Reading comp PrepTest 151 · Section 1 · Question 20

Topic: Humanities

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Author: Music is better at expressing emotions than words and images
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
  • Comparisons, according to the author:
    • Words and images can both excite emotions but sometimes can't express those emotions (first and second sentences)
    • Music is better at expressing the emotion than words (third sentence)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • Music (and words set to music) can cause the emotion stirred by words or images to intensify (third and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "can excite the deepest emotions" (second sentence); "inadequate" (second sentence); "more adequate" (third sentence); "deepen its expression, and, by so doing, excite still deeper emotion" (third sentence); "can gain" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Author: Setting words to music often diminishes the effect of each
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
  • Definition of "libretto": words of an opera (last sentence)
  • Cause-and-effect, according to the author:
    • Setting words to music can cause striking emotions (particularly when the words are deemphasized) but reduces the purity of the words and music (first, second, and fourth sentences)
    • The emotional range of the music in an opera — not the opera's words, plot, or scenery — causes the opera's aesthetic value (last sentence)
  • Comparisons, according to the author:
    • Poetry and music are both great arts (third sentence)
    • But poetry and music are better alone than together (fourth sentence)
    • Music is more expressive than poetry (fourth sentence)
  • Example of music that would not be improved with words, according to the author:
    • Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (fifth sentence)
  • Example of an artistic medium in which the music is more impactful than the words, according to the author:
    • Opera (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "striking effect" (second sentence); "at the expense of the purity of each art" (second sentence); "Poetry is great art; so is music" (third sentence); "each is greater alone than in company" (fourth sentence); "various good ends arise ... provided that the words are subordinated to the more expressive medium of music" (fourth sentence); "depends for its aesthetic value" (last sentence); "emotional range — a region dominated by the musical element" (last sentence)

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Two types of operas
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
  • List of two types of operas:
    • Item 1: Opera in which music is primary, sometimes derisively called "singer's opera," and exemplified by Italian operas (second sentence)
    • Item 2: Opera in which music is the most important factor but balanced with other elements; exemplified by Wagner's operas (second sentence)
  • Point of intersection with passage A:
    • The author of passage A clearly believes music is more important than words in an opera, and this author agrees (second sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "underserved contempt" (second sentence); "albet the most important" (second sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Author: In both types of opera, you need to analyze the words and music together
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • When assessing an opera's music, you shouldn't judge whether the music would be a good concert piece but whether it serves the drama (second sentence)
    • When assessing an opera's poetry, you shouldn't judge whether the poetry would read well on the page but whether it supplies good material for the music and staging (third sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • Music and poetry are as united as hydrogen and oxygen in water (fifth sentence)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • The union of music and poetry causes opera to be completely unique (last sentence)
  • Point of intersection with passage A:
    • The author of passage A thinks opera is emotionally resonant because of the music, while the author of passage B argues that the two elements together make opera resonate (last sentence)

Passage A: Combining music and words can produce striking works of art, but more emotion is generally stirred by music and words by themselves, and music is more expressive than words.

Passage B: The union of music and words in opera gives opera its unique character.

Passage A:

Paragraph 1, Sentence 3 (P1, S3) - Author's preference for music

P2, S3 - Author's conclusion

P2, S6 - Discussion of opera, the focus of passage B

Passage B:

P2, S1 - Author's opinion on opera

P2, S6 - Author's conclusion

Meta-Structure? Relationship Between Passages?

Relationship - Opposing Viewpoints: The authors of these two passages have slightly opposed viewpoints. The author of passage A is a big music lover and thinks music is a more emotionally impactful medium than words (PA, P1, S3). When discussing opera specifically, passage A's author argues that an opera's words are relatively unimportant and the opera's emotion is a product of the music (PA, P2, S6). On the other hand, passage B's author thinks that music and words function together to give opera its rich and unique character (PB, P2, S6). Therefore, the authors diverge in their views on opera.

Relationship - Different Scope: The topic of passage A is also quite a bit broader in scope than the topic of passage B. Passage A addresses the relationship between music and words in general. Passage A discusses opera, but just as an example of a work that combines both (PA, P2, S6). On the other hand, Passage B focuses the discussion on opera specifically. Identifying this difference in scope is relevant for the Author Agree/Disagree questions we'll likely get. Because we do not know the author of passage B's opinions on music and words generally, we can only select answer choices that bring up opera.

Most test-takers will be able to recognize the slight shift in subject matter between passages A and B. Clearly, passage A addresses the relationship between words and music generally, while passage B specifically addresses how words and music interact in opera. However, some test-takers may not immediately recognize the different concerns the two passages have about their chosen subject matter. Notice how passage A consistently discusses the emotions music and words express and stir. Passage A doesn't discuss the quality of poems or music — just their capacity to evoke emotions. On the other hand, passage B is far more concerned with opera's aesthetic quality and unique character. Unlike passage A, passage B's author doesn't discuss the emotions stirred by operas.