LSAT 112 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q7

LR Question 7 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Critic: Emily Dickinson’s poetry demonstrates that meaning…

QUESTION TYPE: Must be False

FACTS:

1. Emily Dickenson’s poetry demonstrates that meaning cannot reside entirely within a poem.
2. Meaning is always the unique result of interaction between a reader’s beliefs and the poem. 
3. Any two readers from different cultures or eras have radically different beliefs.

ANALYSIS: It can’t be the case that two people from different cultures or eras will interpret the same poem in the same way. They will have radically different beliefs that will affect their interpretations.

___________

1. This is possible. We often change our beliefs based on others’ interpretations.
2. CORRECT. This is impossible. The two readers are from different eras and so they will have radically different beliefs. These beliefs will affect their interpretations. 
3. This could happen, if their beliefs change.
4. This could happen. People from the same era can have different beliefs.
5. This could happen. The reader now has a belief about the poet’s interpretation and this influences how the reader interprets the poem.