Produced by Al Haines [Frontispiece: TITLE-PAGE OF THE FIRST FOLIO, 1628 The first collected edition of Shakespeare's Plays (From the copy in the New York Public Library)] AN INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE BY H. N. MacCRACKEN, PH.D. F. E. PIERCE, PH.D. AND W. H. DURHAM, PH.D. OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE SHEFFIELD SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF YALE UNIVERSITY New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1925 _All rights reserved_ PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COPYRIGHT, 1910, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1910. Reprinted April, December, 1911; September, 1912; July, 1913; July, 1914; December, 1915; November, 1916; May, 1918; July, 1919; November, 1920; September, 1921; June, 1923; January, 1925. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. {v} PREFACE The advances made in Shakespearean scholarship within the last half-dozen years seem to justify the writing of another manual for school and college use. The studies of Wallace in the life-records, of Lounsbury in the history of editions, of Pollard and Greg in early quartos, of Lee upon the First Folio, of Albright and others upon the Elizabethan Theater, as well as valuable monographs on individual plays have all appeared since the last Shakespeare manual was prepared. This little volume aims to present what may be necessary for the majority of classes, as a background upon which may be begun the study and reading of the plays. Critical comment on individual plays has been added, in the hope that it may stimulate interest in other plays than those assigned for study. Chapters I, VIII, IX, X, and XIII are the work of Professor MacCracken; chapters V, VI, VII, XII, and XIV are by Professor Pierce; and chapters II, III, IV, and XI are by Dr. Durham. The authors have, however, united in the criticism and the revision of every chapter. {vii} CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE AN OUTLINE OF SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 CHAPTER II ENGLISH DRAMA BEFORE SHAKESPEARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 CHAPTER III THE ELIZABETHAN THEATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 CHAPTER IV ELIZABETHAN LONDON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 CHAPTER V SHAKESPEARE'S NONDRAMATIC WORKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 CHAPTER VI THE SEQUENCE OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 CHAPTER VII SHAKESPEARE'S DEVELOPMENT AS A DRAMATIST . . . . . . . . . . . 85 CHAPTER VIII THE CHIEF SOURCES OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS . . . . . . . . . . . 105 {viii} CHAPTER IX HOW SHAKESPEARE GOT INTO PRINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 CHAPTER X THE PLAYS OF THE FIRST PERIOD--IMITATION AND EXPERIMENT . . . 131 CHAPTER XI THE PLAYS OF THE SECOND PERIOD--COMEDY AND HISTORY . . . . . . 153 CHAPTER XII