How William Shakespeare became discovered?

William Shakespeare did not need to be "discovered" as such. He was a prominent figure in theatre during his lifetime; however, his reputation faded somewhat in the years immediately following his death. It can be said that he was "re"discovered by 18th-century scholars and critics such as Thomas Hanmer, Samuel Johnson, and Edmund Malone - but he already was well-known during the 16th and 17th centuries in his native England!