Admission Test GRE-Verbal Prüfungsfragen : Section One : Verbal

Victorian poetess Christina Rossetti's potent sensual imagery compelled Edmond Gosse, perhaps the
most influential literary critic in late Victorian England, to observe that she "does not shrink from strong
delineation of the pleasures of life even when denouncing them." In the face of Rossetti's virtual
canonization by critics at the end of the nineteenth century, however, Virginia Woolf ignores her apparent
conservatism, instead seeing in her curiosity value and a model of artistic purity and integrity for women
writers. In 1930, the centenary of Rossetti's birth,Woolf identified her as "one of Shakespeare's more
recent sisters" whose life had been reclusively Victorian but whose achievement as an artist was enduring.
Woolf remembers Rossetti for her four volumes of explosively original poems loaded with vivid images
and dense emotional energy. "A Birthday," for instance, is no typical Victorian poem and is certainly unlike
predictable works of the era's best known women poets. Rossetti's most famous poem, "Goblin Market,"
bridges the space between simplistic fairy tale and complex adult allegory-at once Christian,
psychological, and profeminist. Like many of Rossetti's works, it is extraordinarily original and unorthodox
in form. Its subject matter is radical and therefore risky for a Victorian poetess because it implies
castigation of an economic (and even marital) marketplace dominated by men, whose motives are, at best,
suspect. Its Christian allusions are obvious but grounded in opulent images whose lushness borders on
the erotic. From Rossetti's work emerge not only emotional force, artistic polish, frequently ironic
playfulness, and intellectual vigor but also an intriguing, enigmatic quality. "Winter: My Secret," for
example, combines these traits along with a very high (and un-Victorian) level of poetic selfconsciousness.
"How does one reconcile the aesthetic sensuality of Rossetti's poetry with her repressed, ascetic
lifestyle?" Woolf wondered. That Rossetti did indeed withhold a "secret" both from those intimate with her
and from posterity is Lona Packer's thesis in her 1963 biography of Rossetti. Packer's claim that
Rossetti's was a secret of the heart has since been disproved through the discovery of hundreds of letters
by Rossetti, which reinforce the conventional image of her as pious, scrupulously abstinent, and
semi-reclusive. Yet the passions expressed in her love poems do expose the "secret" at the heart of both
Rossetti's life and art: a willingness to forego worldly pleasures in favor of an aestheticized Christian
version of transcendent fulfillment in heaven. Her sonnet "The World," therefore, becomes pivotal in
understanding Rossetti's literary project as a whole-her rhymes for children, fairy tale narratives, love
poems, and devotional commentaries. The world, for Rossetti, is a fallen place. Her work is pervasively
designed to force upon readers this inescapable Christian truth. The beauty of her poetry must be seen
therefore as an artistic strategy, a means toward a moral end.
The passage mentions all of the following as qualities that emerge from Rossetti's work EXCEPT for

• A. unorthodox form
• B. ironic playfulness
• C. intellectual vigor
• D. stark realism
• E. lush imagery

VAGARY:

• A. full disclosure
• B. impartiality
• C. foreseeable event
• D. explicitness
• E. essential element

INFLATE : BIGGER

• A. diminish : smaller
• B. elongate: shorter
• C. meditate: higher
• D. revere: lower
• E. fluctuate: longer

"Old woman," grumbled the burly white man who had just heard Sojourner Truth speak, "do you think your
talk about slavery does any good? I don't care any more for your talk than I do for the bite of a flea." The
tall, imposing black woman turned her piercing eyes on him. "Perhaps not," she answered, "but I'll keep
you scratching." The little incident of the 1840s sums up all that Sojourner Truth was: utterly dedicated to
spreading her message, afraid of no one, forceful and witty in speech. Yet forty years earlier, who could
have suspected that a spindly slave girl growing up in a damp cellar in upstate New York would become
one of the most remarkable women in American history? Her name then was Isabella (many slaves had
no last names), and by the time she was fourteen she had seen both parents die of cold and hunger. She
herself had been sold several times. By 1827, when New York freed its slaves, she had married and
borne five children. The first hint of Isabella's fighting spirit came soon afterwards, when her youngest son
was illegally seized and sold. She marched to the courthouse and badgered officials until her son was
returned to her. In 1843, inspired by religion, she changed her name to Sojourner (meaning "one who
stays briefly") Truth, and, with only pennies in her purse, set out to preach against slavery. From New
England to Minnesota she trekked, gaining a reputation for her plain but powerful and moving words.
Incredibly, despite being black and female (only white males were expected to be public speakers), she
drew thousands to town halls, tents, and churches to hear her powerful, deep-voiced pleas on equality for
blacks-and for women. Often she had to face threatening hoodlums. Once she stood before armed bullies
and sang a hymn to them. Awed by her courage and her commanding presence, they sheepishly
retreated. During the Civil War she cared for homeless ex-slaves in Washington. President Lincoln invited
her to the White House to bestow praise on her. Later, she petitioned Congress to help former slaves get
land in the West. Even in her old age, she forced the city of Washington to integrate its trolley cars so that
black and white could ride together. Shortly before her death at eighty-six, she was asked what kept her
going. "I think of the great things," replied Sojourner.
Isabella lost both parents by the time she was-

• A. seven
• B. fourteen
• C. two
• D. nineteen
• E. twenty-seven

The victory of the small Greek democracy of Athens over the mighty Persian empire in 490 B. C. is one of
the most famous events in history. Darius, king of the Persian empire, was furious because Athens had
interceded for the other Greek city-states in revolt against Persian domination. In anger the king sent an
enormous army to defeat Athens.
He thought it would take drastic steps to pacify the rebellious part of the empire. Persia was ruled by one
man. In Athens, however, all citizens helped to rule. Ennobled by this participation, Athenians were
prepared to die for their city-state. Perhaps this was the secret of the remarkable victory at Marathon,
which freed them from Persian rule. On their way to Marathon, the Persians tried to fool some Greek
city-states by claiming to have come in peace. The frightened citizens of Delos refused to believe this. Not
wanting to abet the conquest of Greece, they fled from their city and did not return until the
Persians had left. They were wise, for the Persians next conquered the city of Etria and captured its
people. Tiny Athens stood alone against PersiA. The Athenian people went to their sanctuaries. There
they prayed for deliverance. They asked their gods to expedite their victory. The Athenians refurbished
their weapons and moved to the plain of Marathon, where their little band would meet the Persians. At the
last moment, soldiers from Plataea reinforced the Athenian troops. The Athenian army attacked, and
Greek citizens fought bravely. The power of the mighty Persians was offset by the love that the Athenians
had for their city. Athenians defeated the Persians in archery and hand combat.
Greek soldiers seized Persian ships and burned them, and the Persians fled in terror.
Herodotus, a famous historian, reports that 6400 Persians died, compared with only 192 Athenians.
Darius took drastic steps to ___ the rebellious Athenians.

• A. calm
• B. destroy
• C. placate
• D. weaken
• E. answer not available