anies of actors; (2) External and internal
combined, such as references in the plays to events or books, etc.; (3)
Internal, content and treatment, progressive changes in versification,
presence of frequency of rhyme, etc. The genius of S. was so intensely
dramatic that it is impossible to say confidently when he speaks in his
own character. The sonnets, written probably 1591-94 have, however, been
thought to be of a more personal nature, and to contain indications as to
his character and history, and much labour and ingenuity have been
expended to make them yield their secrets. It is generally agreed that
they fall into two sections, the first consisting of sonnets 1 to 126
addressed to a young man, probably Henry Wriothesley, Earl of
Southampton, the friend and patron of S., and 9 years his junior; and the
second from 127 to 154 addressed or referring to a woman in whose snares
the writer had become entangled, and by whom he was betrayed. Some,
however, have held that they are allegorical, or partly written on behalf
of others, or that the emotion they express is dramatic and not personal.

There are contemporary references to S. which show him to have been
generally held in high regard. Thus Ben Jonson says, "I loved the man,
and do honour to his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any," and
Chettle refers to "His demeanour no lesse civil than exelent in the
qualities he professes." The only exception is a reference to him in
Greene's _Groat's-worth of Wit_, as "an upstart crow beautified with our
feathers, that with his tyger's heart wrapt in a player's hide supposes
he is as well able to bumbast out a blanke verse as the best of you ...
and is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a countrie." He is said
to have written rapidly and with facility, rarely requiring to alter what
he had set down. In addition to his generally received works, others have
been attributed to him, some of which have been already mentioned: the
only two which appear to have serious claims to consideration are _The
Two Noble Kinsmen_, partly by Fletcher, and _Edward III._, of which part
of Act I. and the whole of Act II. have been thought to be Shakespeare's.
On the other hand a theory has been propounded that none of the plays
bearing his name were really his, but that they were written by Bacon
(_q.v._). This extraordinary view has been widely supported, chiefly in
America, and has been sometimes maintained; with considerable abil