A medieval manuscript called L contains all eighteen extant tragedies by the Greek playwright Euripides. Of these, ten called the...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
A medieval manuscript called L contains all eighteen extant tragedies by the Greek playwright Euripides. Of these, ten called the "select plays," are accompanied in L by ancient commentaries and also appear in other medieval manuscripts; this group includes some of Euripides' best-known works, including the Medea . The other eight, which appear only in L, are called "alphabeticals", because they appear in alphabetical order, without commentary. The Electra is one of the alphabetical.
Which of the following can be reliably concluded on the basis of the statements given?
Passage Visualization
| Passage Statement | Visualization and Linkage |
|---|---|
| A medieval manuscript called L contains all eighteen extant tragedies by the Greek playwright Euripides. | Establishes total scope:
|
| Of these, ten called the "select plays," are accompanied in L by ancient commentaries and also appear in other medieval manuscripts | Defines Group 1 - "Select Plays":
|
| this group includes some of Euripides' best-known works, including the Medea | Confirms select plays' status:
|
| The other eight, which appear only in L, are called "alphabeticals", because they appear in alphabetical order, without commentary. | Defines Group 2 - "Alphabeticals":
|
| The Electra is one of the alphabetical. | Categorizes specific play:
|
| Overall Implication | Key Pattern Revealed: Manuscript L preserves a complete spectrum of Euripides' works - both the popular plays that survived in multiple manuscripts (10 select plays with commentary) and the rare plays that survived nowhere else (8 alphabeticals without commentary). This creates two distinct categories based on historical preservation and scholarly attention. |
Valid Inferences
Inference: The Electra does not appear in any medieval manuscript other than L.
Supporting Logic: Since the passage states that alphabetical plays "appear only in L" and that "The Electra is one of the alphabetical," we can definitively conclude that Electra exists exclusively in manuscript L. This directly contrasts with the select plays, which "also appear in other medieval manuscripts."
Clarification Note: While we know Electra appears only in L, the passage does not provide information about why this occurred or whether Electra might be well-known despite its limited manuscript presence.