fuller expression in the dying Gaunt's eulogy of England in
_Richard II_, and culminates in the triumphant heroics of _Henry V_.
This national enthusiasm, especially ebullient in the years following
the Great Armada, is justly to be regarded as an important condition of
the flourishing of these plays on English history; and it is natural to
suppose that the ebbing of this spirit in the closing years of
Elizabeth's reign is not unconnected with the decline of this dramatic
type. There are, however, other causes clearly perceptible. The material
was nearly exhausted. Almost every prominent national figure for the
three hundred years before the founding of the Tudor dynasty had been
put upon the stage; and to come down to more recent times was to meddle
with matters of controversy, the ashes of which were not yet cold. The
reign of Henry VIII was not touched till after the death of Elizabeth,
and the nature of the treatment given to the court of her father by
Shakespeare and Fletcher corroborates our view. Further, the growing
mastery of technic which is so clearly perceptible in the comedies of
the second period must have been accompanied by a restlessness under the
hampering conditions as to the manipulation of character and plot which
were imposed by the less plastic material of the chronicles. Some effort
towards greater freedom the dramatist made in the later histories. The
earlier plays of this class had been prevailingly tragic; but now he
supplemented and enlivened the political element with the comic scenes
which gave us Falstaff; yet these scenes, brilliant as they are in
dialogue and superb in characterization, are of necessity little more
than episodes. The form had served its purpose as an outlet for national
feeling, but it was now outgrown. So distinguished, however, is
Shakespeare's achievement in this kind that we might be almost justified
in calling this second period that of the culmination of the chronicle
history.

The main objection to this title lies in his contemporary
accomplishment in comedy. _A Midsummer-Night's Dream_ and _The Merchant
of Venice_, the one in its graceful poetic fancy and dainty lyricism,
the other in its balanced treatment of all the elements of dramatic
effectiveness--action, character, and dialogue,--exhibit the dramatist
in complete control of his technical instruments, the creator of
masterpieces of romantic comedy. _The Taming of the Shrew_ is a more or
less perfunctory re