ABSTRACT
According to the biographical plan we originally proposed to ourselves, this would be the proper place to give some account of the life of our inimitable Shakespeare; but on examining what materials we were possessed of for this purpose we found them so very scanty and unsatisfactory that we were presently induced to lay aside all thoughts of such an attempt. Whatever material circumstances could be got together in relation to this matter Mr Rowe has already collected, and to give an abridgment of a work that is in every body’s hands we thought would be impertinent and superfluous. We have been at a good deal of pains to acquire some anecdotes concerning this great genius, but tradition has failed us; and we have applied to our friends at both theatres, and
elsewhere, in vain. The very few particulars that are handed down to us about Shakespeare are a strong confirmation of Mr Pope’s assertion, viz. that ‘Shakespeare and Ben Jonson may truly be said not much to have thought on immortality.’1
