Which view on truth or standard is the critic least likely to agree with?

• A. Critics give value to the work only if they share its beliefs
• B. Critics require all characters in a work, except one
• C. To correspond to historical figure
• D. The text's meaning is determined by its own internal logic

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how critics determine what counts as truth or a standard for judging a work. Saying that truth should correspond to a historical figure ties interpretation to external biography and real-world beliefs. Critics who focus on literary analysis typically argue that meaning comes from the text itself (its language, structure, and internal logic) or from how readers engage with it, rather than from aligning with what a real person believed. Because of that, using a historical figure as the standard is the least compatible with how most criticism approaches meaning, making it the best choice. The other views—valuing a work based on shared beliefs, or judging a work by its internal logic or by particular interpretive tests—fit more naturally with common critical approaches, even if they’re debated in practice.