As a young man, the Dutch novelist, short story writer and poet, Arthur van Schendel (1874-1946) developed a passion for Shakespeare. The plays came as a revelation to him, kindling his creativity to such an extent that he imaginatively adopted and adapted many of the playwright's characters and ideas. The principal results were a life of the poet, Shakespeare (1910), a play Pandorra (1919), the novel Meneer Oberon en Mevrouw (1940), and a poem "Stratford-upon-Avon" (1944). 
In this thesis I will explore the intertextuality between the works of Shakespeare and those of Van Schendel. To this end I will study the latter's complete works, all the associated material, including correspondence and manuscripts, kept in the Literary Museum and Documentation Centre in The Hague; and also biographies, books and articles concerned with Van Schendel that have appeared since the publication of his first novel Drogon (1896). 
This dissertation will comprise: 
- a discussion of Van Schendel's life and works 
- a reading of Shakespeare 
- comments on five of Shakespeare's plays, included in the second enlarged edition of Shakespeare, and on Pandorra 
- and last but not least an evaluation of Meneer Oberon en Mevrouw.