The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-12-11
What We Know of sh.ks,ps.r..

In the octave volume OF $50 pages entitled
A Life of William Shakespeare. by SIDNEY LEE
tMacmiilans). we have an attempt to provide
students Of the great English dramatist with
an exhaustive record OF the duly attested facts
and dates of his career. 0stensibly, this is not
an attempt to refute the so-called Baconian
hypothesis. which is but very briefly discussed
in a short appendix. Indirectly. however. the
book before US may be said to demolish that
hypothesis. because it shows. first, that we know
a great deal about Shakespeare's personality.
and. secondly. that there Is an overwhelming
amount of contemporary evidence for his
authorship Of the plays that bear his name. It
Il the latter point which we purpose to consider
at length, after which WI will glance at what
the author says about the Baconian theory.
We should note. however. by way Of pref
ace. that no effort Is made to underrate
Shakespeare's obligations to preceding novels
and plays. or to deny that, In some Of his
dramas. he had CONDUCTORS. 1t is conceded, for
instance. that there was some foundation for
the diatribe penned on his deathbed by Rob-
ert Greene in September. 1892. Criticism
proved that. In the three plays dealing with tho
reign Of Henry VI. Shakespeare did no more
than supplement. revise and correct other
mems work, The theory that Greene and Peele
produced the original drafts OF the three parts
OF Henry vi. which Shakespeare recast
may help to account for Greene's denunciation
OF Shakespeare as ian upstart crow, beauti-
fed with the feathers OF himself and his hel-
low dramatists. There is some reason to be-
lieve that Marlowe co-operated with Shake
speare in the first revision OF the original draft.
II is thought that Shakespeare's early come
dies disclose a like relationship between him
and Lyly. best known as the author OF
"Euphues." who. between 1880 and 1852.
produced eight plays. Most OF the dialogue In
Shakespeares comedies, from Loves Labor's
Lost TO Much Ado About Nothing" consists
OF thrusting and parrying fantastic c~onceits.
puns or antitheses, which is thu style OF in
tercourse in which most OF LyR's characters
indulge. Again. three-fourths Oh Lyly's come
dies revolve about topics OF classical or fairly
mythology such as Shakespeare treated in A
Midsummer Nights Dream" The device OF
masculine disguise for lovesick maidens was
characteristics of Lyly's methods before Shake
speare v%entured on 1t for the first Of many
times in The Two Gentlemen of Verona" and
the dispersal through Lyly's comedies of songs
possessing lyrical charm Is not the least inter-
esting Of the features which Shakespeare seems
TO have borrowed from Lyly's relatively insiR-
nifchnt experiments. II is also pointed out
that shakespeare =" Richard H." closely imi-
tates Marlowe's " Edward H." as regards the
exposition OF the leading theme. which Is the
development and collapse OF a weak kings
character. Titus Andronicus' was in his own
lifetime claimed for Shakespeare. but the
author nj the book before US regards as wor-
thy Of acceptance Edward Ravenscroft's asser-
ton, who, when preparing a new version In
1873, wrote: Il have been told by soma-
anciently conyersant with the same, that II
was not originally Shakespeare's, but brought
by a private author TO be acted. and that he
only gave some master touches to one or two Of