A Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare

If it is not generally known that the foundations of twentieth-century criticism of Shakespeare’s imagery were laid over one hundred and fifty years ago, the explanation lies in the limited availability of the single original edition of Walter Whiter’s Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare published in 1794. In an age in which the study of Shakespeare’s characters was of prime interest and importance, Whiter – a classical scholar who took holy orders and ended his life as a country parson – dev