cowards of us, all " (see note on III, i, 83) does not mean what most readers think it does. The difficulty lies, in all such cases, in the fact that extravagant, erring, obsequious, toys, conscience, and the like, are still in use, but in a different sense, and it is just such words that offer pitfalls for the unwary. And if one remembers that the mastery of the idiom and phraseology of Hamlet is really an introduction to the language of all Shakespeare's plays, the value of the study is enhanced.1

But not only is it necessary to learn to read Shakespeare's words as Shakespeare used them. One must also learn to think in terms of forgotten, obsolete beliefs and customs. Men in Shakespeare's day explained the world and its phenomena in ways that seem utterly strange to us now. Yet those modes of thought have profoundly influenced the very language that we use to-day, so that in trying to comprehend something of the older psychology, physiology and astronomy (curious as they seem to us), we are not only reaching a clearer knowledge of Hamlet, but also gaining a more vital sense of what words really mean. Such passages as I, iv, 27 ("the o'ergrowth of some complexion "); I, v, 17 ("like stars, start from their spheres "); II, ii, 159 (“the center "); II, ii, 321 (“quintessence "); II, ii, 605 (“lack gall"), are cases

1 The two best tools-and they are indispensable in any High School library for the mastery of Shakespeare's language are the Bartlett Concordance to Shakespeare, and Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon. The first gives, in its context, every occurrence of every word that Shakespeare uses; the second groups the words according to their meaning. The little Lexicon which forms the supplementary volume to the Temple Shakespeare is also exceedingly valuable, and is inexpensive.

in point, and the notes give introductions (necessarily brief) to a fascinating field which more than repays fuller study for its intensely human interest, as well as for its value in interpretation. In similar manner lines like II, ii, 30 ("in the full bent "); III, ii, 401 ("to the top of my bent"); II, i, 65 (" assays of bias "); III, i, 65 ("ay, there's the rub"); III, i, 86 (“pitch ")—these and many others embody the vocabulary of contemporary sports. In a word, the very texture of the language of the play is woven of the stuff that the life of the day was made of its beliefs, its superstitions, its sports, its manners and customs-so that in reading Hamlet we are enlarging in a very vital way our knowledge of how men thought and felt in another day than ours.1

Moreover, the play should be studied as a play, and the introductions to the various scenes are intended to help in doing this. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet to be heard and seen. That it would also be read, he doubtless knew, but the requirements of the stage were always in his mind, and the play will greatly gain in keep them, as we read, in our mind too. scattered through the notes, particularly in Act I, are designed to aid in acquiring that sort of mental alertness. They are much more sparingly used in the later acts,

interest if we The questions

1 Here again the habit of using the Concordance is invaluable. The juxtaposition there, for instance, of the eighteen lines in which Shakespeare uses sphere makes clearer than any note what the word really meant to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. There is no better way to learn Shakespeare's usage (or to gain a living sense for words) than to turn to his words as he actually used them in their context, and the Concordance gives this at a glance.

because their primary aim is to lead to the sort of observation which the student should learn to exercise more and more for himself, as he goes on with the play. For once more be it said, that the study of a single play is a gateway into all the plays. And the notes in this edition have kept that object definitely in mind. One may have a great love for Shakespeare, even when one is ignorant of many of the things suggested here. But an intelligent love is the more excellent way, and it leads in the end to a far keener pleasure.

Professor Pierce's bibliography may be supplemented by brief mention of a few books, or parts of books, which are of particular value for reference in connection with Hamlet. Professor Bradley's admirable volume has been already mentioned (see note on pp. xx-xxi). The second volume of the Variorum Hamlet contains a mass of invaluable material, including the full text of the First Quarto. Professor Barrett Wendell's William Shakespeare considers not only Hamlet, but also the other plays, from a fresh and stimulating point of view. And any teacher will be able to suggest other books, should the need arise, from the veritable library that has been written about the play.

DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Prepared by Professor F. E. Pierce of Yale)

There are several convenient handbooks on Shakespeare, among which may be mentioned:

Introduction to Shakespeare, by MacCracken, Pierce, and Durham. (Macmillan Co., New York, 1910.)

Shakspere, by Edward Dowden. (American Book Co., New York.) A simple, compact, and readable book. It should be used in connection with a more modern work, as recent research has changed our ideas of Elizabethan theaters somewhat since the book was written.

Life of Shakespeare, by Sidney Lee. (Macmillan Co., New York, 1909.) The latest life of Shakespeare printed.

Shakespeare, Life and Works, by Furnivall and Munro. (Cassell and Co., New York, 1908.)

Not especially adapted for the use of young students, but full of valuable material in a condensed form.

Cartae Shakespeareanae, by D. H. Lambert. (George Bell and Sons, London, 1904.)

A series of reprints of the original documents on which our knowledge of Shakespeare is based.

Shakespeare's London, by H. T. Stephenson. (Henry Holt and Co., New York.)

An account of Elizabethan London, with numerous valuable illustrations.

Shakspere and his Predecessors, by F. S. Boas. (Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York, 1896.)

Among the best editions of Shakespeare's works in one volume are:

The Cambridge Edition, edited by Professor W. A. Neilson. (Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1908.)

The Globe Edition. (Macmillan Co., New York, 1897.)

The plays assigned by modern scholarship wholly or in part to Shakespeare are thirty-seven in number. Sixteen of them were published separately during the poet's life, and the others were not printed until after his death. In 1623 thirty-six of the above plays (all except Pericles) were collected by the friends and fellow actors of the dead poet and published together in the First Folio. Pericles was added in the Third Folio in 1664. These thirty-seven plays, loosely classified, comprise the following:

I. EARLY PLAYS BEFORE SHAKESPEARE HAD
REACHED HIS FULL POWER

King Henry VI, Parts I, II, III.

A series of historical events, unfolding the gradual decline of English power and the growth of civil war under a weak king.

Titus Andronicus.

A powerful but brutal play, unlike any of Shakespeare's later work.

Love's Labour's Lost.

A picture in brilliant dialogue of the lighter side of court life. The Comedy of Errors.

A farcical comedy, depending on mistaken identity of twins. The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

A romantic comedy, dealing with the disguises and adventures of lovers.

A Midsummer Night's Dream.

A love story and fairy tale combined.

Romeo and Juliet.

A tragedy of love, in which the hero and heroine become vic tims of an ancient feud between their families.

Richard II.