Today it would be a commonplace to say that the greatest poets may be read and understood anew by each age and each generation, that new aspects of their work are continually being discovered and that they appeal to each generation in a new and different manner. This statement, however, provokes the question whether the understanding and interpretation of Shakespeare in each new generation is rather a reflection of the preoccupations and contemporary problems of that generation or whether it represents a genuine advance of scholarly insight—a better, because fuller and more objective comprehension. The truth may perhaps lie between these two alternatives: for our present knowledge and appreciation of Shakespeare, besides incorporating some of our own concerns and predilections, is also cumulative; much of what was discovered in Shakespeare during the eighteenth century, the Romantic period and the later nineteenth century has been taken over by present-day criticism and has been included in and integrated into our reading of his plays. Thus an analysis of Shakespeare’s impact on the modern world would have to point out the connection existing between new and characteristic responses on the part of a modern audience to Shakespeare’s plays and the chief trend of modern Shakespeare criticism, both seen in relation to the typical problems and preoccupations of our own generation.