Q2 - Literary historian: William Shakespeare, a humble

[kmewmewblue]

I am completely lost.

First, it seemed like I could make some conditional formula, but either I have failed to make one, or I don't even need to make the formula. I don't even know that.

Help me please!!!

[demetri.blaisdell]

This is an inference question, so we'll need a good understanding of the stimulus and then look for a modest inference (remember to be cautious of stronger answer choices).

Quick summary of the stimulus:

Shakespeare could have written the love poetry. But dramas require knowing about the minds of rulers and spending time with them. Bacon did that. Shakespeare did not.

(E) connects the last two sentences to the first two. The author hasn't implied anything about whether Shakespeare wrote the poetry, but she has a clear opinion about the dramas. Shakespeare didn't spend time with the rulers, so he couldn't have written the dramas.

(A) is unsupported. We don't know anything about what makes someone qualified to write the love poetry.

(B) is also unsupported. If we're not sure who can write love poetry, how can we conclude Bacon wrote it?

(C) is contradicted. Shakespeare could have written the poetry.

(D) is unsupported. Just because Shakespeare couldn't have written the dramas doesn't mean someone else couldn't have written both the dramas and the poetry.

I hope this helps clear up the confusion. Thanks for posting your questions.

Demetri