We have now finished the miscellaneous plays of Shakspeare, which I have printed in conformity with Mr. Malone's intention, according to the order in which he supposed them to be written. In compliance with the general opinion of those whom I have consulted on the subject, I have ventured to deviate from his plan in the arrangement of those dramas which are founded on English history. Dr. Johnson has observed in the preliminary notes to Henry IV. Part I. that most of them were designed by Shakspeare to be read in regular connection; and I have therefore thought it more for the reader's convenience, not to break the historical chain. Boswell. |