Shakespeare "left school at fifteen." It is true that he cites no authority as evidence of the fact. Neither did Mr. Calmour or Mr. Sidney Lee cite any authority for their surmise that Shakespeare left school at an earlier period. Apparently there is no more evidence that Shakespeare remained at the Stratford School till his fifteenth or six teenth year than there is for the presumption that he quitted it in his fourteenth year. It is idle to make an assumption and then base an argument upon it, for such an argument is tainted by presumption.
It is interesting to picture to one's mind the Shakespeares, father and son, congenially bent upon promoting the son's intellectual progress, and therefore prolonging his stay at the Stratford School.
As an exercise of fancy what can be more interesting than to imagine a Winter Night's colloquy between John Shakespeare and his son? The father with reminiscences of his own patronage of the drama in Stratford; the son with his Venus and Adonis ("first heir of his inven tion") in his hand, and high dramatic conceptions in his imagination.
That the father or son would desire to cut short the son's opportunity of literary study may be rejected as a baseless supposition. That they never reasoned together about his present or future literary prospects is manifestly improbable, though there is no extant testimony that they did so reason.
Whatsoever may have been their colloquies, their highest anticipations must have been more than realized in a few short years, when the fame and fortune of the son made him the observed of all observers, and banished carking care from the Shakespeare hearths.
But biography must be content with recorded facts, and if no fresh facts can be adduced we must be content with the knowledge that his "Venus and Adonis" (whether written while he was at the School or afterwards) was the "first heir of his invention," and that when he was eighteen years old he was married in the Stratford Church in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, daughter of Richard Hathaway, a respectable freeholder at Shottery, in the immediate vicinity of Stratford: that children were born to him, and christened in the Stratford Church, and that, at a date not precisely recorded, he quitted his native place, and (no doubt with his MSS. in his hand) found his way to London, and through his Stratford friends, Field and Burbage, sought and found the means of putting his dramatic works before the public, having himself in the meantime, according to Chettle's opinion (published in 1582), become "excellent in the quality" of an actor, and in his "facetious grace in writing." The signal patronage of Shakespeare by the Earl of Southampton in 1593 and 1594 is recorded in the second Chapter of this volume.
N. B.-The order in which the Plays were produced has been much discussed. The above list is merely given as a complete list of the Plays, without any pretence to settle the order of their production.
Page 62, three lines from bottom, for "Jonson" read "Johnson."
All's Well that Ends Well, 379, 387.
Ainger, Canon, preaches (1896) Anniver-
sary Sermon on Shakespeare at Strat-
ford, 24.
Antony and Cleopatra, 231–234.
Arden, Mary, wife of John Shakespeare,
2; the Poet's Mother, 2, 15, 16.
As You Like It, 125-129, 379.
Banquo, 129, 196.
Barnard, Lady, Shakespeare's grand-
daughter, 19.
Baynes, Mr. Spencer, his articles on
Shakespeare's education, 6-8, 11,
12, Appendix II.
Brutus (in Julius Cæsar), 159, 161–180.
Burbage, Richard, a great actor, Shake-
speare's "life-long friend," 13, 14.
17, 37, 38, 122; probably recited
Hamlet's description of acting, 138,
139, 372.
Cade, John, 47, 48, 235.
Calmour, Mr. A. C., 2, 3, 12, 14, 40.
Campbell, Thomas, on the character of
Falstaff, 62.
Cassius (in Julius Cæsar), 161–166, 175,
180.
Chettle, Henry, publishes attack
Shakespeare, 44; promptly apolo-
gizes, 45.
Collier, Jeremy, on Shakespeare, 29, 30.
Collins, Mr. J. Churton, 8-12.
Comedy of Errors, 123 and Note.
Condell, Henry, one of the Company of
Players in which Shakespeare was a
partner, 20; called by Shakespeare
in his Will "my fellow," 17; joins
Heminge in publishing First Folio of
Shakespeare's Plays, 20, 41; im-
portance of the publication, 20, 400.
Cordelia (in King Lear), 131, 208, 223,
227.
Coriolanus, 48, 234, 258.
Cumberland, R., on character of Falstaff,
Cymbeline, 276-312.
Desdemona, Lady Theodore Martin on,
Dogberry, a type, 124, 125.
Dowden, E., LL.D., on character of Cor-
delia, 208: on Timon, 258-261; on
Imogen, 277.
Drama, the purpose of, explained by one
of Shakespeare's characters, 139.
Dryden, J., on Shakespeare, 28.
Edgar, in Lear, one of Shakespeare's
heroes, 214, 215, 221, 222 n., 227
Ed. VI. Grammar School, Stratford, 4,
11, 12, 405, 406.
Elizabeth, Queen, grants coat-of-arms
to Shakespeare and his father, 1;
patronizes Shakespeare, 39, 40, 92,
371, 399.
Emerson on Shakespeare, 31.
Falstaff, Sir John, 62, 63, 63-79;
death, moral of, 80, 81.
Farrar, Dean of Canterbury, preaches in
1900 anniversary sermon on Shake-
peare at Stratford, 26, 27, 28.
Field, Richard (of Stratford-on-Avon),
printer in London, publishes Shake-
speare's poems (Venus and Lucrece),
37, 43, 44.
Fool, The (in Twelfth Night), 130; in
Lear, 209-220, 227.
French criticism on Shakespeare, La
Harpe, Voltaire, &c., 32-35.
Gaunt, John of, his patriotic outburst on
England, 50, 51.
German appreciation of Shakespeare, 31,
32.
Goethe on Shakespeare's later plays,
Gravitation, theory of, as stated in Troilus
and Cressida, 230, Note.
Gray, Thomas, the poet, on Shakespeare,
30.
Greene, Robert, printed attack on Shake-
speare by him, promptly apologized
for by Chettle, the publisher, 44, 45,
48.
Hales, John (called "ever memorable"
at a learned discussion at Eton before
1640), was held to have proved the
supremacy of Shakespeare over all
other poets, ancient or modern, 28,
29.
Hall, Susanna, eldest of Shakespeare's
daughters, married to John Hall,
physician. Her daughter, Eliza-
beth, marries Thomas Nash, after
whose death, in 1647, she marries
John Barnard in 1649. Dies as Lady
Barnard 1670.
Hamlet, 9-138, 159, his description of
his sore distraction,' 158, 380-
388, 390.
John, King, 60, 371-372, 381.
Johnson, Dr., on Shakespeare, 30; on
Falstaff, 62.
Jonson, Ben., on Shakespeare, 4-6, 10,
11, 368.
Judith, Shakespeare's youngest daughter,
marries Thomas Quiney, 19; dies in
1661, having survived her children.
With her the descendants of Shake-
speare came to an end.
Julius Cæsar, 159–181.
Keble on Shakespeare, 27.
La Harpe on Shakespeare, 32, 33.
Lanier, Mr. Sidney, 258-260, 367, 380.
391, 392.
Leach, A. F. (Fellow of All Souls, Ox-
ford), on Shakespeare's education,
Appendix II., p. 405-406.
Lear, King, 131, 207-227, 387, 389.
Leicester, Earl of, his players visit Strat-
ford in 1573, 1576, 1577, p. 13.
Lee, Mr. Sidney, his Life of Shakespeare,
3, 12-15, 37-41, 43, 47, 48; et
alibi; on Imogen, 277, 368.
Lessing on Shakespeare, 31.
Lounsbury, T. R., his book on Shake-
speare and Voltaire, 34, 160.
Love's Labours Lost, 38, 46.
Lowell, J. R., on Shakespeare, 31, 367,
393.
Lucrece, Rape of, dedicated by Shake-
speare to Earl of Southampton, 42, 43.
Macbeth, 190 207, 384-386, 389. 395.
Macbeth, Lady, 192-207, 384-386.
Marlowe, Christopher, dramatist, 45, 46.
Martin, Lady Theodore, acts as Beatrice
at Stratford in 1879, p. 21, 125; on
Shakespeare's Female Characters,
157, 183, 190; on Imogen, 276, 385.
Measure for Measure, 131-138, 380-381,
390.
Mercier, French translator of Shake-
speare, Note 33.
Meres, Francis, publishes eulogy on
Shakespeare in 1598, p. 42.
Merchant of Venice, 60, 124, 375–379,
391, 392.
Merry Wives of Windsor, Note 39, 124,
375-379.
Midsummer Night's Dream, 123.
Milman, Dean, on Shakespeare, 27.
Milton on Shakespeare, title page, 28,
399, 401.
Montaigne, Essais de, Banter of passage
in, by Shakespeare in The Tempest,
351.
Montgomery, Earl of, folio edition (1623)
of Shakespeare's Plays, dedicated to
him and to Earl of Pembroke by
Heminge and Condell, 41, 399.
Much Ado about Nothing, 124-125.
Music in Shakespeare's words, 388-393,
404.
New Place, Stratford, purchased by
Shakespeare 15, 16, 19.
Ophelia, 146, 157, Note 392.
Othello, 182-190, 384.
Pembroke, Earl of, patron of Shake-
speare, 41, 44, 399.
Perdita (in the Winter's Tale), 314, 318,
321.
Persius, studied at Ed. VI. Grammar
Schools, temp. Shakespeare, 10, Note
386.
Poaching in 1573, Note 40.
Portia, in Julius Cæsar, 166–168, 180.
Richard II., 19--60.
Richard III., 60, 109–123, 382.
Romeo and Juliet, 60, 124, 384.
Scholarship (Shakespeare) established in
Melbourne University in 1864, 397.
Shakespeare, Anne (née Hathaway),
Shakespeare's wife, 12, 13, 17, 19.
Shakespeare, Hamnet, birth of, 13;
death of, 15.
Shakespeare, Judith, daughter of Shake-
speare, dies 1661 (last of the line), 19.
Shakespeare, John, father of the poet,
1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 15, Appendix II., p.
406.
Shakespeare, Susanna, first child of
Shakespeare, 13; marries John
Hall, physician, 16; made, with her
husband, executors of Shakespeare's
Will, 17; lives at New Place till her
death, in 1649; her daughter, Lady
Barnard, in her Will, ordered the
sale of New Place, 19.
Shakespeare, William, ancestry, 1; birth,
2; education, 2-12 and Appendix
II.; marriage, 12; goes to London,
14; actor dramatist, and author of
poems dedicated to Earl of South-
ampton, 38, 44; printed attack upon
him made and apologized for, 45;
partner in Theatrical Company, 1594;
with Burbage, Heminge, Condell, and
others, 41; extolled in literature of
the day, 42; his English historical
plays, 49 et seq.; his portrait of his
favourite, Henry V., 85-107; his
moral teaching, 80, 81; his imagi-
nation, Note 25, 26, 108; et alibi,
388, 389; coat-of-arms granted to his
father and himself by Queen Eliza-
beth, 15; patronized by Queen
Elizabeth and King James, 39,
40; his portraits of heroes and
heroines, 126, 128, 129; sketches of his
plays produced in London, 46 et seq.;
purchases New Place, in Stratford, in
1597, 15; pays visits to it often and
makes it his home, 16; his Will, 16—
18, 370; death of his descendants and
close of his line, 19; honours paid to
his memory, 18-30; honours paid to
him in America, 31; in Germany, 31,
32; criticism of him in France by La
Harpe and Voltaire, 32-35; his un-
flagging labours after acquiring pre-
eminence, 181, 182; his strenuous
labours as actor and author, 368; his
religion, 370; his teaching, 371-394;
his harmonious use of language, 388,
391-393, 394; establishes a proverb,
388; comments of critics on his style,
390-393; his influence on the Eng-
lish language, 393, 394; his teaching,
370-401.
Schlegel translates Shakespeare, 31.
Sonnets of Shakespeare, 39, 42, 43.
Southampton, Earl of, patron of the
drama, 41; Shakespeare dedicates to
him Venus and Adonis in 1593, and
Lucrece in 1594, 43, 44, 399.
Spedding, J., Professor, M.A., Trin.
Coll., Cambridge, on absurdity of
the crazy idea that Lord Bacon wrote
Shakespeare's Plays, Appendix I.,
404, 405.
Stratford-on-Avon Grammar School (Ed.
VI), 2, 12, and Appendix II., p. 405-6.
Taming of the Shrew, Note 123, 124.
Tarquin and Lucrece, 42-44.
Tempest, The, 338-367.
Tennyson, Lord, Poet Laureate, 388.
Timon of Athens, 258-275, 381, 384, 390.
Titania, name for Fairy Queen, intro-
duced into English literature by
Shakespeare, 7, 8.
Trench, Archbishop, his sermon on Shake-
speare at Stratford on the tercen-
tenary of Shakespeare's birth, 21-24;
on the mind of Shakespeare, 30, 132,
368, 371 Note, 381, 395, 399.
Troilus and Cressida, 227-230, 382-384.
Twelfth Night, 129–131.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, The, 123.
Tyndall, Professor, called Shakespeare's
imagination the most wonderful thing
in the world, Note 25, 108, 388.
Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare's first
poem, 7; popularity of, 39, 42: dedi-
cated by Shakespeare to Earl of
Southampton, 43.
Voltaire on Shakespeare, 32-35.
Volumnia (in Coriolanus), 236, 242-245,
Weever, J., eulogizes Shakespeare in
epigrams published in 1595, p. 41.
Winter's Tale, The, 312-338.
Wordsworth, C., Bishop, 27.
Wordsworth,
W., on Shakespeare's
"judgment and imagination," 31, 32.
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