PrepTest 119, Section 2, Question 2
Literary historian: William Shakespeare, a humble actor, could(48 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- ABacon wrote the(12 more words not shown)
- BBacon wrote both(9 more words not shown)
- CShakespeare wrote neither(9 more words not shown)
- DOne person could(13 more words not shown)
- EShakespeare may have(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Shakespeare couldn't have written the dramas—if we accept the historian's rule. The rule is that writing these dramas required spending substantial time around powerful rulers. Shakespeare didn't do that. So he fails a requirement the historian gives us, and that rules him out as the author of the dramas. We might question that rule in a debate about literature, but this question asks what follows from the historian's claims. We need to use the claims we're given.
What about Francis Bacon? He associated with rulers, so he isn't ruled out for the same reason. But why does that make him the author? Other people could have spent time around those rulers too. Meeting a requirement doesn't establish that Bacon wrote anything.
What we’re looking for
The love poetry remains open. The historian says Shakespeare could have written it, not that he definitely did. My prediction is therefore limited: Shakespeare didn't write the dramas, while he may have written the poetry. We shouldn't decide more than the evidence allows.
Working the answers
- A
Bacon could have written the dramas, but the historian hasn't established that he did. Knowing he associated with rulers doesn't distinguish him from everyone else who did so. And nothing rules him out as the author of the love poetry. Both parts go beyond the claims we're given.
- B
This settles both authorship questions in Bacon's favor without enough evidence. He meets the condition about knowing rulers, but meeting that condition doesn't prove he wrote the dramas. We also have no claim establishing that he wrote the poetry.
- C
The dramas are ruled out for Shakespeare; the poetry isn't. Saying he could have written the poetry leaves that possibility alive. We can't convert “could have” into either “definitely did” or “definitely did not.” C does the latter.
- D
One person still could have written both. Perhaps Bacon did, or perhaps some other person who spent time around rulers did. Shakespeare cannot be the author of both under the historian's rule, but excluding Shakespeare doesn't require two different authors. We would need additional information to divide the works between two people.
- ECorrect
This preserves both levels of certainty. Shakespeare may have written the love poetry, just as the historian says. He did not write the dramas because, according to the historian, their author had to spend much time among rulers, and Shakespeare didn't. E follows the stated rule without declaring Bacon the winner.
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