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Should we really care for the greatest actors of the past could
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Updated on: 27 Dec 2025, 01:59
Updated on: 27 Dec 2025, 01:59
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80% (02:50) wrong based on 35 sessions
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Question 2
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68% (01:55) wrong based on 31 sessions
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Question 3
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Should we really care for the greatest actors of the past could we have them before us? Should we find them too different from our accent of thought, of feeling, of speech, in a thousand minute particulars which are of the essence of all three? Dr. Doran's less familiar, but in their day hardly less astonishing, players, do not relieve one of the doubt. Garrick himself, as sometimes happens with people who have been the subject of much anecdote and other conversation, here as elsewhere, bears no very distinct figure. One hardly sees the wood for the trees. On the other hand, the account of Betterton, "perhaps the greatest of English actors," is delightfully fresh. That intimate friend of Dryden, Tillatson, Pope, who executed a copy of the actor's portrait by Kneller which is still extant, was worthy of their friendship; his career brings out the best elements in stage life. The stage in these volumes presents itself indeed not merely as a mirror of life, but as an illustration of the utmost intensity of life, in the fortunes and characters of the players. Ups and downs, generosity, dark fates, the most delicate goodness, have nowhere been more prominent than in the private existence of those devoted to the public mimicry of men and women. Contact with the stage, almost throughout its history, presents itself as a kind of touchstone, to bring out the bizarrerie, the theatrical tricks and contrasts, of the actual world.
In the expression "One hardly sees the wood for the trees", the author apparently intends the word trees to be analogous to
A. features of Doran's language style
B. details learned from oral sources
C. personality of a famous actor
D. detail's of Garrick's life
E. stage triumphs of an astonishing player
The doubt referred to concerns whether
A. the stage personalities of the past would appeal on a personal level to people like the author
B. their contemporaries would have understood famous actors
C. the acting of famous stage personalities would appeal to us today
D. Garrick was as great as he is portrayed
E. historical records can reveal personality
Information supplied in the passage is sufficient to answer which of the following questions?
(Select ALL answer choices that apply)
A. Who did Doran think was probably the best English actor?
B. What did Doran think of Garrick?
C. Would the author give a definite answer to the first question posed in the passage?
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Re: Should we really care for the greatest actors of the past could
[#permalink]
11 Jul 2026, 00:46
11 Jul 2026, 00:46
1
Expert Reply
Question 1: Answer D - details of Garrick's life
The sentence structure explains itself: Garrick "bears no very distinct figure" because he has "been the subject of much anecdote and other conversation." The idiom "can't see the wood for the trees" means that too many small details obscure the larger, clearer picture. Here, the "trees" are the countless anecdotes and biographical details about Garrick that pile up and prevent a clear, unified sense of who he was (the "wood"). So "trees" = details of Garrick's life.
Question 2: Answer C - the acting of famous stage personalities would appeal to us today
The doubt is set up in the opening lines: would we "really care for" past actors if we could see them, or would we "find them too different from our accent of thought, of feeling, of speech" - referring specifically to their manner of acting (thought, feeling, speech are the tools of a performer). The passage then says Dr. Doran's accounts of lesser-known actors "do not relieve one of the doubt," meaning even detailed descriptions can't settle whether their performances would resonate with a modern audience. This is squarely about whether their acting would still appeal, not merely whether we'd like them personally (which is closer to A, but less precise given the acting-specific vocabulary used).
Question 3: Answers A and C
A - answerable. The passage quotes the description of Betterton as "perhaps the greatest of English actors," attributed to Doran's account. This directly answers who Doran considered the top English actor: Betterton.
C-answerable. The first question posed is whether we'd still care for past actors if we could see them today. The passage never resolves this - it repeatedly emphasizes lingering doubt (Doran's accounts "do not relieve one of the doubt"). So we can answer the question "does the author give a definite answer?" - and the answer is no, the author leaves it open.
B - not answerable. The passage describes the author's impression of the account of Garrick (that it's indistinct, buried in anecdote) - but this is a comment on how the material reads, not a statement of Doran's personal opinion or assessment of Garrick as an actor. We can't determine what Doran himself thought of Garrick from this.
The sentence structure explains itself: Garrick "bears no very distinct figure" because he has "been the subject of much anecdote and other conversation." The idiom "can't see the wood for the trees" means that too many small details obscure the larger, clearer picture. Here, the "trees" are the countless anecdotes and biographical details about Garrick that pile up and prevent a clear, unified sense of who he was (the "wood"). So "trees" = details of Garrick's life.
Question 2: Answer C - the acting of famous stage personalities would appeal to us today
The doubt is set up in the opening lines: would we "really care for" past actors if we could see them, or would we "find them too different from our accent of thought, of feeling, of speech" - referring specifically to their manner of acting (thought, feeling, speech are the tools of a performer). The passage then says Dr. Doran's accounts of lesser-known actors "do not relieve one of the doubt," meaning even detailed descriptions can't settle whether their performances would resonate with a modern audience. This is squarely about whether their acting would still appeal, not merely whether we'd like them personally (which is closer to A, but less precise given the acting-specific vocabulary used).
Question 3: Answers A and C
A - answerable. The passage quotes the description of Betterton as "perhaps the greatest of English actors," attributed to Doran's account. This directly answers who Doran considered the top English actor: Betterton.
C-answerable. The first question posed is whether we'd still care for past actors if we could see them today. The passage never resolves this - it repeatedly emphasizes lingering doubt (Doran's accounts "do not relieve one of the doubt"). So we can answer the question "does the author give a definite answer?" - and the answer is no, the author leaves it open.
B - not answerable. The passage describes the author's impression of the account of Garrick (that it's indistinct, buried in anecdote) - but this is a comment on how the material reads, not a statement of Doran's personal opinion or assessment of Garrick as an actor. We can't determine what Doran himself thought of Garrick from this.
Re: Should we really care for the greatest actors of the past could
[#permalink]
27 Dec 2025, 01:57
27 Dec 2025, 01:57
Expert Reply
Question 1
(D) details of Garrick's life. The idiom "one hardly sees the wood for the trees" follows directly after noting Garrick's overexposure to "much anecdote and other conversation," implying excessive minutiae obscure the overall picture (wood).
(D) details of Garrick's life. The idiom "one hardly sees the wood for the trees" follows directly after noting Garrick's overexposure to "much anecdote and other conversation," implying excessive minutiae obscure the overall picture (wood).
