Necessary AssumptionDiff: Hardest
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Some great poems have contradictory meanings. However, the people who write great poems never mean to be contradictory. Therefore, the meaning of the poem can't just be what the author intended.
Conclusion: The meaning of a poem is not simply defined by what the author intended to communicate.
Reasoning: Great poems can contain contradictory ideas, yet the authors of those poems do not intend to communicate contradictions.
Analysis: The argument identifies a discrepancy: the poem has Property X (contradiction), but the author did not intend Property X. From this, it concludes that intent does not equal meaning. This logic only works if Property X is actually part of the 'meaning.' The 'Gap' here is the link between what a poem 'expresses' and what it 'means.' We are looking for an assumption that bridges this, likely stating that if a poem expresses contradictory ideas, those ideas are part of the poem's meaning.
Conclusion: The meaning of a poem is not simply defined by what the author intended to communicate.
Reasoning: Great poems can contain contradictory ideas, yet the authors of those poems do not intend to communicate contradictions.
Analysis: The argument identifies a discrepancy: the poem has Property X (contradiction), but the author did not intend Property X. From this, it concludes that intent does not equal meaning. This logic only works if Property X is actually part of the 'meaning.' The 'Gap' here is the link between what a poem 'expresses' and what it 'means.' We are looking for an assumption that bridges this, likely stating that if a poem expresses contradictory ideas, those ideas are part of the poem's meaning.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage24.Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
Correct Answer
E
E supplies the needed bridge: if a reader believes a poem expresses a particular idea, that idea is part of the poem’s meaning. Negation test: if reader belief does not make an idea part of the meaning, then readers’ seeing contradictions would be irrelevant to whether meaning equals intention, and the argument’s conclusion would not follow. So E is necessary.
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