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"ations, jointly proclaim their approbation and esteem of "him; and will, I hope, be found true in most of the paf

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fages which are here collected from him; 1 fay, moft, "because there are fome, which I am convinced will not "ftand this teft. The old, the grave, and the fevere, will disapprove, perhaps, the more foft, (and as they may call them,) trifling love-tales, fo elegantly breath"ed forth, and fo emphatically extolled by the young, "the gay, and the paffionate; while thefe will efteem as "dull and languid, the fober saws of morality, and the "home-felt obfervations of experience. However, as it

was my business to collect for readers of all tastes and "all complexions, let me defire none to disapprove what "hits not with their own humour; but to turn over the page, and they will furely find fomething acceptable "and engaging."

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But a further account of our author is to be met with in Mr. Pope's excellent preface, and likewife in Mr. Rowe's account of his life and writings, and in Ben Johnfon's poem; all which are given entire, together with Mr. Warburton's general criticifm on his plays; by which the reader will fee his opinion of the rank and precedence of each, as reduced to certain claffes.

MR.

IT is not my defign to enter into a criticifm upon this

author; though to do it effectually, and not fuperficially, would be the best occasion that any juft writer could take, to form the judgment and taste of our nation. For of all English poets Shakespeare must be confeffed to be the fairest and fulleft fubject for criticifm, and to afford the most numerous, as well as moft confpicuous inftances, both of beauties and faults of all forts. But this far exceeds the bounds of a preface; the bufinefs of which is only to give an account of the fate of his works, and the disadvantages under which they have been tranfmitted to us. We shall hereby extenuate many faults which are his, and clear him from the imputation of many which are not: A defign which, though it can be no guide to future critics to do him juftice in one way, will at least be fufficient to prevent their doing him an injustice in the

other.

I cannot however but mention fome of his principal and characteristic excellencies, for which (notwithstanding his defects) he is juftly and univerfally elevated above all other dramatic writers. Not that this is the proper place of praifing him, but because I would not omit occafion of doing it.

any

If ever any author deserved the name of an original, was Shakespeare. Homer himself drew not his art fo immediately from the fountains of nature; it proceeded through Ægyptian ftrainers and channels, and came to him not without fome tincture of the learning, or some caft of the models, of those before him. The poetry of Shakespeare was infpiration indeed: he is not fo much an as an inftrument, of Nature; and it is not fo jult to fay, that he fpeaks from her, as that she speaks through him.

imitator,

His characters are fo much Nature herfelf, that it is a fort of injury to call them by fo diftant a name as copies of her. Thofe of other poets have a constant refémblance, which fhews that they received them from one

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another,

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another, and were but multipliers of the fame image: each picture, like a mock-rainbow, is but the reflection of a reflection. But every single character in Shakespeare is as much an individual as those in life itfelf; it is as impoffible to find any two alike; and fuch as from their relation or affinity in any refpect appear moft to be twins, will upon comparison be found remarkably dif tinet. To this life and variety of character, we must add the wonderful preservation of it; which is fuch throughout his plays, that had all the speeches been printed without the very names of the perfons, I believe one might have applied them with certainty to every fpeaker.

The power over our paffions was never poffeffed in a more eminent degree, or displayed in fo different inftances. Yet all along there is feen no labour, no pains to raise them; no preparation to guide our guefs to the effect, or be perceived to lead toward it: but the heart fwells, and the tears burst out, just at the proper places. We are furprised the moment we weep; and yet upon reflection find the paffion fo juft, that we should be surprised if we had not wept, and wept at that very mo

ment.

How aftonishing is it again, that the paffions directly oppofite to these, laughter and fpleen, are no lefs at his command! that he is not more a master of the great than of the ridiculous in human nature; of our noblest tenderneffes, than of our vainest foibles; of our strongest emotions, than of our idleft fenfations!

His

Nor does he only excel in the paffions: in the coolness of reflection and reafoning he is full as admirable. fentiments are not only in general the most pertinent and judicious upon every fubject; but by a talent very peculiar, fomething between penetration and felicity, he hits upon that particular point on which the bent of each argument turns, or the force of each motive depends. This is perfectly amazing, from a man of no education or experience in those great and public fcenes of life which are ufually the fubject of his thoughts: fo that he feems to have known the world by intuition, to have looked through human nature at one glance, and to be the only author that gives ground for a very new opinion,

That

That the philofopher, and even the man of the world, may be born, as well as the poet.

It must be owned, that with all thefe great excellen,' cies, he has almost as great defects; and that as he has certainly written better, fo he has perhaps written worfe than any other. But I think I can in some measure account for thefe defects, from feveral caufes and accidents; without which it is hard to imagine, that fo large and fo enlightened a mind could ever have been fufceptible of them. That all these contingencies fhould unite to his disadvantage, seems to me almost as fingularly unlucky, as that fo many various (nay contrary) talents should meet in one man, was happy and extraordinary.

It must be allowed, that stage-poetry, of all other, is more particularly levelled to please the populace, and its fuccefs more immediately depending upon the common fuffrage. One cannot therefore wonder, if Shakespeare, having at his first appearance no other aim in his writings than to procure a fubfiftence, directed his endeavours folely to hit the taste and humour that then prevailed. The audience was generally compofed of the meaner fort of people; and therefore the images of life were to be drawn from thofe of their own rank. Accordingly we find, that not our author's only, but almost all the old comedies, have their fcene among tradefmen and mechanics: and even their hiftorical plays ftrictly fol low the common old flories or vulgar traditions of that kind of people. In tragedy, nothing was fo fure to furprise, and caufe admiration, as the most strange, unexpected, and confequently moft unnatural events and incidents; the moft exaggerated thoughts; the moft verbofe and bombaft expreffion; the moft pompous rhimes, and thundering verfification. In comedy, nothing was fo fure to please, as mean buffoonery, vile ribaldry, and unmannerly jets of fools and clowns. Yet even in these our author's wit buoys up, and is borne above his fubject: his genius in thofe low parts, is like fome prince of a romance in the disguise of a fhepherd or peafant; a certain greatness and spirit now and then break out, which manifeft his higher extraction and qualities.

It may be added, that not only the common audience

had no notion of the rules of writing, but few even of the better fort piqued themfelves upon any great degree of knowledge or nicety that way; till Ben Johníon getting poffeffion of the ftage, brought critical learning into vogue: and that this was not done without diff culty, may appear from thofe frequent leffons (and indeed almoft declamations) which he was forced to prefix to his first plays, and put into the mouth of his actors, the Grex, Chorus, &c. to remove the prejudices and inform the judgment of his hearers. Till then our authors had no thoughts of writing on the model of the ancients: their tragedies were only hiftories in dialogue; and their comedies followed the thread of any novel as they found it, no less implicitly than if it had been true hiftory.

To judge therefore of Shakespeare by Ariftotle's rules, is like trying a man by the laws of one country, who acted under thofe of another. He writ to the people; and writ at first without patronage from the better fort, and therefore without aims of pleafing them; without affiftance or advice from the learned, as without the advar tage of education or acquaintance among them; without that knowledge of the beft models, the ancients, to infpire him with an emulation of them; in a word, without any views of reputation, and of what poets are pleafed to call immortality: fome or all of which have encouraged the vanity, or animated the ambition of other writers.

Yet it must be obferved, that when his performances had merited the protection of his prince, and when the encouragement of the court had fucceeded to that of the town; the works of his riper years are manifeftly raised above those of his former. The dates of his plays fufficiently evidence, that his productions improved, in proportion to the refpect he had for his auditors. And I make no doubt this obfervation would be found true in every inftance, were but editions extant from which we might learn the exact time when every piece was compofed, and whether writ for the town or the court.

Another caufe (and no lefs ftrong than the former) may be deduced from our author's being a player, and forming himself firft upon the judgments of that body

of

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