Question

shakespeare’s plays have inspired numerous operas composed in such non-english speaking european countries as italy, france, and germany. among the works of the great italian composer operas based on shakespeare’s macbeth, othello, and the comical character falstaff, all written during the 1800s. yet shakespeare’s plays were simply not performed in european and germany in the 1700s or early to mid-1800s, despite their rousing success in the bard’s native england. not until the middle of the 19th century, when the romantic writers embraced shakespeare for his emphasis on “psychological truths,” did translations of his works start to appear on the mainland. verdi’s opera macbeth opened in 1847, before shakespeare’s play macbeth had been performed in italy, and—almost certainly—before verdi had even attended a shakespearean play! later that same year he traveled to london to see the work that inspired his musical creation. (1) in line 15, to whom does “he” refer? (2) which sentence describes an irony? a) lines 3–6 c) lines 9–12 b) lines 6–9 d) lines 12–15 (3) in line 12, what does “the mainland” refer to? (4) according to the passage, verdi probably saw his first shakespearean play in what country?

Explanation:

Sub - Question (1)

To determine who "he" refers to in line 15, we look at the context. The previous lines (line 12 - 14) talk about Verdi's opera "Macbeth" and Verdi's actions. So "he" should refer to Verdi.

• Option a (lines 3 - 6): Just talks about Verdi's operas based on Shakespeare, no irony.
• Option b (lines 6 - 9): Discusses Shakespeare's plays not being performed in some European countries despite success in England, no irony.
• Option c (lines 9 - 12): Talks about Romantic writers embracing Shakespeare and translations appearing, no irony.
• Option d (lines 12 - 15): Verdi's opera "Macbeth" opened in 1847 before Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" was performed in Italy and before Verdi attended a Shakespearean play. This is ironic as the opera based on the play came before the play was performed in that country and before the composer saw the play.

The passage talks about Shakespeare's plays being successful in England and then translations appearing on the mainland. The "mainland" here refers to the European mainland (non - English - speaking European countries like Italy, France, Germany as mentioned earlier), in contrast to England (an island).

Answer:

Verdi

Sub - Question (2)