amritgodofwar wrote:
In London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters, Alpha Behn, by 1687, had 17 of her plays staged in as many years.
(A) In London that afforded its playwrights only two theatres
(B) In a London that afforded its playwrights only two theatres
(C) Even though London's playwrights only were afforded two theatres
(D) Only two theatres were afforded by London to its playwrights, and
(E) Two theatres only were afforded by London for its playwrights, and
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/11/garden/hers.htmlAPHRA BEHN was the first Englishwoman to become a professional writer. By 1687, she had had 17 plays staged in as many years -
in a London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters. She wrote 13 novels and published several collections of poems and translations. Her novel ''Oroonoko'' was one of the first popular portrayals of the horrors of slavery.
There is a contrast in the sentence.
London afforded its playwrights only 2 theatres at that time (1600s). Still, Alpha Behn had 17 of her plays staged in as many years.
(A) In London that afforded its playwrights only two theatres
You are using the restrictive modifier "that ..." with London. But London is already uniquely defined. We use the restrictive to clarify the object about which we are talking such as
The car that is parked under the tree is very expensive.
"that is ..." tells us which car it is.
Here, we cannot be told which London we are talking about because there is only one London.
So it doesn't make sense.
(B) In a London that afforded its playwrights only two theatres
Correct. Now "that ..." is telling us about one particular London (assuming London viewed at different times in the past represents different forms of the city). It implies that today's London is different from the London of 1600s.
It is a valid construct that is used in good quality writings. Again, this brings up the importance of reading.
(C) Even though London's playwrights only were afforded two theatres
"only" is modifying playwrights. We want to modify "two theatres" with "only" to show that London had only two theatres at that time.
(D) Only two theatres were afforded by London to its playwrights, and
(E) Two theatres only were afforded by London for its playwrights, and
Both (D) and (E) are missing the contrast. The sentence does not make much sense without it.