GRE Literature in English (REA) (52 page)

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Authors: James S. Malek,Thomas C. Kennedy,Pauline Beard,Robert Liftig,Bernadette Brick

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Questions 224 â 225
refer to the following passage

Notwithstanding his generally realistic outlook and his practical bent, he is a moral idealist, far ahead of his age in his sense of human decency, and, at times, a mystic and a day-dreamerâor, more accurately, a night-dreamerâwho is uncommonly sensitive to the presence of divine beauty in nature. He is, finally, the good Bad Boy whom Americans have always idolized in one form or another. And, though he is exposed to as much evil in human nature as young Goodman Brown had seen, Huck is saved from Brown's pessimistic gloom by his sense of humor and, what is more crucial, by his sense of humanity.

224.

The passage above best adheres to which school of literary theory?

Psychoanalytic theory
New Criticism
Archetypal theory
Historical-biographical theory
Reader-response theory

225.

The author of the passage is describing a novel written by _____.

Herman Melville
Mark Twain
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Henry James
John Steinbeck

Question 226
refers to a criticism of the following lines.

Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in they marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint honor turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust.

This statement, in even sharper contrast with the gentle cajolery of the first stanza, is brutalâeven coarseâin its explicitness. The “marble vault” is a thinly disguised vaginal metaphor suggesting, perhaps, both rigor mortis and the fleshless pelvis of the skeleton. “My echoing song” and the sensual meanings of the lines following, are clear enough. From the eternal burning of a vegetable passion, in the face of reality, we see that all love must at last end in ashesâjust as all chastity must end, the same as sexual profligacy, in dust.

226.

The critical exploration of the stanza is best placed within which theoretical approach?

Feminist theory
Reader-response theory
Deconstructionist theory
Psychoanalytic theory
Marxist theory

227.

For the social hierarchy under God, the Romantics substituted an esthetic hierarchy, based on the prerogatives of the man of feeling, the immoralist, the artist, the confidence trickster. The Romantics could easily dismiss the Lord of Creation for a God of Love, Sympathetic Nature, or the Demon of the Absolute. Instead of Bunyan's plodding Christian earning his heavenly reward by imitating the life of Christ, they invoked a monstrous egoistwho lavishly loved woman, knowledge, power, or freedom more than the world, and who, when frustrated, sought to impoverish it by his suicide.

This passage centers upon the narrative trope of ______.

theme
allegory
bricolage
symbol
the unreliable narrator

228.

During the daytime he did not want to show himself at the window, out of consideration for his parents, but he could not crawl very far around the few square yards of floor space he had, nor could he bear lying quietly at rest all during the night, while he was fast losing interest he had ever taken in food, so that for mere recreation he had formed the habit of crawling crisscross over the walls and ceiling. He especially enjoyed hanging suspended from the ceiling; it was much better than lying on the floor; one could breathe more freely; one's body swung and rocked lightly; and in the almost blissful absorption induced by this suspension it could happen to his surprise that he let go and fell plump on the floor.

From the following passage, it appears that “he” is

an acrobat.
a snake.
loved by his family.
confused.
None of the above.

Questions 229 â 230
refer to the following passage.

Until next Sunday when we are walking through the flea market on Maxwell Street and
there
! Lying on the street next to some tool bits, and platform shoes with the heels all squashed, and a florescent green wicker wastebasket, and aluminum foil, and hubcaps, and a pink shag rug, and windshield wiper blades, and dusty mason jars, and a coffee can full of rusty nails.
There
! Where? Two Mattel boxes. One with the “Career Gal” ensemble, snappy black and white business suit, three-quarter-length sleeve jacket with kick-pleat skirt, red sleeveless shell, gloves, pumps, and matching hat included.The other, “Sweet Dreams,” dreamy pink-and-white plaid nightgown and matching robe, lace-trimmed slippers, hair-brush and hand mirror included. How much? Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, until they say okay.

229.

What are the items that the protagonists of this passage so desire?

Platform shoes
Rusty nails
A business suit and skirt
A pair of dolls
A hair-brush and a hand mirror

230.

From the tone of the passage, how do the protagonists appear to feel about the items they have described?

Indifferent
Annoyed
Saddened
Pleased
Obsessed

GRE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Practice Test 3 Answer Key

GRE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Detailed Explanations of Answers

1.
(C)

This is close to Sartre, and to his borrowing from Descartes: “I think, therefore, I exist.” Meaning is determined by our actions, not from some intrinsic force. The other four answers can be eliminated because existence is not the most significant force in those tenets.

2.
(B)

This sentence is from
Emma
. Austen's attention to domestic details is evident here. Flaubert's Emma Bovary (A) is not a privileged girl, and Cather (C) normally depicted the lives of immigrant families. The description does not suit a Dickensian character (D), and although Fitzgerald's Daisy (E) is also a sheltered girl, she is older than twenty-one.

3.
(B)

The poet implies that she has NOT left him any hope, because “dark despair around benights me.” Before this he states that no one would grieve as long as there was some hopeâsome star of lightâbut “nae cheerfu' twinkle lights” him at all.

4.
(A)

The poet presents a somewhat unexpected and sympathetic view of their affair. He could not have avoided falling in love with Nancy, for “nothing could resist my Nancy,” and he therefore does not blame himself (his “partial fancy”). The heartbreak was inevitable, or so is the implication.

5.
(D)

The poem is written by Robert Burns, the popularizer of “the Guid Scots Tongue.” It does not strain at archaism, as does Spenser's poetry (B), nor is its rhyme dependent on ancient Germanic pronunciations, as is Chaucer's (A).

6.
(D)

This is from the title of an essay by Buchanan (1871) which criticized Swinburne, Morris, and Rossetti for praising each others' work as part of their “Mutual Admiration School.” Swinburne, of course, had often been criticized for a decadent and pronounced attention to sensuality.

7.
(E)

Note that “Petition for Redress” is a thematic clue. The reference to the Prince as a “Tyrant” is also a famous part of the
Declaration of Independence
.

8.
(D)

The reign of James I is a clue to historical placement. The document, signed by all the male Pilgrims, was an agreement that they would abide by whatever decisions were made according to a majority vote.

9.
(B)

The Greek love of Classical Argument is evident here in the phrasing. This is, of course, one of Plato's famous dialogues.

10.
(B)

The dedication to self-improvement and attention to the details of nature are typical elements in this period. The biblical syntax bespeaks the poet's Puritan progenitors. (A) was a period marked by the embracing of scientific thought, while period (C) was marked by disillusionment. There is nothing in the passage which suggests a return to Classical values (D). The Cavalier poets (E), such as Robert Herrick, reacted to the overwrought excesses of Romanticism.

11.
(A)

The soul is compared to a molting shellfishâas the living organism grows ever-larger vaults and domes with which to enclose its expanding flesh, and leaving the old shell behind on the sand. Answer (B) is used to represent the passage of time. (C) and (D) depend on literal interpretations of the first line. While the word “temple” is used in the poem, it is not meant to represent the soul (E).

12.
(B)

From “The Chambered Nautilus,” this is a classic New England contemplation of the higher responses possible in human nature. This poem does not contain any of the dark imagery usually utilized by Poe (A). Whittier (C) often invokes pastoral images in his poetry. Longfellow (D) often celebrated physical accomplishments, while Channing (E), as founder of the Unitarian church, often wrote about the injustice of slavery.

13.
(D)

The poet himself described it as “the half-serious rhyme.” Qualifiers such as “not that” and “indeed” contribute to this tone, as does the rather clipped rhyme in this stanza. There is nothing to imply that Julia's “consent” indicated her victory [eliminate (A) and (B)], yet at the same time, the author finds Julia a bit naive [though (E) is still not the correct choice].

14.
(B)

Ottava rima has 8 iambic lines rhyming
abababcc
. Although the poem consists of five-foot lines, trochaic pentameter (A) is a line with the stress on every first syllable on the foot, rather than on the second syllable (as with the iamb).

15.
(C)

This passage is typical of Byron's interest in women, romance, and romantic conquest. The “tears gushing” is more evidence of the grand displays of emotion common in Byron's poetry.

16.
(D)

This is from Keats' “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Keats' poetry is placed on a level with Wordsworth's in demonstrating the best Romantic craftsmanship. Shakespeare (A) and Milton (E) wrote in a different era than Keats. Rossetti (B) utilized supernatural imagery more than Keats did, while Browning's (C) occasional discordance separated him from his Victorian peers.

17.
(C)

The basic connection developed in this poem is between the murderer and “all men.” Just as the murderer had killed the thing he loved, so do all men, usually in much more subtle ways. Answer (A) connects the murderer's deeds with only some men, while (B), (D), and (E) describe connections that do not actually exist in the poem.

18.
(B)

Though the wretched man is eaten by “teeth of flame” in the “pit of shame,” it is a spiritual Hell that is more likely to engulf the insensitive person while he and his victim are alive. “All men kill the thing they love,” but the instruments of death range from “a sword” to “a flattering word.”

19.
(E)

This is from “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.” Wilde's exposure of hypocrisy differs from Hardy's (A) works, which are marked with a social determinism. Lindsay (B) usually wrote in a lyrical style. Coleridge (C) wrote in a purely Romantic mode, and Owen (D) is best known for his antiwar poetry.

20.
(D)

Based in tense emotion, they are considered to represent the most elemental lyrical nature of poetry, and, because of the repetition, they are considered refrains. Synecdoche (A) is a technique in which a part is used to represent the whole. Pararhyme (B) is a type of rhyme in which the consonant sounds match but the vowel sounds do not. Tone-color (E) is a general musical reference to the pitch of a sound made by a musical instrument or voice.

21.
(E)

While pseudonyms were standard, the satire “The Rape of the Lock” required special attention to anonymity. Pope utilizes the name Zephalinda to describe the main character in (A). Poems (C) and (D) utilize a variety of proper names, while (B) utilizes the two names in the title.

22.
(D)

This passage is from
Table Talk.
It is precisely because Coleridge believes Shakespeare's writings are not based in locale, political affiliation, or religious identification that he considers the Bard's works to have been equally understandable to both Shakespeare's educated contemporaries and the succeeding generations of readers.

23.
(A)

In this poem, “the god of shepherds” is named Tityrus, really Chaucer, to whom he wishes to pay homage. (B), (C), and (E) need not be achieved by the use of archaic language, while the author did, in fact, live almost two centuries after Chaucer had died.

24.
(D)

The god Phoebus is associated with the passage of the dayâa clue here to the paraphrase. The other answers rely on a misinterpretation of the word “race” as a competition.

25.
(E)

This passage is from the
Shepheardes Calendar
. Pastoral elements and archaisms [sometimes criticized as being forcedâas opposed to Chaucer's poetry (A)] are strong indications. Translations of Dante (B) are rarely so obscure in syntax. Caedmon (C) in fact predated Chaucer, while Marlowe (D) often translated the works of ancient Latin poets.

26.
(C)

This passage is from “On a Political Prisoner.” The word “cell” in the first stanza is not the only clue. “Bitterness,” an abundance of time, “popular enmity,” and “blind and leader of the blind” all contrast with the freedom of the bird of her youth.

27.
(A)

The poet's central question is whether the woman recalled the “years before her mind/ Became a bitter, an abstract thing.” He wonders if the feeding bird has caused this recollectionâas the poet remembers her.

28.
(D)

Note the typical Yeatsian lyrical voyage between the exuberant expansiveness of nature (lofty rock/cloudy canopy), and the detailed particularness (ate its bit). Stevens (A) often wrote about the lack of spirituality of modern life, while Stein (B) wrote experimental prose. The jarring violence of the passage does not match the more introspective voices of Keats (C) and Frost (E).

29.
(C)

Passages (A) and (B) are not as contemplative as the first passage. (D) starts in the same tone as the original, but continued reading reveals it to be a satire of the first passage. (E) does not utilize the first-person as the original, so (C) is the best choice.

30.
(B)

This passage is from his
Journal
. Remember that the author was a minister. This helps explain the moral tone and didactic nature, even of this diary entry. Thoreau (A) was contemplative, but also isolated. Holmes (C) wrote in a lighter tone than found in the initial passage. Parkman (D) and Byrd (E) were historical writers.

31.
(D)

Curiously, Chaucer's language, like the Franklin's, has been praised for its directness, its “bare and plain” talk. It is this characteristic, among others, that sets Chaucer aside from his more florid contemporaries. The Knight (A), the Friar (E), and Chanticleer (B) speak in a much less modest tone than the narrator of the passage, while the Miller (C) is not apologetic.

32.
(E)

It is pronounced, “spek-eh.” Whereas the final e of a word is silent in Modern English, it was pronounced in Middle English in verse if it was necessary to give the line an extra unstressed syllable.

33.
(C)

It means uneducatedâthis is reinforced by the rest of the passage. The Franklin, although modest, speaks with an apolitical common sense that serves as a contrast to the more provocative tales.

34.
(C)

Although this might be a matter of simple recall, the non-Italian names (note “Venice”) could be eliminated [(A), (D), and (E)]. One might also think of the convention in comedic plays of a character referring to him or herself in the third person to deceive another.

35.
(B)

The play is by Ben Jonson, 1606. The reference to Venice in the passage allows one to eliminate the answers in which an Italian setting cannot be inferred from the title [(C), (D), and (E)].

36.
(E)

This is from
Hamlet
, Act II, scene ii. This is from Hamlet's famous soliloquy in which he attacks himself for lacking the courage to avenge his father's death, but ultimately decides to stage a play in order to determine whether Claudius is indeed guilty of the murder of Hamlet's father.

37.
(C)

This is from
The Life of Samuel Johnson
. The detailed, accurate, almost note-taking quality should be a clue to the famous biographer's authorship. Pepys (A) kept detailed diaries but did not keep company with men of literature. The tone is a bit too lofty for Franklin (D) and although Burke (E) was a friend of Johnson and Boswell, he did not write about his time in Johnson's Literary Club.

38.
(B)

This is from
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
. The political and philosophical scope of the author's concerns should give a clue to its origin. The empiricist ideas do not match the philosophies of Pope (A), Ruskin (C), or Burke (D).

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