man's life, Emerson mentions the guardian spirit of human kind.]

[Footnote 527: Shakespeare's youth, etc. It is impossible to
appreciate or enjoy this essay without having some clear general
information about the condition of the English people and English
literature in the glorious Elizabethan age in which Shakespeare lived.
Consult, for this information, some brief history of England and a
comprehensive English literature.]

[Footnote 528: Puritans. Strict Protestants who became so powerful in
England that in the time of the Commonwealth they controlled the
political and religious affairs of the country.]

[Footnote 529: Anglican Church. The Established Church of England; the
Episcopal church.]

[Footnote 530: Punch. The chief character in a puppet show, hence the
puppet show itself.]

[Footnote 531: Kyd, Marlowe, Greene, etc. For an account of these
dramatists consult a text book on English literature. The English
drama seems to have begun in the Middle Ages with what were called
Miracle plays, which were scenes from Bible history; about the same
time were performed the Mystery plays, which dramatized the lives of
saints. These were followed by the Moralities, plays in which were
personified abstract virtues and vices. The first step in the creation
of the regular drama was taken by Heywood, who composed some farcical
plays called Interludes. The people of the sixteenth century were fond
of pageants, shows in which classical personages were introduced, and
Masques, which gradually developed from pageants into dramas