LSAT 154 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q20

LR Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: That Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (1610-1611)…

QUESTION TYPE: Strengthen

CONCLUSION: Shakespeare probably knew Euripes Alcestis through a Latin translation.

REASONING: Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale took inspiration from Alcestis. The play was in Greek, but Shakespeare didn’t know Greek.

ANALYSIS: This is a plausible argument, but it fails to eliminate other possibilities or address certain questions. For example:

• Maybe someone made a good English translation
• Maybe someone read the play in Greek and told Shakespeare the plot in great detail.
• Did Shakespeare even know Latin?

Etc. So four answers will address possibilities like this. The wrong answer doesn’t necessarily have to weaken the argument, but it won’t strengthen it.

___________

1. CORRECT. This is incredible weak. People use Latin expressions in English today, but the doesn’t mean people who use them know Latin. There’s a vast difference between knowing a Latin phrase or two, and reading a whole play in Latin. For example, you’ve probably heard or said “carpe diem”, seize the day. Knowing that phrase doesn’t make you or me fluent in Latin.
2. One big alternate possibility is that Shakespeare used an English translation of Alcestis. So this answer strengthens the argument by eliminating the possibility that Shakespeare used an English translation. If he did, The Winter’s Tale probably would have had the differences too.
    
   Let me show a (made up) example:
    
   Original: The main character’s brother dies
    
   English Translation: The main character has no brother, and nobody dies
    
   The Winter’s Tale: The main character’s brother dies
    
   Shakespeare’s play follows the original plot, rather than that of the English translation. This doesn’t prove that Shakespeare did use a Latin translation, but it strengthens the argument by eliminating the most plausible alternative (an English translation).
3. This shows there was a Latin model for Shakespeare to follow, and that it was accurate.
4. This supports the idea that Shakespeare could actually understand Latin.
5. This shows that using a Latin translation wouldn’t be an isolated incident for Shakespeare.

Recap: The question begins with “That Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (1610-1611)”. It is a Strengthen question. Learn more about LSAT Strengthen questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.