ugh French and
English imitators. The introduction of stock types from the Italian
drama, such as the pedant and the braggart-soldier, can be accounted for
by the previous knowledge of these in England, and does not imply a
first-hand reading of Italian literature. The negative position is still
stronger in the case of Spanish, where the use of episodes from George
of Montemayor's _Diana_ in _The Two Gentlemen_, _Twelfth Night_, and _A
Midsummer-Night's Dream_, can be supposed to be due to the author's
having access to Yonge's translation in manuscript, especially since
there is no other trace of Spanish influence.

[Page Heading: Early English]

The conclusion with regard to Italian and Spanish, then, seems to be
that Shakespeare in his search for plots was aware of the riches of the
_novelle_, but that he found what he wanted as a rule in English or
French versions; and that we have no evidence of his knowledge of
anything but fiction from these literatures.

Turning now to English, we find Shakespeare's knowledge of books in his
own tongue beginning after the Conquest. The romances of the Middle Ages
were in the Elizabethan time rapidly undergoing the process of
degradation that was soon to end in the chap-books, but the material was
still widely known. The particular versions read by the dramatist can
rarely be determined on account of the slight nature of most of the
references, but we find allusions to the Arthurian romances, to _Guy of
Warwick_, _Bevis of Hampton_, _The Squire of Low Degree_, Roland and
Oliver, and to _Huon of Bordeaux_, from which last came the name of
Oberon as king of the fairies. Among popular ballads, those of Robin
Hood are frequently alluded to; the story of _King Cophetua and the
Beggar Maid_ appears in no fewer than five plays; Hamlet knew a ballad
on Jephtha's daughter, and Sir Toby one on the chaste Susanna. A large
number of popular songs appear in fragments; and rimes and spells,
current jests and anecdotes, combine with the fairy-lore of _A
Midsummer-Night's Dream_, _Romeo and Juliet_, and _The Merry Wives_ to
assure us that Shakespeare was thoroughly versed in the literature and
traditions of the people.

His acquaintance with more formal letters begins with Chaucer, whose
_Knight's Tale_ contributed some details to _A Midsummer-Night's Dream_,
and the main plot of _The Two Noble Kinsmen_, in which Shakespeare is
now usually supposed to have had a hand. This story had, however,