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Dickinson’s poetry

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Dickinson’s poetry

by geemat » Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:20 am
Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of Dickinson's poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson's own, more faithful, text is still guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize Dickinson's often indecipherable handwritten punctuation by the use of the dash is to render permanent a casual mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson surely never expected to see in print. It implies that Dickinson chose the dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in fact, she apparently never made any definitive choice at all.
Which of the following best summarizes the author's main point?
(A) Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson's early editors for their distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious distortions.
(B) Johnson's use of the dash in his text of Dickinson's poetry misleads readers about the poet's intentions.
(C) Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(D) Although Johnson's attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson's poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.
(E) Dickinson's editors, including Johnson, have failed to deal adequately with the problem of deciphering Dickinson's handwritten manuscripts.
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by cbenk121 » Sun Nov 22, 2009 8:47 pm
geemat wrote:Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of Dickinson's poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson's own, more faithful, text is still guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize Dickinson's often indecipherable handwritten punctuation by the use of the dash is to render permanent a casual mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson surely never expected to see in print. It implies that Dickinson chose the dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in fact, she apparently never made any definitive choice at all.
Which of the following best summarizes the author's main point?
(A) Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson's early editors for their distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious distortions.
(B) Johnson's use of the dash in his text of Dickinson's poetry misleads readers about the poet's intentions.
(C) Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(D) Although Johnson's attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson's poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.
(E) Dickinson's editors, including Johnson, have failed to deal adequately with the problem of deciphering Dickinson's handwritten manuscripts.
IMHO, B.

A) Incorrect - The stimulus doesn't say anything about EQUALLY SERIOUS distortions. It actually says Johnson's are LESS SERIOUS (more faithful).

B) The conclusion is "Johnson's own text is still guiltiy of its own forms of distortion". It then goes on to elaborate by pointing to his use of the dash, and how it falsely implies Dickinson chose the dash as her typical punctuation (an intention).

C) Incorrect - The stimulus says Dickinson never expected to see in print the casual mode of poetic phrasing from using dashes, NOT her poetry in general.

D) Incorrect - Nothing in the stimulus defines "sufficient thoroughness", so how can this be the main point?

E) Incorrect - Nothing in the stimulus defines "adequately", so how can this be main point?

I'm curious, was this in an OG? I did all the CR problems in OG 12, and did not see ONE main point question.
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by Testluv » Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:21 pm
cbenk121 wrote:
geemat wrote:Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of Dickinson's poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson's own, more faithful, text is still guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize Dickinson's often indecipherable handwritten punctuation by the use of the dash is to render permanent a casual mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson surely never expected to see in print. It implies that Dickinson chose the dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in fact, she apparently never made any definitive choice at all.
Which of the following best summarizes the author's main point?
(A) Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson's early editors for their distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious distortions.
(B) Johnson's use of the dash in his text of Dickinson's poetry misleads readers about the poet's intentions.
(C) Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(D) Although Johnson's attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson's poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.
(E) Dickinson's editors, including Johnson, have failed to deal adequately with the problem of deciphering Dickinson's handwritten manuscripts.
IMHO, B.

A) Incorrect - The stimulus doesn't say anything about EQUALLY SERIOUS distortions. It actually says Johnson's are LESS SERIOUS (more faithful).

B) The conclusion is "Johnson's own text is still guiltiy of its own forms of distortion". It then goes on to elaborate by pointing to his use of the dash, and how it falsely implies Dickinson chose the dash as her typical punctuation (an intention).

C) Incorrect - The stimulus says Dickinson never expected to see in print the casual mode of poetic phrasing from using dashes, NOT her poetry in general.

D) Incorrect - Nothing in the stimulus defines "sufficient thoroughness", so how can this be the main point?

E) Incorrect - Nothing in the stimulus defines "adequately", so how can this be main point?

I'm curious, was this in an OG? I did all the CR problems in OG 12, and did not see ONE main point question.
This was most likely not an OG question. However, main point questions, although rare, can make an appearance on the GMAT. And the OG 12 does contain at least one example of a main point question:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/og12-the-pla ... tml#201918
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by cbenk121 » Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:46 pm
Testluv wrote:
cbenk121 wrote:
geemat wrote:Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of Dickinson's poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson's own, more faithful, text is still guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize Dickinson's often indecipherable handwritten punctuation by the use of the dash is to render permanent a casual mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson surely never expected to see in print. It implies that Dickinson chose the dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in fact, she apparently never made any definitive choice at all.
Which of the following best summarizes the author's main point?
(A) Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson's early editors for their distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious distortions.
(B) Johnson's use of the dash in his text of Dickinson's poetry misleads readers about the poet's intentions.
(C) Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(D) Although Johnson's attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson's poetry is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.
(E) Dickinson's editors, including Johnson, have failed to deal adequately with the problem of deciphering Dickinson's handwritten manuscripts.
IMHO, B.

A) Incorrect - The stimulus doesn't say anything about EQUALLY SERIOUS distortions. It actually says Johnson's are LESS SERIOUS (more faithful).

B) The conclusion is "Johnson's own text is still guiltiy of its own forms of distortion". It then goes on to elaborate by pointing to his use of the dash, and how it falsely implies Dickinson chose the dash as her typical punctuation (an intention).

C) Incorrect - The stimulus says Dickinson never expected to see in print the casual mode of poetic phrasing from using dashes, NOT her poetry in general.

D) Incorrect - Nothing in the stimulus defines "sufficient thoroughness", so how can this be the main point?

E) Incorrect - Nothing in the stimulus defines "adequately", so how can this be main point?

I'm curious, was this in an OG? I did all the CR problems in OG 12, and did not see ONE main point question.
This was most likely not an OG question. However, main point questions, although rare, can make an appearance on the GMAT. And the OG 12 does contain at least one example of a main point question:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/og12-the-pla ... tml#201918
Ah yes, I remember that question! Didn't exactly "jump out" as a main point question though to me, but looking back in hindsight it most definitely is.
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