THE FACTS ABOUT
SHAKESPEARE
BY
WILLIAM ALLAN NEILSON, Ph.D.
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY
AND
ASHLEY HORACE THORNDIKE, Ph.D., L.H.D.
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1927
All rights reserved
Copyright, 1913,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1913. ReprintedApril, 1914; July, 1915; May, November, 1916; January, 1918;February, September, 1920; September, 1921; March, 1922;February, December, 1923; October, 1924; June, 1926; January,December, 1927.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY
THE BERWICK & SMITH CO.
Transcriber's Notes
Unique page headings have been retained and displayed in the left-hand margin.
Many spelling inconsistencies exist due to the historical period ofthe quoted sources. These, in addition to the original punctuation,have been retained.
Obvious typesetting errors have been corrected and noted in the Transcriber's Endnotes at the endof the text.
Some index entries have been re-sequenced to allow for clarity of sub-entries. These changes are recorded in the Transcriber's Endnotes alongwith a copy of the original text.
Contents
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | Shakespeare's England and London | 1 |
| II. | Biographical Facts and Traditions | 17 |
| III. | Shakespeare's Reading | 50 |
| IV. | Chronology and Development | 67 |
| V. | The Elizabethan Drama | 89 |
| VI. | The Elizabethan Theater | 117 |
| VII. | The Text of Shakespeare | 131 |
| VIII. | Questions of Authenticity | 156 |