The ghazal, a poetic form originating in seventh-century Arabic poetry, has an intricate structure. The twentieth-century Kashmiri American poet Agha...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• The ghazal,
  • a poetic form originating in seventh-century Arabic poetry,
• has an intricate structure.

• The twentieth-century Kashmiri American poet Agha Shahid Ali explains
  • that each one of a ghazal's couplets,
    • while adhering to the patterns of rhyme (qafia)
      • and refrain (radif)
      • established in the poem's opening lines (matla),
    • [?] thematically and logically autonomous,
  • resulting in a poem with 'a stringently formal disunity.'

• Where [?] = is/were/have been/are

Understanding the Meaning

The first sentence gives us background:

• 'The ghazal, a poetic form originating in seventh-century Arabic poetry, has an intricate structure.'
  • The ghazal is a type of poem that started in Arabic poetry in the 7th century.
  • It has a complex, detailed structure.

Now the second sentence tells us about this structure:

• 'The twentieth-century Kashmiri American poet Agha Shahid Ali explains that...'
  • A modern poet is explaining how ghazals work.

• 'each one of a ghazal's couplets'
  • A couplet is a pair of lines in poetry.
  • We're talking about "each one" - so we're considering these couplets individually.

Now here's where we need to fill in the blank:

• 'each one of a ghazal's couplets, while adhering to the patterns of rhyme and refrain established in the poem's opening lines, ______ thematically and logically autonomous'

Let's look at our choices:

• We need a verb that works with "each one" as the subject.
• The choices are: is (singular), were (plural past), have been (plural), are (plural)

What do we notice about the subject?

• "Each one" is our subject - this word is always SINGULAR
  • Even though it's talking about "couplets" (plural), the phrase "of a ghazal's couplets" just tells us what "each one" refers to.
  • The verb must match "each one," not "couplets."

• We're also describing a general characteristic of how ghazals work,
  • so we need present tense.

So we need is - the singular present tense verb that matches "each one."

Now let's read the rest to see the complete picture:

• The sentence continues: 'resulting in a poem with "a stringently formal disunity."'
  • This tells us the consequence of these autonomous couplets.
  • Even though the form (structure) is strict, the content creates "disunity" - the couplets don't have to connect thematically.

The complete meaning:

• Each individual couplet in a ghazal follows the rhyme and refrain patterns,
• BUT each couplet is independent in its theme and logic,
• This creates what the poet calls "formal disunity" - structure with independence.

The correct answer is A. is

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Subject-Verb Agreement with Intervening Phrases

When a subject and verb are separated by phrases, you must identify the true subject and ignore the words in between:

The Pattern:

• Subject + prepositional phrase or other modifier + Verb
• The verb must agree with the subject, NOT with words in the intervening phrase

Examples:

1. Each one of the students is prepared.
   • Subject: "Each one" (singular)
   • Intervening phrase: "of the students"
   • Verb: "is" (singular) - matches "each one," not "students"
2. The box of chocolates sits on the table.
   • Subject: "box" (singular)
   • Intervening phrase: "of chocolates"
   • Verb: "sits" (singular) - matches "box," not "chocolates"

Key Point about "Each":

• The word "each" (or "each one") is ALWAYS singular
• Even when it refers to multiple things, it means we're considering them one at a time
• Always use singular verbs with "each one"

In Our Question:

• Subject: "each one" (singular)
• Intervening phrases: "of a ghazal's couplets, while adhering to the patterns..."
• Verb needed: "is" (singular) - matches "each one"