Well, I believe it has to do with specificity. "Goethe" is specific, whereas "occasion" is non-specific.
A. "...let another occasion such as this one..."
The word 'occasion' is made more specific by modifying it with 'such as this one'.
B. "...Geothe was a poet such as Shakespeare..."
The word 'poet' is made more specific by modifying it with 'such as Shakespeare'.
The problem here is the linking verb 'was'. It connects 'Goethe', a specfic person, with 'poet'. That is, 'poet' refers to 'Goethe', and 'such as' refers to 'poet' which refers back to 'Goethe'. In other words, 'such as' functions to make 'Goethe' more specific. That's the problem. 'Goethe' is not 'Shakespeare'. He is like Shakespeare.
"like" works well because it means, similar to: this is like this, whereas "such as" means, for example: this is this.
All the best,
Cas
P.S. Very interesting sentences! Thank you for the opportunity to play with them. |