Question

Several critics have claimed that any contemporary poet who writes formal poetry--poetry that is rhymed and metered--is performing a politically conservative act. This is plainly false. Consider Molly Peacock and Marilyn Hacker, two contemporary poets whose poetry is almost exclusively formal and yet who are themselves politically progressive feminists.

The conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
A) No one who is a feminist is also politically conservative.
B) No poet who writes unrhymed or unmetered poetry is politically conservative.
C) No one who is politically progressive is capable of performing a politically conservative act.
D) Anyone who sometimes writes poetry that is not politically conservative never writes poetry that is politically conservative.
E) The content of a poet's work, not the work's form, is the most decisive factor in determining what political consequences, if any, the work will have.

Answer 1

The conclusion that contemporary poets can write formal poetry without engaging in a politically conservative act logically follows if it is assumed that the content, rather than the form, of the poetry determines its political consequences. The correct answer is option E).

Step-by-step explanation:

The question poses a scenario where critics argue that contemporary poets who write formal, rhymed, and metered poetry are engaging in a politically conservative act. This notion is refuted by citing examples of politically progressive feminist poets, Molly Peacock and Marilyn Hacker, who write almost exclusively in formal style. The assumption necessary for the conclusion to follow logically is that the form of a poet's work doesn't determine its political leanings but rather the content does.

The correct answer is therefore E) The content of a poet's work, not the work's form, is the most decisive factor in determining what political consequences, if any, the work will have. This assumption is consistent with the argument that poets with progressive political views can write in formal styles without their work being inherently conservative.