The attempt made in this volume to connect the study of Shakspere's works with an inquiry after the personality of the writer, and to observe, as far as is possible, in its several stages the growth of his intellect and character from youth to full maturity, distinguishes the work from the greater number of prcceding criticisms of Shakspere. A sense of hazard and difficulty necessarily accompanies the attempt to pass through the creations of a great dramatic poet to the mind of the creator. Still no one would maintain that a product of mind, so large and manifold as the writings of Shakspers, can fail some measure to reveal its origin and cause. It is land-mark in the history of Shakespearean Criticism and attempts to comprehend the mind and art of one of the greatest geniuses that the world has ever produced, Dowden traces the growth of the dramatist's mind and art and relates it to the plays composed at different stages of his carccr, the moods of the author which inspired their composition and coloured their creation. It is a rare work of Scholarship and inspired creative criticism.