The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21).
Volume IV. Prose and Poetry: Sir Thomas North to Michael Drayton.
§ 8. Lyly’s refining and intellectual influence on English Literature and Drama
If, then, Lyly looks back to an English, a continental and, even, a classical, past, for inspiration and models, he yet rises above his sources in an accomplishment which is individual and of not merely ephemeral significance, but of great importance to those who immediately follow him in the drama. He intellectualises the drama; he brings, not adaptation, but original work, into closest touch with the most cultivated men and women of the time; he unites the feminine to the already existent masculine elements in our drama; he attains, even if somewhat hazily, that great dramatic form, high comedy, and, attaining it, breaks the way for a large part of Shakespeare’s work.