Recognize influence and control
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
The guild's hegemony over the fictional city's literary life allowed a small circle of poets to decide which styles received official attention. The dominance of epic verse at public festivals made shorter comic works seem almost absent from the city's celebrations. Guild leaders tried to subjugate independent reading groups by demanding control over their memberships and every text they selected. A student reader traced these developments in a novel, noting when cultural influence became an attempt to command other people's activities.
The guild preserved its hegemony partly by awarding the invitations that brought writers before the largest audiences. The dominance of epic verse therefore reflected control of those invitations as well as the tastes of individual listeners. When the guild attempted to subjugate a neighborhood group, the members held their own small reading in a courtyard. The student distinguished their independent choice from a struggle to control the entire city, keeping the scale and purpose of each action clear in her notes.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.