Scholarly discussions of gender in Shakespeare's comedies often celebrate the rebellion of the playwright's characters against the rigid expectations ...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Scholarly discussions of gender in Shakespeare's comedies often celebrate the rebellion of the playwright's characters against the rigid expectations ________ by Elizabethan society. Most of the comedies end in marriage, with characters returning to their socially dictated gender roles after previously defying them, but there are some notable exceptions.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
interjected
committed
illustrated
prescribed
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Scholarly discussions of gender in Shakespeare's comedies often celebrate the rebellion of the playwright's characters against the rigid expectations' |
|
| '_______ by Elizabethan society.' |
|
| 'Most of the comedies end in marriage, with characters returning to their socially dictated gender roles after previously defying them,' |
|
| 'but there are some notable exceptions.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Scholars celebrate gender rebellion in Shakespeare's comedies, though most characters ultimately return to traditional roles, with some exceptions.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the scholarly appreciation for gender rebellion in Shakespeare's work, then explains that despite this rebellion, most comedies follow a pattern of characters returning to conventional gender roles through marriage, while noting that some comedies break this pattern.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Looking at our analysis, we need a word that describes what Elizabethan society did with rigid expectations for gender roles
- The context shows these were societal rules that characters rebelled against
- The word should indicate that society established, set, or imposed these expectations as rules or standards
interjected
✗ Incorrect
- 'Interjected' means to insert something abruptly into a conversation
- This doesn't make sense because expectations aren't inserted into conversations - they're social standards
committed
✗ Incorrect
- 'Committed' means to pledge to do something or to carry out an action
- This creates an awkward meaning - society doesn't commit expectations
illustrated
✗ Incorrect
- 'Illustrated' means to demonstrate or show with examples
- While society might have shown these expectations through examples, this doesn't capture the authoritative nature implied
prescribed
✓ Correct
- 'Prescribed' means to recommend authoritatively or lay down as a rule
- This perfectly fits - Elizabethan society prescribed (established as rules) rigid gender expectations