First published in 1927.

The main argument in this book is that Shakespeare's work is of such intense vitality that it is always modern and that although historical associations may have grown up round it, considerations of the works that grew out of it, or the works that it derives from, are pure irrelevancies. The author maintains that the quality of Shakespeare's achievement has never been surpassed and that all other considerations - date, time, place, conditions of production and historical significance of his plays - have no bearing whatsoever.