Myers uses a new and theoretically provocative comparative approach to bring into view and then to question the pervasive but often unsuspected influence of the -classical- conception of Shakespeare's canon dominant since Dowden first suggested it in the middle of the nineteenth century. As an alternative, he argues for a -mannerist- conception of the canon that is more persuasive than the outmoded conception in the light of artistic possibilities in the Renaissance and more useful to the continuing reinterpretation of Shakespeare's plays."