The Knight's Tale, of Chaucer.
11. Taming of the Shrew 1596 From an older play.
12. Romeo and Juliet 1596 " " old tale. Boccaccio.
13. Merchant of Venice 1597 " Gesta Romanorum, with suggestions
from Marlowe's Jew of Malta.
14. Henry IV., part 1 1597 From an old play.
15. Henry IV., part 2 1598 " " " "
16. King John 1598 " " " "
17. All's Well that Ends Well 1598 " Boccaccio.
18. Henry V. 1599 From an older play.
19. As You Like It 1600 Suggested in part by Lodge's novel,
Rosalynd.
20. Much Ado About Nothing 1600 Source unknown.
21. Hamlet 1601 From the Latin History of Scandinavia,
by Saxo, called Grammaticus.
22. Merry Wives of Windsor 1601 Said to have been suggested by
Elizabeth.
23. Twelfth Night 1601 From an old tale.
24. Troilus and Cressida 1602 Of classical origin, through Chaucer.
25. Henry VIII. 1603 From the chronicles of the day.
26. Measure for Measure 1603 " an old tale.
27. Othello 1604 " " " "
28. King Lear 1605 " Holinshed.
29. Macbeth 1606 " "
30. Julius Caesar 1607 " Plutarch's Parallel Lives.
31. Antony and Cleopatra 1608 " " " "
32. Cymbeline 1609 " Holinshed.
33. Coriolanus 1610 " Plutarch.
34. Timon of Athens 1610 " " and other sources.
35. Winter's Tale 1611 " a novel by Greene.
36. Tempest 1612 " Italian Tale.
37. Titus Andronicus 1593 Denied to Shakspeare; probably by
Marlowe or Kyd.

CHAPTER XV.

WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, (CONTINUED.)

The Grounds of his Fame. Creation of Character. Imagination and Fancy.
Power of Expression. His Faults. Influence of Elizabeth. Sonnets.
Ireland and Collier. Concordance. Other Writers.

THE GROUNDS OF HIS FAME.

From what has been said, it is manifest that as to his plots and
historical reproductions, Shakspeare has little merit but taste in
selection; and indeed in most cases, had he invented the stories, his
merit would not have been great: what t