, especially a repertoire of comparisons for describing his beloved Laura. These particular metaphors and other rhetorical devices were much imitated by Renaissance poets, DuBellay and Ronsard in France, Wyatt and Spenser in England, among others. Wyatt's sonnets are in effect translations of Petrarch's into English. The comparisons typically praise the physical and spiritual perfections of the woman. What Shakespeare does is to reverse this convention: he calls attention to the absurdity of the comparisons. The sonnet is not Petrarchan (A) because it denies rather than reaffirms the tradition. It is not Romantic (C), as that would suggest a sonnet about nature. It is not mock epic (D), that would be a poem in which the rhetorical formulas of the epic, an invocation, heroic epithets, epic similes, and so on, are applied to everyday, trivial, contemporary events. It is not surreal (E): this term applies to modern poetry and art in which imagery is juxtaposed in a way to suggest the irrational and the subconscious. Shakespeare's reversal of the Petrarchan conventions is a rational, self-conscious display of wit.

 

193.
(C)

The literary work that would best illustrate this definition of the Baroque would be Milton's
Paradise Lost
. Milton wrote the poem in the middle of the seventeenth century at the end of the English Renaissance. The focus on religious subject matter is typically Baroque. The magnificence of Milton's ornate rhetoric is also typically Baroque. Chaucer's
The Canterbury Tales
(A) is a late medieval work. Although there is religious subject matter, the style is plainer and more straightforward. It is less ornate and there is less emphasis on intense religious emotion. Ben Jonson's
Volpone
(B) is an example of Renaissance neoclassicism. It is moral, but not particularly theological. It is didactic, but provokes laughter and reflection rather than intense religious emotion. Pope's
An Essay on Man
(D) is a continuation of neoclassicism into the eighteenth century. It is to some extent a reaction against the Baroque in its balanced couplets, its rational consideration of philosophical questions, and its Deist theology. Wordsworth's
The Prelude
(E) is a Romantic text describing the cultivation of an aesthetic sensitivity to nature through childhood experiences. Although intensity of emotion is evoked, the subject matter is more psychological than theological and the style is relatively plain.

 

194.
(B)

Melville uses a limited third-person point of view to create a gap between what we know and what is actually happening in the narrative. By limiting the reader's view of events to that of Captain Delano, Melville leads us through an experience of misunderstanding and recognition. We share in Captain Delano's observations and intuitions and we share his uncertainty. We actively participate with Captain Delano in trying to make sense out of the observations. In the end we are forced to reevaluate our own assumptions. This gap between what is actually happening and what we are aware of is a form of irony.

 

195.
(C)

In these lines from Shakespeare's
Hamlet
, Polonius is giving advice to his son before Laertes returns to France. Polonius is somewhat pedantic and comic. Thus, there is an element of irony in having these truisms mouthed by a foolish character.

 

196.
(B)

Blank verse is typical of Elizabethan drama. Blank verse is poetry with meter (specifically iambic pentameter), but without rhyme. Shakespeare uses it particularly in heroic, upper-class scenes. For comic, lower-class scenes, he typically uses prose. Free verse (A) is poetry without rhyme but without meter as well. There are no examples of alliteration (C, consecutive words beginning with the same letter or sound) in the passages. (D) and (E) are different types of rhymed verse.

 

197.
(E)

“Conceit” in the first line refers to metaphor. The word is related to
concept
and originally meant
idea
. As used in the Renaissance with regard to poetry, it refers to a fanciful or witty idea or expression. In these lines from “An Essay on Criticism,” Pope is referring disparagingly to the densely metaphorical style of seventeenth-century poetry. He particularly objects to the originality and oddness of the comparisons. This meaning of “conceit” is now archaic. The modern sense of the word,
a high opinion of oneself
, had a separate development from the same original meaning of
idea
.

 

198.
(C)

The poetry that Pope is referring to and that he dislikes is often classified as metaphysical. The term designates a body of seventeenth-century poetry characterized by a densely metaphorical style. The metaphors themselves are often strikingly original. The term “metaphysical” refers to the theological and religious concerns that form the typical subject matter of this poetry.

 

199.
(D)

Wordsworth's theme in this poem is that the experiences of the child determine the sensibilities of the adult. In particular, he felt that his love of nature was formed in childhood. (A), (B), and (C) refer to actual parent-child relationships, while Wordsworth is writing about them metaphorically in this poem.

 

200.
(A)

By “natural piety,” Wordsworth means the love and appreciation of nature. Wordsworth does not express specific theological concerns. He refers to a literal rainbow, not a symbolic one (B). He relates to nature directly, not as a means to an end (C). He does not characterize nature as mechanical (D), and he does not worship gods and goddesses (E).

 

201.
(B)

The line is spoken by Satan in Milton's
Paradise Lost
, I, 263. It summarizes Satan's point of view, his pride, his rebellion, his ambition, and his role as tyrant among the fallen angels. It is, of course, not Milton's point of view (A), but rather a point of view created by Milton for a principal character in his epic poem. Dr. Faustus (C), the hero of Marlowe's tragedy, sells his soul to the devil, but he expresses no desire to “reign in hell.” In return for selling his soul, he wants to satisfy his ambitions and desires in this life here on the earth before he dies. Machiavelli (D) was a diplomat of the Florentine Republic. He supported the republic through his work as a diplomat. After the downfall of the republic, he wrote
The Prince
, describing the actions required of a tyrant in order to keep control of a city seized illegitimately. Machiavelli was one of the first to describe what rulers actually did rather than what they were supposed to do. This so offended many people that Machiavelli became associated with evil. He, however, was a practical diplomat with no apparent interest in theology. Shakespeare's Othello (E) is a tragic hero consumed by jealousy. He is concerned with the faithfulness of his wife, not with the hereafter.

 

202.
(B)

The refrain is from Poe's poem “The Raven.” Although the line is famous enough that most readers would immediately recognize it as Poe, it would be possible to eliminate (C) and (D) pretty readily, since the language is a bit too contemporary for these authors.

 

203.
(D)

This sonnet conforms more to Italian models than to those of his predecessors, Shakespeare and Spenser. (B) and (E) do not refer to variations of the sonnet form.

 

204.
(D)

The author retains the iambic pentameter and 14 lines requirements. The others are characteristics of this sonnet, and characteristic also of some Italian forms. The last two lines do not rhyme, which eliminates answer (A). The rhyme scheme of the octet is closed (
abba
), eliminating answer (B). The author does not make a sharp distinction between the first eight lines and the final six (D), and as stated in the previous answer, the sonnet adheres to the Italian form (E).

 

205.
(B)

As mentioned in the previous answers, this sonnet differs in form from those written by Spenser (A) and Shakespeare (C). Although this is a form of Italian sonnet, Petrarch (D) wrote his sonnets in Italian and Latin. Wyatt (E) introduced the sonnet form to English poetry but often used irregular rhyme in his own sonnets.

 

206.
(C)

Manuductio
is a work by the American cleric, Cotton Mather.
Areopagitica
(A) was written in defense of a free press, while (D) is a companion poem to
L'Allegro
. (B) and (E) are, along with
Paradise Lost
, Milton's last great works.

 

207.
(C)

“Assassination” (line 2) would imply the killing of a powerful leader eliminating (D) and (E). Brutus did not exhibit great reservations until after Caesar's death (A). The constant references to time and the worry about the speaker's own fate favors choosing
Macbeth
over
Hamlet
(B).

 

208.
(D)

“Raw-boned” indicates a hollow-cheeked and gaunt appearance. “Penury,” of course, is still indicative of poverty. The relation is clear: poverty brings on starvation—“did never dine.” (B) is an alternate meaning for “pine” that does not fit in the context of the poem.

 

209.
(D)

The lines are from Spenser's “The Faerie Queene.” The language resembles modern English too closely to be mistaken for Chaucer (B). Marlowe (A) is best known for his dramas, written in blank verse. Sidney (C) wrote chiefly sonnets and pastoral romances, while Campion (E) is famous for his lyrical poetry.

 

210.
(C)

In order to answer questions of this type, it is necessary to know some background information about each of the authors if the works themselves are unfamiliar. John Woolman was an eighteenth-century Quaker leader who was perhaps best known for, besides his
Journal
, his anti-slavery treatises.

 

211.
(A)

The other four writers actually lived about a hundred years after the time of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, so these can be eliminated even if one is not aware who the leader of the Colony was.