Gluck’s Poetry

Answer choices

1. A

   Opposite: burden4% picked this

   the burden that a historically male-dominated poetic canon places on a

   She's not saying she inherited some original sin, the way modern Americans might be burdened by our history of enslaving Africans or displacing/killing native Americans. "Her poetic inheritance" is meant as a positive. She enjoyed these male poets when she read them. She is proud to count herself among them.

   4%
2. B

   Out of Scope: acceptable8% picked this

   the set of poetic forms and techniques considered acceptable within a

   This answer makes it sound like Shakespeare, Blake, Keats, and others laid down a set of rules. "Only these poetic forms and techniques may be considered acceptable". There's no context suggesting that Gluck is talking about what forms or techniques are allowed. The passage overall suggests that Gluck feels very unconstrained in terms of what she should write about or how she should write. We're looking for something more like, "the set of poets and poetic works considered great within a linguistic culture".

   8%
3. C

   Correct52% picked this

   the poetry written in a particular language, whose achievement serves as a model for other poets

   Why this is right

   Like most correct answers to Meaning in Context, this is reinforcing what was talked about in the surrounding sentences. Gluck believed that "Shakespeare, Blake, Keats, and other male poets" where her poetic inheritance. They were the models of great poetry she had growing up. She appreciated them and considers herself pursuing a similar type of greatness. Gluck embraces this tradition, this poetic inheritance "with respect and admiration". A Persian poet might consider Rumi to be part of their poetic inheritance. A South American poet might consider Pablo Neruda to be part of their poetic inheritance. People writing in the English language might consider Shakespeare / Walt Whitman / Robert Frost to be part of their poetic inheritance.

   Skill tested: Meaning in Context · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   52%
4. D

   Too Strong: only / most1% picked this

   the presumption that contemporary poets can write only on subjects already explored by the poets in that language who are considered

   Just like (A), this sounds like a negative, whereas the phrase "poetic inheritance" was being used in a positive way. Just like (B), this sounds like poetic inheritance involves strict rules, whereas the passage was just referring to it as "the cultural tradition surrounding a certain practice". (Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert would consider their late-night host inheritance to be Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, etc.) Gluck isn't saying that she feels like contemporary poets can only write about subjects covered by Shakespeare, Blake, and Keats.

   1%
5. E

   Too Strong: imposition of style34% picked this

   the imposition on a poet, based on the poetry of preceding generations in that language, of

   This also sounds somewhat negative and restrictive. Was Gluck saying that she feels like Shakespeare, Blake, and Keats have imposed a particular writing style on her? No. She feels free to write whatever she wants to write. She was only saying in the 1st paragraph that "being a female poet never stopped me from appreciating the great male poets that make up the bulk of my poetic inheritance".

   34%