ABSTRACT
His public consisted of only two poles of society: the young nobility and the lower classes. The theatre was growing only moderately, considering the size of London at that time; it was already considered not respectable (while, actually, the ‘respectable’ nation was too dull for it). The court gave it only the attention that befitted its position, so that this sort of entertainment might not be lacking. Elizabeth took scarcely any notice of Shakespeare, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, which he wrote at her command, is one of his weaker plays. In the provinces there seems to have been no theatre whatever, at a time when there were theatres throughout Spain. Shakespeare is a veritable windfall for England. If he had never existed, his age would not have missed him. Soon he was completely forgotten and was not revived until much later.
