Question

Read the passage from An Essay on Man.

Self-love and reason to one end aspire,
Pain their aversion, pleasure their desire;
But greedy that, its object would devour,
This taste the honey, and not wound the flow'r

The author contrasts words with positive and negative connotations to

create humor.
encourage debate.
clarify his argument.
make an emotional appeal.

Answer 1

The author contrast words with positive and negative connotations to ENCOURAGE DEBATE.
The author use positive and negative connotations in the excerpt given above in order to expose the two sides of his presentation. Connotations generally have meanings that are implied by words which is different from what they literally described. Positive connotations are words that have positive meanings while negative connotation have negative meanings. The two connotations are used together in the excerpt above to provoke argument.

Answer 2

The correct answer to the question presented above is to encourage debate. The author used the contrasts of words with positive and negative connotations to express the two sides of the argument. It is more engaging to involve your own experience in relation to the poet’s.