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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

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

Rita Dove's work has been widely acclaimed primarily because of the lyrical elements she has introduced into her fiction.

Not supported, because the author never suggests that Dove’s work has been acclaimed “primarily” because of the lyrical elements introduced into her fiction. Dove also intorduces elements of fiction into her poetry, and we have no reason to think she is not equally or more acclaimed for this. Because (A) is not supported, it can’t be the main point.

Rita Dove's lyric narratives present clusters of narrative detail in order to create a cumulative narrative without requiring the reader to interpret it in a linear manner.

This is too narrowly focused on one aspect of Dove’s lyrics narratives. The broader point is that Dove’s work doesn’t neatly separate poetry and fiction.

Working against a bias that has long been dominant in the U.S., recent writers like Rita Dove have shown that the lyrical use of language can effectively enhance narrative fiction.

This is too focused on poetry’s ability to enhance fiction. But the author’s point isn’t about what poetry can bring to fiction; it’s about how the divide between poetry and fiction is diminishing.

16%

Unlike many of her U.S. contemporaries, Rita Dove writes without relying on the traditional techniques associated with poetry and fiction.

Not supported, because Dove does use techniques associated with poetry and fiction. Because (D) is not supported, it can’t be the main point.

Rita Dove's successful blending of poetry and fiction exemplifies the recent trend away from the rigid separation of the two genres that has long been prevalent in the U.S.

This best captures the main point, which is that the rift between poetry and fiction is diminishing, as exemplified by Rita Dove’s work.

82%

PrepTest 123 - Section 4 - Passage 1 - Question 1

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