Question

Read the following excerpt from an article by a literary critic.

Because of his preoccupation with the mysteries of G
John Milton breaks from the epic tradition in his
masterpiece, Paradise Lost. Gone is the usual focus on a
single, human hero, which had defined epics
from The Iliad to Beowulf.
Which statement most accurately identifies the theme that the critic
discussing and the historical context that affects the theme?
O
A. The theme is the mysteries of God, and the historical context is
the epic tradition in Europe.
O
B. The theme is The Iliad and Beowulf, and the historical context is
Milton's break from them.
O
C. The theme is Paradise Lost, and the historical context is prior epic
poetry: The Iliad and Beowulf.
D. The theme is the epic hero, and the historical context's the focus
on a single, human hero.

Answer 1

C. The theme is Paradise Lost, and the historical context is prior epic

poetry: The Iliad and Beowulf

Step-by-step explanation:

Theme tells us what is the main preoccupation of the article, while the historical context is a period in history that serves us as a reference point for analysing the text.

Here, the critic deals with Milton's most famous work, an epic poem "Paradise Lost", explaining how it differs from epic poems written before it. From this, we can conclude that the theme of this article is "Paradise Lost".

Also, here, we are not directly given a specific year or an event that would suggest a historical period. But, the author compares Milton's poem to famous epic poems written previously. These poems represent an over a millennium long period of time, when all epic poems shared similar characteristics. Changing the focus of his poem, Milton broke from the epic tradition, whose representatives are The Iliad and Beowulf.

In this sense, we could say that the historical context here is prior epic poetry.