As Shakespere is by far the greatest of all writers, ancient or modern,
so he has been the subject of commentorial folly to an extent, which
dwarfs the expense of that folly on any other single subject...
[T]here is always the danger either that some mischievous notions may
be left undisturbed by the neglect to notice them, or that the critic
himself may be presumed to be ignorant of the foolishness of his
predecessors. These inconveniences, however, must here be risked, and it
may perhaps be thought that the necessity of risking them is a salutary
one. -from "The Second Dramatic Period-Shakespere" George Saintsbury,
one of the finest Victorian thinkers on literature, called the output of
British writers in the years between 1560 and 1660 "the greatest period
of the greatest literature of the world," and his insight and enthusiasm
fills this sweeping survey of that era. The words of the Elizabethan
writers alone-Marlowe, Spenser, Shakespeare, Bacon, Raleigh,
Milton-would be a grand enough evocation of their brilliance, but
Saintsbury's singing of their praises, for all its erudition and
knowledge, is a glorious tribute to their genius. Poets, playwrights,
and pamphleteers, all get their just due here, in a book that will
thrill lovers of magnificent literature. British journalist and critic
GEORGE EDWARD BATEMAN SAINTSBURY (1845-1933) was a regular contributor
to the Saturday Review. His books include A Primer of French Literature
(1880), the two-volume Essays in English Literature, 1780-1860
(1890-1895), and the three-volume A History of Criticism (1900-1904).
