Critical Reading Question from McGraw Hill's

jenniferlien
Sat, 03 Aug 2013 06:07:57 +0000

A Question from McGraw Hill’s Test 1 Section 6

The tragic hero with Shakespeare need not be “good”, though generally he is “good” and therefore at once wins sympathy in his error: But it is necessary that he should have so much of greatness that in his error and fall we may be vividly conscious of the possibilities of human nature. Hence, in the first place, a Shakespearean tragedy is never, like some miscalled tragedies, depressing. No one ever closes the book with the feeling that man is a poor mean creature. He may be wretched and he may be awful, but he is not small. His lot may be heart-rendering and mysterious, but it is not contemptible. The most confirmed of cynics ceases to be a cynic while he reads these plays.


As it is used in line 6, “lot” most nearly means
A) parcel of land
B) great quantity
C) fate in life
D) motivation
E) friend


The answer is C) fate in life. I was between C) and D) but couldn’t figure out why even seeing the explanation. Please tell me where I can find a clue of what “lot” means.

Thanks a lot! :)

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