Reading Passage Question
If the 1950s was a sparse period for Black poetry, the 1960s more than compensated for it; during the 1960s, Black poets appeared all over the United States. By the end of the decade not only had poetic giants such as Melvin Tolson, LeRoi Jones, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden, and Langston Hughes reappeared with new volumes of poetry, but also at least five anthologies of Black poetry were published. Some of the new Black poets made their debuts in the anthologies. Others were first published in Harlem’s new avant-garde literary publication, Umbra. As the decade drew to a close, the “Broadside Press” poets appeared through Dudley Randall’s series of Broadside Press editions and in Hoyt Fuller’s Negro Digest, which was later known as Black World. These poets brought with them new poetic concepts, a new aesthetic, and a strong awareness of the Black ghetto experience.
Like the spirituals and the secular songs of slavery, the new Black poetry burst forth out of a time of racial turmoil. The catalyst for creativity was a series of events beginning with the Montgomery bus boycott and encompassing the nonviolent sit-in demonstrations of the early 1960s and big-city riots of the mid-1960s. Behind the poets and their songs of bitter protest against racism in America, were the bombings, the assassinations, the burning ghettos, the screaming sirens, the violent confrontations, and the cruel awareness of spreading Black poverty amid white affluence.
The most forthrightly militant representatives of the new Black mood in poetry were the Broadside Press poets, so called because their poems are social, political, and moral broadsides protesting against the body politic and the establishment. Before the Broadside Press poets emerged as a definable literary group, other poets had written protest poetry in the early 1960s that was caustic, bitter, and at times mordantly cynical. But the poetry became more than bitter militant protest. Under the leadership of LeRoi Jones and others, there developed a Black aesthetic that, in one measure, prescribed the guidelines for Black poetic militancy. Under the racial pressures of the late 1950s and early 1960s Jones himself had undergone a metamorphosis, moving from an avant-garde aestheticism to a Black nationalism-activism.
In the process, he abandoned his “slave” name and became Imamu Amiri Baraka. He also moved out of the deep melancholy and pessimism that permeate many of his earlier poems. His “Black Art” indicates that his pessimism was replaced by a vigilant and militant activism. Indeed, “Black Art” announces the credo of the new Black aesthetic – that the direct objective of all Black artistic expression is to achieve social change and moral and political revolution. Poems, Jones asserts, should be “fists and daggers and pistols to clean up the sordid Black world for virtue and love”.
“If the 1950s was a sparse period for Black poetry”- is a passage for the GMAT that addresses reading comprehension. Candidates must have a firm understanding of GMAT reading comprehension in English. This GMAT reading comprehension section consists of eight comprehension questions. The purpose of the GMAT Reading Comprehension questions is to assess a candidate's capacity to understand, evaluate, and apply knowledge or ideas. By responding to the GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions section, candidates can actively practice.
Solutions and Explanation
- It can be inferred from the passage that the Broadside Press poets believed that poetry primarily should be:
A) entertaining
B) descriptive
C) aesthetic
D) escapist
E) remonstrative
Answer: (E)
Explanation: The poets of the Broadside Press are known by this name. This is because their poems serve as social, political, and moral broadsides in opposition to the political system and the establishment. The final option is the right answer with this description. The remaining options are all wrong answers as they do not represent the right term.
- The author mentions all of the following as indications of the new importance of Black poetry in the 1960s EXCEPT:
A) the appearance of several anthologies of Black poetry.
B) the appearance of new literary journals for Black literature.
C) courses in Black literature at most colleges and universities.
D) new volumes of poetry by established Black writers.
E) the emergence of a committed Black literary group.
Answer: (C)
Explanation: The question asks for an answer that was not mentioned in the passage. All of the options have statements that are mentioned and supported by the passage. So they all are eliminated except one. The passage makes no mention of the majority of colleges' and universities' offerings of Black literature courses. So, the third option is the right answer.
- The primary purpose of the passage is to
A) discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a new literary group.
B) compare contrasting literary movements.
C) analyze the impact of a literary movement on American social structure.
D) describe a literary movement and the factors that influenced it.
E) outline the history of a literary genre.
Answer: (D)
Explanation: The first option does not fit the tone of the passage, it does not discuss the advantages and disadvantages of any literary group. The second option does not fit the passage tone, it does not include any contrasting or comparison movements. The third choice is also similar to the last two. The last option is also invalid because it does not follow the tradition of literary classification. The fourth option is therefore the best answer.
- It is most likely that immediately preceding this passage the author had discussed:
A) Black poetry of the 1950s.
B) Black prose of the 1960s.
C) some minor Black poets of the 1960s.
D) the racial atmosphere of America in the 1960s.
E) the new periodicals devoted to Black literature.
Answer: (A)
Explanation: The first option is the right answer. This is because it can be inferred from the passage. The 1960s more than made up for the 1950s' lack of Black poetry; in the 1960s, Black poets proliferated all over the United States. The remaining options are all wrong answers as they have distorted information.
- According to the passage, the new Black poetry was characterized by:
A) individual introspection.
B) profound despair.
C) moral pessimism.
D) psychological detachment.
E) social protest.
Answer: (E)
Explanation: The first four options are all wrong answers. This is because the statements in them have the wrong tone of the passage. The final option is the right answer. It correctly characterizes the new Black Poetry. This can be proved if the passage is read clearly and the section about new Black Poetry is understood appropriately.
- According to the passage, the flourishing of Black poetry during the 1960s was chiefly a reflection of:
A) an increased awareness of Black cultural heritage.
B) a renewed interest in the work of older Black poets.
C) the feeling that poetry is more expressive than prose.
D) the racial trouble in the United States at the time.
E) new goals the older Black writers had set for themselves.
Answer: (D)
Explanation: The bombings, assassinations, burning ghettos, screaming sirens, violent altercations, and the cruel awareness of Black poverty spreading amid white affluence. These elements were behind the poets and their songs of bitter protest against racism in America. With this understanding, it is clear that the fourth option is the right answer.
- The passage implies that LeRoi Jones’ main contribution to the new Black poetry was to:
A) make other Black writers more aware of social conditions.
B) attract the attention of Whites to Black literature.
C) provide a link between the older and the younger generations of Black writers.
D) provide the philosophy of the new Black literature.
E) serve as a personal example of what the artist’s role should be.
Answer: (D)
Explanation: The fourth option is the right answer. According to the passage, LeRoi Jones' primary contribution to the new Black poetry was developing its philosophical underpinnings. Under the direction of LeRoi Jones and others, a Black aesthetic emerged that, in some ways, set the rules for Black poetic militancy. The remaining options are all wrong answers as they are not consistent.
- In which of the following ways is the passage organized?
A) A phenomenon is discussed and then further explained by its appearances in history.
B) A trend is described, followed by an example of a group that exemplified that trend.
C) A hypothesis is stated and then proven through historical examples.
D) A group is praised for its historical merits and then shown to be part of a larger movement.
E) A perspective is analyzed and then called into question.
Answer: (B)
Explanation: The second option talks about the history, a movement, and the growth of Black poetry, as demonstrated or represented by a group of "Black poets". They were active in the Black social justice movement. This is the right response to the question. The first three options are easily eliminated as they are inaccurate or do not have the right passage tone. The fourth option may be tricky, but not the right choice compared to the second option.
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