VII. The Contrast between the Elizabethan and the
Modern Methods 43

VIII. The Fitness of the Audience an Essential Element
in the Success of Shakespeare on the Stage 46


III

SHAKESPEARE IN ORAL TRADITION

I. The Reception of the News of Shakespeare's Death 49

II. The Evolution in England of Formal Biography 51

III. Oral Tradition concerning Shakespeare in Theatrical
Circles 57

IV. The Testimonies of Seventeenth-century Actors 61

V. Sir William D'Avenant's Devotion to Shakespeare's
Memory 69

VI. Early Oral Tradition at Stratford-on-Avon 73

VII. Shakespeare's Fame among Seventeenth-century
Scholars and Statesmen 78

VIII. Nicholas Rowe's Place among Shakespeare's