he First Part of Henry VI., Titus
Andronicus,[31] and Pericles his work? Did he not write others not found
among these? Had he, as was not uncommon then and later, collaboration in
those which bear his name? Was he a Beaumont to some Fletcher, or a
Sackville to some Norton? Upon these questions generations of Shakspearean
scholars have expended a great amount of learned inquiry ever since his
day, and not without results: it is known that many of his dramas are
founded upon old plays, as to plots; and that he availed himself of the
labor of others in casting his plays.

But the real value of his plays, the insight into human nature, the
profound philosophy, "the myriad-soul" which they display, are
Shakspeare's only. By applying just rules of evidence, we conclude that he
did write thirty-five of the plays attributed to him, and that he did not
write, or was not the chief writer of others. It is certainly very strong
testimony on these points, that seven years after his death, and _three
years before that of Bacon_, a large folio should have been published by
his professional friends Heminge and Condell, prefaced with ardent
eulogies, claiming thirty-six plays as his, and that it did not meet with
the instant and indignant cry that his claims were false. The players of
that day were an envious and carping set, and the controversy would have
been fierce from the very first, had there been just grounds for it.

VARIETY OF PLAYS.--No attempt will be made to analyze any of the plays of
Shakspeare: that is left for the private study and enjoyment of the
student, by the use of the very numerous aids furnished by commentators
and critics. It will be found often that in their great ardor, the
dramatist has been treated like the Grecian poet:

[Shakspeare's] critics bring to view
Things which [Shakspeare] never knew.

Many of the plays are based upon well-known legends and fictional tales,
some of them already adopted in old plays: thus the story of King Lear and
his daughters is found in Holinshed's Chronicle, and had been for years
represented; from this Shakspeare has borrowed the story, but has used
only a single passage. The play is intended to represent the ancient
Celtic times in Britain, eight hundred years before Christ; and such is
its power and pathos, that we care little for its glaring anachronisms and
curious errors. In Holinshed are also found the stories of Cymbeline and
Macbeth, the former supposed