Question

The author of the passage develops her points about Johnson primarily by:

• A. contrasting Johnson's critical methods with those of his contemporaries
• B. citing specific illustrations drawn from Johnson's work
• C. alluding to contemporary comments about Johnson's theories
• D. quoting Johnson's remarks about the critical approaches prevalent in his own day

Answer 1

The correct option is B

citing specific illustrations drawn from Johnson's work

The author develops her points by citing specific illustrations drawn from Johnson’s work.
Look at these lines Second Paragraph: “That this is a practice contrary to the rules of criticism,” Johnson wrote, “will be readily allowed; but there is always an appeal from criticism to nature.”

Third Paragraph: “is damned with faint praise by Johnson: “Cato affords a splendid exhibition of artificial and fictitious manners, and delivers just and noble sentiments, in diction easy, elevated, and harmonious, but its hopes and fears communicate no vibration to the heart.”

Fourth Paragraph: “In his Life of Dryden, he defends the use of a special diction in poetry, it is true; but his reasons are all-important. For Johnson, poetic diction should serve the ends of direct emotional impact and ease of comprehension, not those of false profundity or grandiosity. “Words too familiar,” he wrote, “or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet. From those sounds which we hear on small or on coarse occasions, we do not easily receive strong impressions, or delightful images; and words to which we are nearly strangers, whenever they occur, draw that attention on themselves which they should transmit to things.”

We have lines in all the paragraphs to support option (b).