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ACT Reading 1.8 Humanities Passage 264 Views


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ACT Reading 1.8 Humanities Passage. Based on the tone and complexity of the passage, which of the following would be a reasonable assumption to make about the intended audience of this passage?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by tragedy. Hey, you'd cry too it that comedy

00:09

mask was laughing at you all the time...

00:37

Based on the tone and complexity of the passage, which of the following would be a reasonable

00:41

assumption to make about the intended audience of this passage?

00:49

Now that we've read and reread the passage, we feel ready to tackle the big-dog questions like this one.

00:54

We'll need a firm grasp on the overall feel of the passage, and the depth of information it presents.

00:59

Let's kick things off by checking out choice (C).

01:02

Could it be that A.C. was a total lady's man, wooing impressionable undergraduates

01:07

with his knowledge of Shakespeare's tragic period?

01:10

Sorry, Professor. There's no evidence that the audience was mostly women—in fact, since

01:15

this passage was published in 1904, almost all of A.C. Bradley's students were probably men.

01:20

So, (C) is definitely incorrect.

01:23

How about choice (B)?

01:24

Nah, the topic of discussion is Shakespeare's tragedies, but we don't get the impression

01:29

that the audience dislikes Shakespeare's comedies.

01:31

Except for maybe that one guy in the back who started booing when the Professor mentioned

01:35

Much Ado About Nothing.

01:39

Does choice (A) have it right?

01:41

Since the passage doesn't give us much background information about any of the plays, the author

01:45

assumes that the audience is already familiar with them.

01:48

Apparently, the Professor didn't have any patience for students who didn't do their homework.

01:53

The answer is (D).

01:55

A.C. assumes that his audience knows all the little details of plot and character, allowing

01:59

him to focus on loftier themes.

02:01

Yeah, yeah, we get it Professor...you're super smart.

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