ShmoopTube

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Here's your shmoop du jour... Which word could fill in the blank so that

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the sentence makes sense?

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Many works of literature grapple with the pain of love, since it plays a universal role

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in human blank.

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And here are the potential answers...

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The hint in this sentence is "universal,"

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which means that the pain of love is everywhere.

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We can eliminate (A) and (E) because the pain of love isn't always involved in

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human weakness or error...

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Though it can sometimes be involved. "Fate" may sound appropriately literary,

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but it doesn't quite work. The pain of love doesn't decide everybody's fate...

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The pain of love does affect the "lives"

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of a lot of people. (C) is the correct answer, however, because

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"existence" fits best with the philosophical tone of the sentence.

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Although, some are more philosophical about love than others.

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