Excerpt from The Study of Shakespeare For some fifteen years I have conducted classes in the study of Shakespeare at the University of Indiana. I early found that great advantage was derived from an intimate knowledge of the social conditions that obtained at the time the plays were written. My attempt to furnish some assistance in this direction by the publication of an account of Shakespeare's London and of the people of Eliza beth's generation has given me confidence in the preparation of a handbook designed differently from many now in use. Though criticism of the plays forms the larger part of the following pages, I have had no intention of writing a volume of criticism. The book is not intended to be read on its independent merits, but in conjunction with a study of the texts. Though I hope it will be of interest to those already familiar with the plays of Shakespeare, it is primarily ad dressed to students. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.