Originally published in 1935, this book contains an expanded version of the Harness Prize Essay for 1934 on the subject of Shakespeare's verse. David attempts to explain the effects of Shakespeare's choice to be a poet and a dramatist simultaneously and how he met the advantages and disadvantages of that decision, 'how he used poetry to aid his dramatization and dramatic effect to aid his poetry'. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Shakespeare's writings and in dramatic verse more generally.