exaggeration, more real power, and a deeper insight
into human nature. There appears in his philosophy a vein of sadness,
such as we find in the sayings of Jaques in _As You Like It_, and more
appreciation of the growth of character, typified by his treatment of
Orlando and Adam in the same play. Among the plays of this period are
_The Merchant of Venice, Henry IV., Henry V.,_ and _As You Like It_.

(3) We may characterize the third period, from 1601 to 1608, as one in
which he felt that the time was out of joint, that life was a fitful
fever. His father died in 1601, after great disappointments. His best
friends suffered what he calls, in _Hamlet,_ "the slings and arrows of
outrageous fortune." In 1601 Elizabeth executed the Earl of Essex for
treason, and on the same charge threw the Earl of Southampton into the
Tower. Even Shakespeare himself may have been suspected. The great
plays of this period are tragedies, among which we may instance
_Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth,_ and _King Lear_.

(4) The plays of his fourth period, 1608-1613, are remarkable for calm
strength and sweetness. The fierceness of _Othello_ and _Macbeth_ is
left behind. In 1608 Shakespeare's mother died. Her death and the
vivid recollection of her kindness and love may have been strong
factors in causing him to look on life with kindlier eyes. The
greatest plays of this period are _Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale_, and
_The Tempest_.

While the dates of the composition of these plays are not exactly
known, the foregoing classification is probably approximately correct.
It should be followed in studying the development and the changing
phases of Shakespeare's mind. (See table, pp. 188 and 189.)

Development as a Dramatist.--It is possible to study some of
Shakespeare's plays with increased interest, if we note the reasons
for assigning them to certain periods of his life. We conclude that
_Love's Labor's Lost_, for instance, is an early play, because of its
form,--excess of rime, small proportion of blank verse, lack of
mastery of poetic expression,--and also because it suffers from the
puns, conceits, and overdrawn wit and imagery of his early work.
Almost one half of the 2789 lines of _Love's Labor's Lost_ rime, while
there are only 579 lines of blank verse. Of the 2064 lines in _The
Tempest_, one of the last of his plays, 1458 are in blank verse. The
plays of his first period show less freedom in the use of verse. He
dislikes to let h