thou doth stretcheth the hamstrings too much!

Where there is joint instability, muscles tighten to protect the body. For example, instability in the back causes the hamstrings to tighten. This is the body's way to compensate for a lack of core stability or poor health of the spine. However, the typical "corrective action" for tight hamstrings is to stretch a lot. This, of course, does not address the underlying problem of instability in the back, and it can do more harm than good. Hamstrings have a low level of pro-prioception (perception of sensory information). By stretching the hamstring muscle too much, we decrease its already low level of pro-prioception. See the Laura Hames video below for a detailed explanation.

The body is not just intelligent; it's very intelligent. It's our job to understand how the body is designed to solve many of our physical problems.

Why Stretching doesn't fix tight hamstrings by LaceMarketClinic

How to NOT stretch the hamstring and get MORE flexibility by Laura Hames,
an Eric Franklin Method instructor

Illustration of Bacon & Shakespeare from Max Beerbohm's The Poet's Corner, 1904

courtesy of Wikimedia Commons