ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by over-sharing.

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The next time someone writes a long-winded

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post on social media, just be glad that

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they didn't write an opera instead.

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All right, well, check out the following passage.

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[ in a German accent ] Tristan and Isolde

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is an opera composed in the 1850s

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by Richard Wagner, an influential German composer.

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Said to be inspired by a personal romance as well as

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the work of a German philosopher,

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Tristan and Isolde

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(like our German kind of pronunciation there? [ chuckles ] No extra charge.)

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was first performed in 1865.

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The opera is often cited as a landmark in Western music

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because of its enormous complexity and unique characteristics.

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All right, according to the passage, which of the following statements about

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Tristan and Isolde is accurate?

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[ meow ]

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[ mumbles ]

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All right, right off the bat, option A can go take a seat

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in the balcony, as the first line in the passage states

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that the opera was written by Wagner, not Beethoven.

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Come on. Do you really think that poorly of us?

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All right, option B can be eliminated, as well.

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Although the passage says it was composed

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in the 1850s, it was not performed

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until 1865.

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Trust us, 15 years is a big difference.

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Just ask any teenager.

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Option D looks like a solid choice,

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but we can't be fooled by the mention of a German philosopher.

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Nowhere in the passage does it state

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that the opera is too complex for audiences

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to understand.

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So this means that the correct answer is C -

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A personal romance probably inspired the composer to write

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Tristan and Isolde.

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We probably wouldn't have followed Wagner on social media, though.

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His posts would have probably been a little too intense.

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[ dun dun duuuun ]

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