Hi @lauryndurham, thanks for your post. This is a Must Be True question--what can we infer, given the text of the passage?
Answer choice (A) is textually supported.
As to Dove's poetry, the author is most likely to believe it is "primarily poetry" although it contains elements of prose. See lines 40-44 ("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") and lines 44-45 ("without requiring the reader to organize ideas or events in a particular linear structure"); see also Lines 49-51 ("Thus while the language is lyrical, it often comes to constitute, cumulatively, a work of narrative fiction.").
As to Dove's prose, see lines 51-54 ("Similarly, many passages in her fiction, though undeniably prose, achieve the status of lyric narrative through the use of poetic rhythms and elliptical expression").
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
violetaacurielon April 10, 2019
I understand why A is correct but could you explain how to identify that C is incorrect, if you are working from wrong to right? Is it because of lines 23-25?
Victoriaon May 13, 2019
Hello,
Lines 23-25 indicate that there are several recent writers, including Rita Dove, who are blending poetry and fiction.
C is incorrect because there is no evidence to suggest that the way in which Dove blends the genres in her writing is without precedent in U.S. writing. We do not learn of any other authors who blend these genres from this passage. As such, we cannot make the assumption that Rita Dove is the sole pioneer of this form of blending poetry and fiction.
Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
