ShmoopTube

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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by tragedy. Hey, you'd cry too it that comedy

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mask was laughing at you all the time...

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Based on the tone and complexity of the passage, which of the following would be a reasonable

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assumption to make about the intended audience of this passage?

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Now that we've read and reread the passage, we feel ready to tackle the big-dog questions like this one.

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We'll need a firm grasp on the overall feel of the passage, and the depth of information it presents.

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Let's kick things off by checking out choice (C).

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Could it be that A.C. was a total lady's man, wooing impressionable undergraduates

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with his knowledge of Shakespeare's tragic period?

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Sorry, Professor. There's no evidence that the audience was mostly women—in fact, since

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this passage was published in 1904, almost all of A.C. Bradley's students were probably men.

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So, (C) is definitely incorrect.

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How about choice (B)?

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Nah, the topic of discussion is Shakespeare's tragedies, but we don't get the impression

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that the audience dislikes Shakespeare's comedies.

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Except for maybe that one guy in the back who started booing when the Professor mentioned

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Much Ado About Nothing.

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Does choice (A) have it right?

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Since the passage doesn't give us much background information about any of the plays, the author

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assumes that the audience is already familiar with them.

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Apparently, the Professor didn't have any patience for students who didn't do their homework.

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The answer is (D).

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A.C. assumes that his audience knows all the little details of plot and character, allowing

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him to focus on loftier themes.

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Yeah, yeah, we get it Professor...you're super smart.

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