impossible they could employ facial expression,
or much variety of intonation. We have not time now to trace at length
the many vicissitudes in the career of the Drama, but I may say that
Shakespeare was the first dramatist who dared to rob Tragedy of her
stilts; and who successfully introduced an element of comedy which
was not dragged in by the neck and heels, but which naturally evolved
itself from the treatment of the tragic story, and did not violate the
consistency of any character.

It was not only with regard to the _writing_ of his plays
that Shakespeare sought to fight the battle of Nature against
Artificiality. However naturally he might write, the affected or
monotonous _delivery_ of his verse by the actors would neutralize all
his efforts. The old rhyming ten-syllable lines could not but lead to
a monotonous style of elocution, nor was the early blank verse much
improvement in this respect; but Shakespeare fitted his blank verse to
the natural expression of his ideas, and not his ideas to the trammels
of blank verse.

In order to carry out these reforms, in order to dethrone Artifice and
Affectation, he needed the help of actors in whom he could trust,
and especially of a leading actor who could interpret his greatest
dramatic creations; such a one he found in Richard Burbage.

Shakespeare came to London first in 1585. Whether on this, his first
visit, he became connected with the theatres is uncertain. At any
rate it is most probable that he saw Burbage in some of his favorite
characters, and perhaps made his acquaintance; being first employed
as a kind of servant in the theatre, and afterwards as a player of
inferior parts. It was not until about 1591-1592, that Shakespeare
began to turn his attention seriously to dramatic authorship. For five
years of his life we are absolutely without any evidence as to what
were his pursuits. But there can be little doubt that during this
interval he was virtually undergoing a special form of education,
consisting rather of the study of human nature than that of books,
and was acquiring the art of dramatic construction--learnt better in
a theatre than anywhere else. Unfortunately, we have no record of the
intercourse between Shakespeare and Burbage; but there can be little
doubt that between the dramatist, who was himself an actor, and the
actor, who gave life to the greatest creations of his imagination, and
who, probably, amazed no less than delighted the great m