s, stretching down amid the sunless
roots of Being and Consciousness, mock the plummet."

Professor Thorndike takes the further point, in his review of the Drama
from 1601 to 1611, that during that period "There are almost no romantic
tragi-comedies"; that in fact, including "Measure for Measure," there
are only five which offer the slightest generic resemblance to the
heroic tragi-comedies like "Philaster" and "Winter's Tale"; that when
"Philaster" appeared, there had been "no play for seven or eight years
at all resembling it"; and draws the conclusion that Shakspere, who had
been writing "gloomy tragedies" for several years, suddenly left that
style and wrote "Cymbeline" in imitation of "Philaster," because
"Philaster" had "filled the audience with surprise and delight." The
uncomplimentary and uncritical remark is added that perhaps "Timon" and
"Coriolanus" had not achieved great success on the stage--at any rate
the success of "Philaster" aroused his interest.

"Timon" is assigned by most critics to the last of Shakspere's life, by
many to the year 1612. "Cymbeline," as we have seen, was acted before
May 15th, 1611; it is therefore difficult to understand, if the date
assigned to "Timon" is correct, how its failure could have "influenced"
the production of "Cymbeline."

But Professor Thorndike's statement is incorrect. During the decade
named, "Measure for Measure" was acted at Court in 1604; his conjectural
date of "Philaster" is 1608. As we have shown, "Measure for Measure"
fully answers his definition of the "romance" or "heroic tragi-comedy,"
and he admits that it bears a generic resemblance to "Philaster." His
statement that for seven or eight years before "Philaster" "no play had
appeared at all resembling it" is therefore without support, and
contradicts his own admission. He assumes much more, and to support his
conclusion argues that "Philaster" was perhaps produced before 1608. The
importance of the point justifies deliberate attention. Against the
opinion of most scholars, against the express statement of Dryden, he
assigns "Pericles" to the year 1608; credits Shakspere with the
authorship of the "Marina story;" admits that "the plot is ... like
those of the romances, and particularly like that of the 'Winter's
Tale,' in dealing with a long series of tragic events leading to a happy
ending," but endeavors to escape the inevitable conclusion, by the
statement, utterly inconsistent with his own chronolog