FROM THE PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

The term ‘Shakespearean’ is used to cover what are normally called the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Caroline periods – that is, the latter half of Elizabeth's reign, from the 1570s to 1603, the whole of the reign of James I, 1603–25, and the period of rule (as distinct from reign) of Charles I, 1625–42. Shakespeare's own contact with the London theatre world extended only from about 1590 to 1616, but he stands on its highest peak, and his name if anyone's has to be given to the period. The theatre conditions that supplied Shakespeare with the venue for his plays came into existence in the 1570s, and disappeared abruptly in 1642. The first official recognition of the London-based commercial acting companies was given in 1574; a total ban on playing was imposed in 1642, and was thoroughly enforced for the next eighteen years, long enough to destroy almost all traces of Shakespearean theatre conditions and traditions. The seventy years of play-acting in which Shakespeare's career was embedded needs to be seen as a whole, and the best single word for it is Shakespearean.

A number of the variables of the Shakespearean period have been regularised for convenience. The old-style system of dating, which began the calendar year in March instead of on 1 January, has been silently adjusted to the modern dating. The titles of plays and the names of players, which were spelt in various ways even by their owners, have been regularised in the forms adopted by Chambers and Bentley.