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“The Life of Timon of Athens” is one of Shakespeare's most problematic plays. It is enigmatic, even as it is schematically very clear. It was among the last of his works, thought to be written in 1607, perhaps first acted in 1609. No Quartos exist, and its first publication was in the Folio of 1623 (Cross and Brooke, 1919), sandwiched in between “Romeo and Juliet” and “Julius Caesar” — good company indeed!
Although presumably based on a legend from antiquity , as are many of Shakespeare's plays, there is doubt about whether he did in fact write it himself. The questions of time and authorship are important because it is a strange play, considered by some to be less creative, less skillfully contrived than most of his works — although written at the height of his powers. Yet the language is apt, at times ugly — but even then extremely poetic. I submit that it is one of his greatest plays. If it does not appear to reflect Shakespeare's skill, that is because it is an intellectual tour-de-force, an allegory written with a heartfelt purpose, and constructed in such a way as to best accomplish this, with no distracting peripheral relationships — no frills. Because of this, its construction “shows,” much like the work of a sculptor who did not quite succeed in concealing the armature that holds up his work.
I used the word “heartfelt.” It has been observed that Shakespeare had grievances against his society. He was the motivating