PT123.S4.P1.Q4

PrepTest 123 - Section 4 - Passage 1 - Question 4

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P1

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
P2

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
P3

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
P4

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
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4.

The author's attitude toward the deep rift between poetry and fiction in the U.S. can be most accurately described as one of

a

perplexity as to what could have led to the development of such a rift

Anti-supported, because the author explains the origin of the rift in P2.

13%
b

astonishment that academics have overlooked the existence of the rift

“Astonishment” is unsupported. There’s no evidence that the author is surprised by anything in the passage.

3%
c

ambivalence toward the effect the rift has had on U.S. literature

Anti-supported, because the author has a negative opinion about the rift. If she thinks it’s “fortunate” the rift is diminishing, then it’s unlikely she’s ambivalent toward the effect of the rift.

6%
d

pessimism regarding the possibility that the rift can be overcome

Anti-supported, because the rift is diminishing.

3%
e

disapproval of attitudes and presuppositions underlying the rift

This best captures the author’s negative attitude toward the rift. She thinks it’s “fortunate” the rift is diminising, which implies she doesn’t think the rift should exist. The author disagrees iwth the attitudes and assumptions underlying the rift — that we shouldn’t be generalists, that poetry shouldn’t have character/narrative, and that fiction shouldn’t be lyrical.

75%

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