sat suite question viewer
The following text is from John Dryden’s 1697 translation of Virgil’s poem the Aeneid, written in the first century BCE. Queen Dido has just heard the Trojan hero Aeneas recount a sad tale.
But anxious cares already seiz’d the queen:
She fed within her veins a flame unseen;
The hero’s valor, acts, and birth inspire
Her soul with love, and fan the secret fire.
His words, his looks, imprinted in her heart,
Improve the passion, and increase the smart.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Explanation
Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text, which is to foreground Queen Dido’s strong emotional response to Aeneas’s story. Throughout, the text emphasizes how deeply the queen is affected by both Aeneas’s tale and persona. At the outset, the speaker explicitly states that "anxious cares...seiz’d the queen" and then uses the metaphor of fire ("within her veins a flame unseen" and "secret fire") to evoke the warmth of Dido’s feelings for Aeneas. In addition, the line "His words, his looks, imprinted in her heart" suggests the deep impression that Aeneas’s story makes on Dido, eliciting passion for him ("improv[ing] the passion") and empathy for his suffering ("increas[ing] the smart").
Choice A is incorrect because there’s no indication in the text that Dido is skeptical of Aeneas’s account, much less that she’s trying to conceal that skepticism. On the contrary, the text shows her being moved by his words and developing feelings for him. Choice C is incorrect. While the text mentions that Dido is impressed by Aeneas’s "valor, acts, and birth," which might suggest (but doesn’t necessarily entail) intellectual engagement, the text doesn’t represent Dido’s engagement with Aeneas in a manner that suggests a balance between emotion and intellect. Rather, the text primarily emphasizes her emotional response—specifically her attraction to Aeneas and her emotional investment in his story, indicating that his "valor, acts, and birth inspire / Her soul with love, and fan the secret fire" and that his words and looks elicit passion and empathy. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that Dido is worried about Aeneas discovering a secret she is concealing from him. Though the text begins by mentioning Dido’s "anxious cares," this refers to her growing passion for Aeneas and pity for his suffering, not to worry about a secret she is concealing. The text’s reference to a "flame unseen" and "secret fire" points to Dido’s growing feelings for Aeneas that develop as he recounts his tale, not to a secret that existed before their encounter; moreover, the text provides no indication that Dido is worried Aeneas might discover these feelings.