Question

Replete with bloody revenge, disasters (both deserved and undeserved) and agonizing moral dilemmas, the plots of tragedies also involve dramatic irony, where the audience recognizes the facts before they are recognized by the play's characters themselves.

• A. they are recognized by the play's characters themselves
• B. the play's characters recognize the facts
• C. these facts are recognized by the play's characters
• D. being recognized by the play's characters
• E. the play's characters themselves do

Hint:

When constructing sentences with active and passive voices, prefer the active voice for clearer, more direct statements.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Analyzing the structure of the sentence.
The sentence describes a situation where the audience recognizes the facts of the plot before the characters do. This requires a construction that emphasizes the characters' recognition of the facts in a straightforward and active manner.

Step 2: Analysis of options.
- (A) they are recognized by the play's characters themselves: Incorrect. The passive voice here makes the sentence unnecessarily complicated.
- (B) the play's characters recognize the facts: Correct. This option uses the active voice and maintains clarity by indicating that the characters themselves recognize the facts.
- (C) these facts are recognized by the play's characters: Incorrect. While it is grammatically correct, the passive voice weakens the clarity and flow of the sentence.
- (D) being recognized by the play's characters: Incorrect. The phrase "being recognized" creates an awkward construction and doesn't fit smoothly into the sentence.
- (E) the play's characters themselves do: Incorrect. The phrasing is redundant and confusing. The sentence already conveys the point that the characters recognize the facts.

Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct answer is (B) the play's characters recognize the facts.

Final Answer: \[ \boxed{(B) \, \text{the play's characters recognize the facts.}} \]