CONTENTS. PARE The poet's mother. 6 Afrit. The poet's birth and baptism... 8 Alleged birthplace. 8

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1 CONTENTS I PARENTAGE AND BIRTH PACK Distribution of the name of Shakespeare. t The poet's ancestry.. a The poet's lather. 4 His settlement at Stratford.. s PARE The poet's mother. 6 Afrit. The poet's birth and baptism... 8 Alleged birthplace. 8 II CHILDHOOD, EDUCATION, AND MARRIAGE The father in municipal office.. 10 Brothers and sisters 1 x The. father's financial difficulties Shakespeare's educacation -13 His classical equipment 15 Shakespeare's knowledge of the Bible.. 16 T575 Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth Withdrawal from school , Dec. The poet's marriage Richard Hathaway of Shottery. 19 Anne Hathaway.. 19 Anne Hathaway's cottage. 19 The bond against impediments '583, May. Birth of the poet's daughter Susanna.. 32 Formal betrothal probably dispensed with. 23

2 xiv WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE III THB FAREWB1.1. TO STRATFORD Early married life.. 35 Poaching in Charlecote. 37 Unwarranted doubts of the tradition.. 28 PAGE Justice Shallow $ The flight from Stratford 29 ro66 The journey to London. 31 Richard Field, Shakespeare's townsman. 32 Theatrical employment. 33 A playhouse servitor. 33 The acting companies. 34 The Lord Chamberlain's company *35 Shakespeare a member 1 of the Lord Chamberlain's company.. 36 IV ON THE LONDON STAGE The London theatres 36 Place of residence in London Actors' provincial tours. 39 Shakespeare's alleged travds.. 40 In Scotland.. 41 In Italy..4a Shakespeare's riles.. 43 His alleged scorn of an actor's calling.. 45 «59» 1591 *59 Verona Comedy of Errors.. Romeo and Juliet a, March. Henry VI.. 159a, Sept, Greene's attack on Shakespeare Chettle's apology.. Divided authorship of Henry VI. Shakespeare's coadjutors EARLY DRAMATIC WORK, I j S 5» S3 s i <593 Marlowe's influence in tragedy. Richard III. Richard II The period 01 Shakespeare's dramatic work, His borrowed plots.. Tile revision of plays. Chronology of the plays. Metrical tests Levis Labour's Lost.. Two Gentlemen <9 Shakespeare's asami- lative power... Lyly's influence in comedy Shakespeare's acknowledgments to Marlowe Titus Andronicus. > , August The Merchant tf Venice.. Shylock and Roderigo Lopes 1 S King John.. Dec. a8. Comedy oj Errors in Oray'i Inn Hall... Early plays doubtfully assigned to Shakespeare... Aran if Ftversham A a rdlll. Mvcedorus Fain Em (159a) %> S * 71 7«7 3 73

3 CONTENTS XV VI TKK FIRST APPEAL TO THE READING PUBLIC CAGE 1593* April. Publication of j Venus and Adonis , May. Publication of Lucrece.. 76! PAGE Enthusiastic reception of Che poems Shakespeare and Spenser 79 Patrons at Court. 81 *594 VII THB SONNETS AND THEIR LITERARY HISTORY The vogue of the Elizabethan sonnet Shakespeare's first experiments.. Majority of Shakespeare's sonnets coni- Their literary value.. Circulation in nuinuscript. Their piratical publication in A Lovers Complaint Thomas Thorpe and Mr. W. H/.. The form of Shakespeare's sonnets. Their want of continuity The two ' groups'.. Main topics of the first 83 I 'group* Main topics of the second 84 'group' 99 The order of the sonnets iu the edition of I Lack of genuine senti- 87 ment in Elizabethan j sonnets. too 88 I Their dependence on French and Italian 89 models Sonnetteers' admissions of insincerity * 5 91 Contemporary censure of sonnetteers false senti- 95 ment xo6 96 Shakespeare's scornful 96 allusions to sonnets in his plays VIII THE BORROWED CONCEIT Slender autobiographical element in Shakespeare's sonnets The imitative element. 109 Shakespeare's claims of immortality for bis sonnets a borrowed conceit lt 3 i OP THE SONNETS Conceits in sonnets addressed to a woman. 117 The praise of 'black* n e s s ' The sonnets of vituperation Gabriel Harvey's Amorous Odious sonnet 121 jodette's Contr Amours 122 a

4 xvi WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE IX THE PATRON AGS OF THIS BAAL OF SOUTHAMPTON PAGE Biographic fact in the ' dedicatory' sonnets. 135 The Earl of Southampton the poet's sole patron Rivals in Southampton's favour Shakespeare's fear of another poet.. 13s Barnabe Barnes probably the chief rival. 133 Other theories as to the chief rival's identity. 134 Sonnets of friendship. 136 Extravagances of literary compliment. 138 PAGE Patrons habitually addressed in affectionate terms Direct references to Southampton in the sonnets of friendship. 143 His youthfulness. 143 The evidence of portraits Sonnet cvii. the last of the series Allusions to Queen Elizabeth's death. 147 Allusion to Southampton's release from > prison THE SUPPOSED STORY OF INTRIGUE IN THE SONNETS Sonnets of melancholy and self-reproach The youth's relations with the poet's mistress Willobie his A visa (1594) JSS Summary of conclusions respecting the sonnets XI THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC POWER 1594"5 Midsummer Nights Dream I cot Alts Well that Ends Well i»5 Tit Taming of The Shrew Stratford allusions in the Induction Wincot.. 165»597 Henry IV.167 Falstaff The Merry Wives of Windsor Henry V Essex and the rebellion of Shakespeare's popularity and influence Shakespeare's friendship with Ben Jonson. 176 The Mermaid meetings Meres's eulogy. 178

5 CONTENTS xvii PACE PACE Value of his name to i 1601 The Phcenix and the publishers j Turtle *,, The Passionate Pilgrim 182 I XII THB PRACTICAL AFFAIRS OF LIFE Shakespeare's practical temperament. 185 His father's difficulties. 180 His wife's debt The coat of arms , May 4. The purchase of New Place Fellow-townsmen appeal to Shakespeare for aid 195 Shakespeare's financial position before Shakespeare's financial position after His later income Incomes of fellow-actors Shakespeare's formation of his estate at Stratford The Stratford tithes Recovery of small d e b t s * XIII MATURITY OF GENIUS Literary work in Much Ado about Nothing As You Uke It. 209 Tzoelfth Night Julius Ceesar.211 The strife between adult actors and boy actors 213 Shakespeare's references to the struggle Ben Jonson's Poetaster. 217 Shakespeare's alleged partisanship in the theatrical warfare XIV H a m l e t The problem of its publication The First Quarto The Second Quarto, The Folio version, Popularity of Hamlet Troilus and Cressida. 225 Treatment of the theme , March afo. Queen Elizabeth's death. 229 James Vs patronage THE HIGHEST THEMES OF TRAGEDY 1604, Nov. Othello , Dec. Measure far Measure Macbeth King Lear Timon of Athens Pericles Antony and Cleopatra ' Coriolanns. 247

6 xviii WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE XV THE LATEST PLAYS PAGE The placid temper of the latest plays Cymbeline tfiir A Winter's Ta.lt The, Tempest Fanciful interpretations of The Tempest. 356 Unfinished plays CAGK The lost play of Cardenio The Two Noble Kinsmen Henry V//I..361 The burning of the Globe Theatre Plays at Court in Actor-friends Final settlement at Stratford Domestic affairs , March. Purchase of a house in Blackfriars , Oct. Attempt to enclose the Stratford common fields , April 33. Shakespeare's death XVI THR CLOSE OP LIKE XVII 1616, April 35. burial The will Shakespeare's Shakespeare's bequest to bis wife Shakespeare's heiress Legacies to friends The tomb in Stratford Church... Shakespeare's character. SURVIVORS AND DESCENDANTS Mrs. Judith Quiney ) ( ) Mrs. Susanna. 380! Hall ( ) i XVIII 373 *73 * personal 377 The last descendant Shakespeare's brothers, Edmund, Richard, and Gilbert. AUTOGRAPHS, PORTRAITS, AND MEMORIALS Spelling of the poet's name. 084 Autograph signatures. 384 Shakespeare's portraits 286 The Stratford bust. 386 Tlie ' Stratford portrait' 387 Droeshout's engraving. 387 The ' Droeshout' painting Later portraits The Chandos portrait. 393 The ' J arisen' portrait. 394 The Felton* portrait. 394 The ' Soest' portrait. 394 Miniatures The Garrick Club bust. 395 Alleged death-mask. 396 Memorials in sculpture. 397 Memorials at Stratford. 397

7 CONTENTS XIX BIBLIOGRAPHY PACK Quartos of the poems in the poet's lifetime. 299 Posthumous quartos of the poems The 1 Poems' of Quartos of the plays in the poet's lifetime Posthumous quartos of the plays The First Folio The publishing syndicate The prefatory matter. 306 The value of the text. 307 The order of the plays. 307 The typography Unique copies The Sheldon copy Estimated number of extant copies Reprints of the First F o l i o The Second Folio.. 31a The Third Folio The Fourth Folio.. 3x3 Eighteenth-century editors Nicholas Rowe ( )..314 PACE Alexander Pope ( *744)- 3'5 Lewis Theobald (1688- Sir o- I74 Thomas 4l ' Hanmer r. 317 ( ). 317 Bishop Warburton (1698^1779) Dr. Johnson ( ) 319 Edward Capell ( ) George Steevens ( ) Edmund Malone ( ) Variorum editions Nineteenth-century editors Alexander Dyce ( ) Howard Staunton ( ) Nikolaus Delius ( ) The Cambridge edition (1863-6).324 Other nineteenth-century editions XX POSTHUMOUS REPUTATION Views of Shakespeare's I contemporaries Ben Jonson's tribute. 327 ' English opinion between 1660 and Dryden's view Restoration adaptations 331 English opinion from 1702 onwards. 332 I Stratford festivals Shakespeare on the 1 English stage. 334» The first appearance of actresses in Shakespearean parts 334 David Garrick ( ) 336 John Philip Kemble 337 Mrs. Sarah Siddons ( ) 337 Edmund Kean ( ). 338

8 X X WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE PACE William Charles Macready ( ). 339 Recent revivals Shakespeare in English music and art. 340 Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery Shakespeare in America 341 Translations Shakespeare in Germany 342 German translations. 343 Modern German critics. 345 Shakespeare on the German stage General estimate. Shakespeare's defects XXI GENERAL ESTIMATE Shakespeare in France. 347 Voltaire's strictures French critics' gradual emancipation from Voltairean influence. 349 Shakespeare on the French stage Shakespeare in Italy In Holland In Russia.353 In Poland «. 353 In Hungary In other countries Character of Shake speare's achievement. 336 Us universal recognition 357 APPENDIX THB SOURCES OF BIOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE Contemporary records abundant First efforts in biography 361 Biographers of the nineteenth century Stratford topography. 363 Specialised studies in biography Epitomes Aids to study of plots and text II THE BAGON-SHAKBSPEARB CONTROVERSY Its source Toby Matthew's letter of Chief exponents of the theory..371 Concordances. 364 Bibliographies Critical studies. 365 Shakespearean forgeries 365 John Jordan ( ) 366 The Ireland forgeries (1796) List of forgeries promulgated by Collier and others ( ). 367 Its vogue in America. 372 Extent of the literature. 372 Absurdity of the theory. 373

9 APPENDIX] CONTENTS xxi III THE YOUTHFUL CAREER OK THE EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON PACK His reluctance to marry 378 [ntrigue with Elizabeth Vernon PAGR Shakespeare and Southampton Southampton's parentage ; 1598 Southampton's marriage , Oct. 6. Southampton's Southampton's imprisonment. 380 birth..375 His education : Later career Recognition of South , Nov. xo. His death. 381 ampton's beauty in! youth.'. 377 > IV THE KARL OF SOUTHAMPTON AS A LITRRARY PATRON Southampton's collection of books i References in his letters to poems and plays. 382 His love of the theatre. 383! Poetic adulation ' 1593 Barnabe Barnes's sonnet 384 i Tom Nash's addresses Gervase Markham's sonnet Florio's address The congratulations of the poets in Elegies on Southampton 389 THR TRUE HISTORY OF THOM The publication of the ' Sonnets' m The text of tht; dedication j Publishers' dedications. 393 Thorpe's early life. 393 His ownership of the manuscript of Marlowe's Lttcan His dedicatory address to Edward Blount in Character of his business 395 Shakespeare's sufferings! at publishers' hands. 396 > The use of initials in THORPR AND MR. W. H. 1 dedications of Elizabethan and Jacobean books Frequency of wishes for ' happiness' and ' eternity ' in dedicatory greetings Five dedications by Thorpe ' W. H.' signs dedication of Southwell's ' Poems' W. H.' and Mr. William Hall The ' onlie begetter ' means' only procurer' 403

10 xxii WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE FAPPENDIX VI 'MR. WILLIAM HERBERT* PA6R Origin of the notion that I 'Mr. W. H.' stands» for William Herbert. 406 j The Earl of Pembroke I PACK known only as Lord Herbert in youth Thorpe's mode of addressing the Ear] of Pembroke VII SHAKESPEARE AND THE EARI OF PEMBROKE Shakespeare with the acting company at Wilton in The dedication of the First Folio in No suggestion in the sonnets of the youth's identity with Pembroke.. 4x3 Aubrey's ignorance of any relation between Shakespeare and Pembroke VIII THE * WILL ' SONNETS Elizabethan meanings of' will' Shakespeare's uses of the word. 417 Shakespeare's puns on the word.. 4x8 ; Arbitrary and irregular «use of italics by Elizabethan and Jacobcan printers The conceits of Sonnets exxxv.-vi. interpreted 430 Sonnet exxxv Sonnet exxxvi Sonnet exxxiv Sonnet cxliii IX THE VOGUE OP THE ELIZABETHAN SONNET, Wyatt's and Surrey's Fame of Daniel's sonnets 431 Sonnets published. 427! 1592 Constable's Diana Watson's Centtrrie of! 1593 Barnabe Barnes's sonnets 432 Love \ 1593 Watson's Tears of 1591 Sidney's Astropkel and fancie. 433 Stella T593 Giles Fletcher's Licia. 433 I. Collected sonnets of j 1593 Lodge's PJallts. 433 feigned love Drayton's Idea Daniel's Delia Percy's Ccelin. 435

11 Apprkdix] CONTENTS xxiii PACE PASS &teria 43S : 1597 BarnneMs sonucts to J Robert Tofte's Laura. 438 Sir William Alexander's 1595 Ganymede. 435 ; Spenser's Amoretti Aurora Sir Fulke. 438 Greville's 1595 Emaricdulfe Calica Sir John Daviess Estimate of number of Gvlltnge Sonnets love-sonnets issued between 1591 and Linche's Ditlla Griffin's Fidtssa II. Sonnets to patrons, Thomas Campion's sonnets. 437 III. Sonnets on philosophy 1596 William Smith's Ckloris 437 and religion. 440 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON THE SONNET IN FRANCS, Ronsard ( ) and ' La Hlliade'. 442 The Italian sonnetteers of the sixteenth century 44s n. Philippe Desportes ( ). 443 Chief collections of French sonnets published between 1550 and M inert* collections of French sonnets published between 1553 and