William Shakespeare; poet, dramatist, and man . agnificence of the age were illustratedfor a royal spectator with more than royal lavishness. 54 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE On a summer day the way from Stratford to theCastle lies through a landscape touched with theripest beauty of England; a beauty not only of lineand structure, but of depth and richness of foliage,of ancient places slowly transformed by the tenderand patient and pious care of centuries of growth into masses ofgreenness so afflu-ent and of suchdepth that itseems as if foun-tains of life hadoverflowed intogreat masses offoliage. The s
William Shakespeare; poet, dramatist, and man . agnificence of the age were illustratedfor a royal spectator with more than royal lavishness. 54 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE On a summer day the way from Stratford to theCastle lies through a landscape touched with theripest beauty of England; a beauty not only of lineand structure, but of depth and richness of foliage,of ancient places slowly transformed by the tenderand patient and pious care of centuries of growth into masses ofgreenness so afflu-ent and of suchdepth that itseems as if foun-tains of life hadoverflowed intogreat masses offoliage. The summerdays were doubt-less long andwearisome to theboys in the Gram-mar School inthe quiet nightingalehad ceased to sing along the Avon; the fragrancewas gone from the hedges with their blossoms;midsummer was at its height; there was the smellof the new-cut grass in the meadows, touched hereand there with the glory of the scarlet the comino: of the Oueen was made theoccasion of granting a holiday it is much too late to. (JUEEN LLl/.ALJklll. SHAKESPEARES COUNTRY 55 assert or deny; that the more adventurous took oneis more than probable. In those days even thesplendour of the wandering players paled beforethat of the Queen. She had been seventeen yearson the throne. She had all the qualities of her fam-ily : the Tudor imperiousness of temper, and theTudor instinct for understanding her people andwinning them. The Armada was thirteen years inthe future, and the full splendour of a great reignwas still to come; but there was something in theyoung Queen which had already touched theimagination of England; something in her spiritand bearing which saved the poets of the time frombeing mere flatterers. Elizabeth was neither beauti-ful nor gracious ; the romantic charm which cap-tivated all who came into the presence of herunhappy contemporary Mary Stuart was not in w^hat she lacked as woman she easily possessedas queen; she had the rare gift of personif
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectshakesp, bookyear1901
