The question says, "As it is used in the passage, “inheritance†(line 9) refers most specifically to..."
(E) says, "the imposition on a poet, based on the poetry of preceding generations in that language, of a particular writing style"
Although it's true that the inheritance used in the passage is an influence and a model, it's never described as an imposition on a poet, which has a pretty negative connotation. The inheritance is an influence that the poet fully embraces; it's not something that's pushed on her. We can get rid of (E).
(C) says, "the poetry written in a particular language, whose achievement serves as a model for other poets writing in that language"
The passage mentions that Gluck views the poetic tradition as her inheritance since it was the tradition of her language, which is English. Additionally, because she admires the poetic tradition and sees herself as part of the group of poets from that tradition, she appears to view the inheritance as a type of model for her own poetry. Thus, (C) is the correct answer choice.
Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!
on September 19 at 02:58PM
Why is B incorrect?
Emilon September 22 at 04:12PM
I think the first paragraph is much more general than the specific forms and techniques of English language poetry. Here it seems like the author is referring to the general cannon of English poetry and how Gluck saw herself within that tradition, rather than the specific stylistic elements that a poet might use within that tradition.
