Question

What is most closely the central idea of the passage below (paragraph 11)?

These differences are not the result of Shakespeare's own tinkerings with the
form, [so much as they are the result of adapting the form to fit a new language. A few
hundred years after Petrarch's time, Shakespeare began a period of writing sonnets. The
theaters had been closed due to the plague, so to make money, Shakespeare composed
poetry. The most popular poetic form at the time was the sonnet, which had been
introduced to England by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, through
their translations of Petrarch. These translations required technical modifications to
compensate for the linguistic differences between Italian and English, resulting in a
sonnet that is much closer to its present Shakespearean form.
Answer choices for the above question
A. The form of the sonnet was changed in Shakespeare's time to suit the English
language.
B. Shakespeare created the English sonnet for his own purposes to earn money.
C. The plague caused the sonnet to become the most popular poetic form.
D. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, asked Shakespeare to
adapt the Petrarchan sonnet to an English form.

Answer 1

The central idea of the passage is that the sonnet form was adapted to fit the English language, which led to the Shakespearean sonnet structure.

Step-by-step explanation:

The central idea of the passage in question is that the adaptations of the sonnet form were influenced by the necessity to adjust the structure to accommodate the English language, rather than Shakespeare's personal innovations. This adaptation process occurred when the sonnet was introduced to England by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and further developed by Shakespeare. This concept can be summarized by understanding that linguistic differences between Italian, the language in which the sonnet form was originally composed by Petrarch, and English necessitated technical modifications that eventually resulted in the Shakespearean sonnet.