tially, the articles retain the shape
in which they were originally penned. The point of view has undergone
no modification. In the essays dealing with the theatres of our own
time, I have purposely refrained from expanding or altering argument
or illustration by citing Shakespearean performances or other
theatrical enterprises which have come to birth since the papers were
first written. In the last year or two there have been several
Shakespearean revivals of notable interest, and some new histrionic
triumphs have been won. Within the same period, too, at least half a
dozen new plays of serious literary aim have gained the approval of
contemporary critics. These features of current dramatic history are
welcome to playgoers of literary tastes; but I have attempted no
survey of them, because signs are lacking that any essential change
has been wrought by them in the general theatrical situation. My aim
is to deal with dominant principles which underlie the past and
present situation, rather than with particular episodes or
personalities, the real value of which the future has yet to
determine.

My best thanks are due to my friend Sir James Knowles, the proprietor
and editor of _The Nineteenth Century and After_, for permission to
reproduce the four articles, entitled respectively, "Shakespeare and
the Modern Stage," "Shakespeare in Oral Tradition," "Shakespeare in
France," and "The Commemoration of Shakespeare in London." To Messrs
Smith, Elder, & Co., I am indebted for permission to print here the
articles on "Mr Benson and Shakespearean Drama," and "Shakespeare and
Patriotism," both of which originally appeared in _The Cornhill
Magazine_. The paper on "Pepys and Shakespeare" was first printed in
the _Fortnightly Review_; that on "Shakespeare and the Elizabethan
Playgoer" in "An English Miscellany, presented to Dr Furnivall in
honour of his seventy-fifth birthday" (1901); that on "The Municipal
Theatre" in the _New Liberal Review_; and that on "A Peril of
Shakespearean Research" in _The Author_. The proprietors of these
publications have courteously given me permission to include the
articles in this volume. The essay on "Aspects of Shakespeare's
Philosophy" was prepared for the purposes of a popular lecture, and
has not been in type before.

In a note at the foot of the opening page of each essay, I mention the
date when it was originally published. An analytical list of contents
and an index will, I hope, increase