IN the plays of Shakespeare's closing years there is a
pervading sense of quiet and happiness which seems
to bear witness to a change in the mind of their
author. In these latest plays--Cymbeline, The Winter's
Tale, The Tempest--the subjects chosen are tragic in
their nature, but they are shaped to a fortunate
result. Imogen and Hermione are deeply wronged,
like Desdemona; Prospero, like Lear, is driven from
his inheritance; yet the forces of destruction do not
prevail, and the end brings forgiveness and reunion.
There is no reversion to the manner of the Comedies;
this new-found happiness is a happiness wrung from
experience, and, unlike the old high-spirited gaiety,
it does not exult over the evil-doer. An all-embracing
tolerance and kindliness inspires these last plays.
The amiable rascal, for whom there was no place in
the Tragedies, reappears. The outlook on life is
widened; and the children--Perdita and Plorizel,
Miranda and Ferdinand, Guiderius and Arviragus
are permitted to make amends for the faults and
misfortunes of their parents. There is still tragic
material in plenty, and there are some high-wrought
tragic scenes; but the tension is soon relaxed; in two
of the plays the construction is loose and rambling;
in all three there is a free rein given to humour and
fantasy. It is as if Shakespeare were weary of the

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