Ruskin often quoted Shakespeare and ranked him in the first, or 'creative,' order of poets, a category including Aeschylus, Homer, and Dante: writers capable of imagining and depicting fictional characters which are essentially true-to-life, original and consistent, and whose literary achievement surpasses that of poets belonging to what Ruskin termed the second order - 'reflective' or 'perceptive' authors such as Wordsworth, Keats, and Tennyson, who fall prey to the' pathetic fallacy' in their works. Of Shakespeare's accomplishment in producing 'perfect' historical plays, Ruskin observed that their perfection lay not in the accuracy of their historical interpretation, but because each work is 'a complete portrait down to the heart, which is the same in all ages.' ( Works, 5.205n.; 127-8)
Ruskin divided the world of literature into 'Thinkers and Seers,' according the highest importance to 'Seers,' among whom he numbered Shakespeare and Scott, who uniquely represented their own age, depicting its vital essence in their work. Ruskin believed that to 'see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion,--all in one.' ( Works, 5.333)