History of the Shakespeare authorship question theatre audiences, and Shakespeare's status as a "great writer" shifted. Dryden's sentiments about Shakespeare's matchless genius were echoed without a break by unstinting praise from writers throughout the 18th century. Shakespeare was described as a genius who needed no learning, was deeply original, and unique in creating realistic and individual characters (see Timeline of Shakespeare criticism). The phenomenon continued during the Romantic era, when Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, William Hazlitt, and others all described Shakespeare as a transcendent genius. By the beginning of the 19th century Bardolatry was in full swing and Shakespeare was universally celebrated as an unschooled
The Plays of William Shakespeare August 1765. However, he was unable to work on the "Preface" until August and it was not printed until 29 September. George Steevens volunteered to help Johnson work on the "Preface" during this time. Johnson's edition of "Shakespeare's plays" was finally published on 10 October 1765 as "The Plays of William Shakespeare, in Eight Volumes ... To which are added Notes by Sam. Johnson" in a printing of 1,000 copies. The edition sold quickly and a second edition was soon printed, with an expanded edition to follow in 1773 and a further revised edition in 1778. There are four components