If, therefore, even Jonson felt himself forced to clear himself of extravagance and absurdity in his appreciation of Shakespear, there must have been many people about who idolized Shakespear as American ladies idolize Paderewski, and who carried bardolatry, even in the Bard's own time, to an extent that threatened to make his reasonable admirers ridiculous.
"Dark Lady of the Sonnets"
George Bernard Shaw