LSAT PrepTest 123 - Section 4 - Passage 1 - Question 7

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For decades, there has been a deep rift between poetry and fiction in the United States, especially in academic settings; graduate writing programs in universities, for example, train students as poets or as writers of fiction, but almost never as both. …

Intro topic · Rift between worlds of poetry and fiction

Both poets and writers of fiction have tended to support this separation, in large part because the current conventional wisdom holds that poetry should be elliptical and lyrical, reflecting inner states and processes of thought or feeling, whereas character and narrative events are the stock-in-trade of fiction.

Some writers' perspective · There should be a rift

Reason: poetry and fiction emphasize different features

Certainly it is true that poetry and fiction are distinct genres, but why have specialized education and literary territoriality resulted from this distinction? The answer lies perhaps in a widespread attitude in U.S. culture, which often casts a suspicious eye on the generalist. Those with knowledge and expertise in multiple areas risk charges of dilettantism, as if ability in one field is diluted or compromised by accomplishment in another.

Author's hypothesis · For why the rift really exists

Those who work in multiple fields at once are viewed as less capable or serious

Fortunately, there are signs that the bias against writers who cross generic boundaries is diminishing; several recent writers are known and respected for their work in both genres. …

Change in others' perspectives · Some writers of both poetry and fiction are respected

Note author's attitude: this change is fortunate

One important example of this trend is Rita Dove, an African American writer highly acclaimed for both her poetry and her fiction. …

Example · Respected poetry/fiction writer

Rita Dove

A few years ago, speaking at a conference entitled "Poets Who Write Fiction," Dove expressed gentle incredulity about the habit of segregating the genres. She had grown up reading and loving both fiction and poetry, she said, unaware of any purported danger lurking in attempts to mix the two. She also studied for some time in Germany, where, she observes, "Poets write plays, novelists compose libretti, playwrights write novels—they would not understand our restrictiveness."

Dove's perspective · Rift between poetry and fiction is unnecessary

It makes little sense, Dove believes, to persist in the restrictive approach to poetry and fiction prevalent in the U.S., because each genre shares in the nature of the other. …

Dove's perspective · There should be no rift between poetry and fiction

Builds on Dove's perspective from the previous paragraph; not only is the rift unnecessary, but it's a senseless idea

Indeed, her poetry offers example after example of what can only be properly regarded as lyric narrative. Her use of language in these poems is undeniably lyrical—that is, it evokes emotion and inner states without requiring the reader to organize ideas or events in a particular linear structure. Yet this lyric expression simultaneously presents the elements of a plot in such a way that the reader is led repeatedly to take account of clusters of narrative details within the lyric flow. Thus while the language is lyrical, it often comes to constitute, cumulatively, a work of narrative fiction. Similarly, many passages in her fiction, though undeniably prose, achieve the status of lyric narrative through the use of poetic rhythms and elliptical expression. In short, Dove bridges the gap between poetry and fiction not only by writing in both genres, but also by fusing the two genres within individual works.

Author's support for Dove's perspective · Dove blends lyrical (poetic) and narrative (fiction) elements

Passage Style

Single position

It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to believe which one of the following?

Each of Dove's works can be classified as either primarily poetry or primarily fiction, even though it may contain elements of both.

This is the best supported answer. In the last paragraph, the author refers to “her poetry” and “her fiction” and notes that each includes elements typically found in the other genre. This implies that the works of Dove the passage discusses were classified as poetry or fiction.

48%

The aesthetic value of lyric narrative resides in its representation of a sequence of events, rather than in its ability to evoke inner states.

The author never suggests anything about the source of aesthetic value in lyric narrative. Perhaps the value comes both from the narrative elements as well as from its poetic elements.

The way in which Dove blends genres in her writing is without precedent in U.S. writing.

“Without precedent” is too extreme to be supported. In fact, the author notes that there are “several recent writers” who are respected for their work in both genres. We have no evidence that Dove was the first to blend genres.

32%

Narrative that uses lyrical language is generally aesthetically superior to pure lyric poetry.

The author never suggests one kind of writing is “aesthetically superior” to another kind of writing, even if the first kind involves a blend of genres.