The author of the passage most probably quotes Alexander Pope (lines 24—26) in order to
Connoron July 22, 2021
B vs C
Is B wrong because it mentions Poets and Critics? To me, C seems like a weak reason to include the quotations; what relevance does a century earlier have to the concerns brought up in this passage?
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The observations of the English poet Alexander Pope seemed as applicable in 1970 as they had been when he wrote them in 1715:
Hi I am not an instructor but I will try to help. Please refer to line reference above. The line reference states that Alexander Pope’s observations are as applicable in 1970 as in 1715 (when he first wrote them). This indicates that Alexander’s Pope’s observations (namely the nonpoetical emphasis of the study) stemmed not from 1970 but from an earlier period, namely 1715.
I hope that I explained it correctly. Please feel free to correct me. Thank you.
Ross-Rineharton February 14, 2022
That’s a great explanation, jingjingxiao11111@gmail.com! I’ll add a few more points. First, (B) is incorrect because the first paragraph never suggests that poets ever emphasized these peripheral, non-poetic issues of Homer’s works. It only said that “specialists” (line 11) and “scholars” (lines 14, 15) were emphasizing these points. Second, as a general tip for these Role of Detail questions, always think about the primary argument the author is driving home in the paragraph in which the detail appears. In the first paragraph, the author really hammers home the point that scholars were only writing about “non-poetic” aspects of Homer’s work post-1935. The correct answer will have to relate to that point. And that point, combined with the line “The observations of the English poet Alexander Pope seemed as applicable in 1970 …” that jingjingxiao11111@gmail.com identified, make (C) the only viable answer here.
