Also, in his play, the Enchanted Island, Dryden expands on the prologue from Troilus and Cressida. However, this time Shakespeare is a king whose poetic monologue unveils contemporary anxieties about royal succession (Dobson 74). In this sense, Shakespeare is depicted in this particular play as an old Hamlet (Ibid.), a royal ghost, and a direct reference to contemporary royal turmoil.

This was only the first of Shakespeare's many posthumous appearances on stage as a dramatic character. Shakespeare's metamorphosis into a character in one of his plays represents an endeavor with double meaning. On the one hand, Shakespeare's appearance is synonymous to authority as his direct involvement in his own writings brings a sense of realism and authenticity. On the other hand, by creating a dramatic character out of the writer, he also becomes involved in the process of reviving his works. However, there is more to this transformation. Shakespeare's authority...
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