Though mostly unknown, the 19th century novels of Edward Bulwer-Lytton are subject to an inescapable ________, since today the author, for the opening line—“It was a dark and stormy night”—has been awarded the distinction of an annual contest, in which the winning entrant is the one who concocts a faux opening line that is by turns the most groan-inducing and prosaic.We are told that the mostly unknown novels of Edward Bulwer-Lytton are subject to an inescapable
something. And what can this
something be? commemoration? banality? relevance? or is it the other choices? We have the answer in the sentence fragment immediately after the blank beginning with the word "since", which gives the reason and justifies the word for the blank.
And what is this reason? The author was awarded a distinction for the most groan-inducing and prosaic introduction by using the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" which was obviously the most used opening line by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (EBL). Therefore, we can see EBL has been subjected to the very opposite of approbation, that is
opprobrium.
_________________