Final illness and death; his fame


SHAKSPEARE; OR, THE POET.

BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

The debt of genius to its age and preceding time.

The era of Shakspeare favorable to dramatic entertainments.

The stage a substitute for the newspaper of his era.

The poet draws upon extant materials--the lime and mortar to his hand.

Plays which show the original rock on which his own finer stratum is
laid.

In drawing upon tradition and upon earlier plays the poet's memory is
taxed equally with his invention.

All originality is relative; every thinker is retrospective.

The world's literary treasure the result of many a one's labor;
centuries have contributed to its existence and perfection.

Shakspeare's contemporaries, correspondents, and acquaintances.

Work of the Shakspeare Society in gathering material to throw light upon
the poet's life, and to illustrate the development of the drama.