Page:Timon of Athens (1919) Yale.djvu/138

126 466). The rest of the scene is probably interpolated (467-545). The first scene of the fifth act with the possible exception of the introduction (1-59) was written by Shakespeare. The second and fourth scenes are likewise his; only the third scene bears no trace of his workmanship.

Concerning the double authorship of Timon of Athens there have arisen three distinct theories:

(1) Timon of Athens of the Folio represents Shakespeare's work as interpolated and corrupted by the players. In his lectures of 1815, Coleridge stated his belief that the play was Shakespeare's throughout, and that when first written it was one of the Poet's most complete performances. He explained the un-