Two sides of the same coin most would say. And without doubt for the majority of authors in this wide-ranging collection that would be absolutely right.

Shakespeare was equally at home with drama or poetry, but he was exceptional. We have not seen his like before or since on such a scale. His contemporaries Fletcher, Fairfax and the many more that followed sometimes also wove their verse into their dramas and comedies, others such as Marlowe and Behn wrote both within their plays and as separate works.

Words are an exceptional creation. The building blocks of language built to convey, discuss and share our most complex thoughts and ideas and writers, whether they be of prose, poetry or plays, use their given or honed gifts in elaborate ways to explore themes, reflect on happenings; the inky blood that help shape our cultural bodies, our human spirit.