About this book
A Letter on Shakspere's Authorship of The Two Noble Kinsmen and on the characteristics of Shakspere's style and the secret of his supremacy, by William Spalding, confronts the contested question of who wrote The Two Noble Kinsmen with lucid argument and scholarly flair. Spalding, a nineteenth‑century professor steeped in rhetoric and logic, combines close textual readings with wider reflections on dramatic art to probe whether Shakspere (Shakespeare) contributed to this collaborative play and what marks true Shakespearean style.
Part literary criticism, part stylistic manifesto, the essay maps the distinctive features that Spalding believes secure Shakespeare’s supremacy: rhetorical precision, psychological insight, tonal variety, and an effortless command of dramatic structure. Placed in the context of Victorian Shakespeare scholarship and the broader authorship debates, the Letter balances rigorous analysis with spirited prose, offering quotable passages and methodical comparisons without descending into mere polemic.
Ideal for students, scholars, and general readers fascinated by Shakespearean studies, textual attribution, and the craft of dramatic writing, this audiobook delivers a compact, persuasive case-study in literary criticism. Listen for a model of close reading and for a nineteenth‑century critic’s passionate attempt to define what makes Shakespeare singular.
