We are so used to calling the plays written by Shakespeare and his contemporaries poetic drama that we hardly ever stop to think about the generic meaning of the term. This book is an attempt to explore Shakespeares artistic achievement as an intricate blend of the dramatic and lyrical modes. In a series of minute textual analyses it traces the gradual integration of the two from Loves Labours Lost through Romeo and Juliet and Richard II to As You Like It and Hamlet with a final glance at the Great Tragedies. How this combination is effected in its details is a question that might help us to understand better the specificity of Shakespeares innovative work for the theatre and the power of its impact.