6. The Comedy of Errors, founded upon Plautus Mænechmi. 7. Much a'do About Nothing, a Comedy; for the plot fee Ariofto's Orlando Furiofo. 8. Love's Labour loft, a Comedy. 9. Midfummer Night's Dream, a Comedy. 10. The Merchant of Venice, a TragiComedy. 11. As You Like it, a Comedy. 12. The Taming of a Shrew, a Comedy. 13. All's Well that Ends Well. 14. The Twelfth-Night; or, What you will, a Comedy. In this play there is fomething fingularly ridiculous, in the fantastical fteward Malvolio; part of the plot taken from Plautus Mænechmi. 15. The Winter's Tale, a Tragi-Comedy; for the plot of this play, confult Doraftus and Fawnia. 16. The Life and Death of King John, an historical play. 17. The Life and Death of King Richard II. a Tragedy. 18. The Life of King Henry V. an historical play. 19. The first part of King Henry VI. an hiftorical play. 20. The fecond part of King Henry VI with the death of the good Duke Humphrey. 21. The third part of Henry VI. with the death of the Duke of York. These play's contain the whole reign of this monarch. C VOL. V. 22. The 22. The Life and Death of Richard II. with the Landing of the Earl of Richmond, and the Battle of Bofworth-field. In this part Mr. Garrick was firft diftinguished. 23. The famous Hiftory of the Life of King Henry VIII. 24. Troilus and Creffida, a Tragedy. The plot from Chaucer. 25. Coriolanus, a Tragedy; the story from Roman history. 26. Titus Andronicus, a Tragedy. 27. Romeo and Juliet, a Tragedy; the plot from Bandello's novels. This is perhaps one of the most affecting plays of Shakefpear: it was not long fince acted fourteen nights together at both houfes, at the fame time, and it was a few years before revived, and acted twelve nights with applaufe, at the Little Theatre in the Hay-market. 28. Timon of Athens, a Tragedy; the plot from Lucian's Dialogues. 29. Julius Cæfar, a Tragedy. 30. The Tragedy of Macbeth; the plot from Buchanan, and other Scotch writers. 31. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a Tragedy. 32. King Lear, a Tragedy; for the plot, fee Leland and Monmouth. 33. Othello, the Moor of Venice, a Tragedy; the plot from Cynthio's Novels. 34. Anthony and Cleopatra; the ftory from Plutarch. 35. Cymbeline, a Tragedy, the plot from Boccace's novels. 36. Pericles 36. Pericles, Prince of Tyre; an historical play. 37. The London Prodigal, a Comedy. 38. The Life and death of Thomas Lord Cromwell, the favourite of King Henry VIII. 39. The Hiftory of Sir John Oldcastle, the good Lord Cobham, a Tragedy. See Fox's Book of Martyrs. 40. The Puritan; or, the Widow of Watling-ftreet, a Comedy. 41. A Yorkshire Tragedy; this is rather an Interlude, than a Tragedy, being very short, and not divided into acts. 42. The Tragedy of Locrine, the eldest Son of King Bruins. See the story in Milton's hiftory of England. Our age, which demonftrates its tafte in nothing to truly and juftly, as in the admiration it pays to the works of Shakespear, has had the honour of raifing a monument to him in Westminster Abbey; to effect which, the Tragedy of Julius Cæfar was acted at the theatre royal in Drury-lane, April 28, 1738; and the profits arifing from it depofited in the hands of the earl of Burlington, Mr. Pope, Dr. Mead, and others, in order to be laid out upon the fame monument. A new prologue and epilogue were spoken on that occafion; the prologue was written by Benjamin Martyn, Efq; the epilogue by the honourable James Noel Efq; and fpoke by Mrs. Porter. Cn Shakespear's monument there is a noble C 2 epitaph epitaph, taken from his own Tempest, and is The cloud capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, ΤΗΣ |