VENUS AND ADONIS.--In 1593 appeared his _Venus and Adonis_, which he now
had the social position and interest to dedicate to the Earl of
Southampton. It is a harmonious and beautiful poem, but the display of
libidinous passion in the goddess, however in keeping with her character
and with the broad taste of the age, is disgusting to the refined reader,
even while he acknowledges the great power of the poet. In the same year
was built the Globe Theatre, a hexagonal wooden structure, unroofed over
the pit, but thatched over the stage and the galleries. In this, too,
Shakspeare was a shareholder.
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE.--The _Rape of Lucrece_ was published in 1594, and was
dedicated to the same nobleman, who, after the custom of the period,
became Shakspeare's patron, and showed the value of his patronage by the
gift to the poet of a thousand pounds.
Thus in making poetical versions of classical stories, which formed the
imaginative pabulum of the age, and in readapting older plays, the poet
was gaining that skill and power which were to produce his later immortal
dramas.
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