LSAT 154 – Section 1 – Question 20

LSAT 154 - Section 1 - Question 20

September 2017

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Question QuickView	Type	Tags	Answer Choices	Curve	Question Difficulty	Psg/Game/S Difficulty	Explanation
PT154 S1 Q20	+LR +Exp	Except +Exc Strengthen +Streng Eliminating Options +ElimOpt	A 38% 167 B 49% 160 C 5% 157 D 7% 160 E 2% 158	159 167 176	+Hardest	147.621 +SubsectionMedium

That Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (1610–1611) is modeled after Euripides’ Alcestis (fifth century B.C.) seems undeniable. However, it is generally accepted that Shakespeare knew little or no Greek, so Euripides’ original play would be an unlikely source. Thus, it seems most likely that Shakespeare came to know Euripides’ play through a Latin translation.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis

The author hypothesizes that Shakespeare probably learned about Euripedes’ play through a Latin translation. This is based on the fact that Shakespeare knew little or no Greek, which suggests he didn’t read the original version of Euripedes’ play.

Notable Assumptions

The author assumes that Shakespeare didn’t learn about the play through a translation in another language, such as English. The author also assumes that Shakespeare learned about Euripedes’ play through a translation, as opposed to learning about the play through a conversation or through other kinds of communiation with people who knew about the play. The author also assumes that Shakespeare could read Latin.

Latin phrases that were widely used in England during Shakespeare’s time appear in a number of his plays.

This doesn’t suggest that Shakespeare knew Latin. If the phrases were widely used, that suggests he may have simply used phrases that came to be part of general parlance. (Think about a phrase like “schadenfreude” - you may know what this means without knowing German.)

The only English language version of Alcestis available in Shakespeare’s time differed drastically from the original in ways The Winter’s Tale does not.

This provides evidence against the theory that Shakespeare learned about Euripedes’ play through an English translation.

Paul Buchanan’s 1539 Latin translation of Alcestis was faithful to the original and widely available during the 1600s.

This strengthens by affirming that there was in fact a Latin translation of Euripedes’ play in existence at the time Shakespeare wrote The Winter’s Tale.

Shakespeare’s father’s community standing makes it probable that Shakespeare attended grammar school, where Latin would have been a mandatory subject.

This strengthens by providing evidence that Shakespeare knew Latin.

There is strong evidence to suggest that Shakespeare relied on Latin translations of Greek plays as sources for some of his other works.

This strengthens by showing that there is precedent for the idea that Shakespeare was influenced by Latin translations of Greek plays.

LSAT 154 – Section 1 – Question 20

LSAT 154 - Section 1 - Question 20

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LSAT PrepTest 154 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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