A Life of William Shakespeare

1923. Students' Edition by Adams, professor of English in Cornell University. From the Preface: Next to presenting Shakespeare's biography with clarity, I have sought to picture the dramatist against a background of contemporary theatrical life. However much we may think of him as a genius apart, to himself and to his age he appeared primarily as a busy actor associated with the leading stock-company of his time; as a hired playwright-often, indeed, a mere cobbler of old plays-writing that his troupe might successfully compete with rival organizations; and, finally as a theatrical proprietor, owning shares in two of the most flourishing playhouses in London. Thus his whole life was centered in the stage, and his interests were essentially those of his friends and fellow, the actors, who affectionately called him our Shakespeare. To portray the dramatist, therefore, in the atmosphere in which he lived and worked seemed to me the correct procedure.