rious (nay contrary) Talents fhould meet in one man, was happy and extraordinary. It must be allowed that Stage-Poetry of all other, is more particularly levell'd to please the Populace, and its fuccefs more immediately depending upon the Common Suffrage. One cannot therefore wonder, if Shakespear, 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 almoft all the old Comedies have their Scene among Tradesmen and Mechanicks: And even their Hiftorical Plays ftrictly follow the common Old Stories or Vulgar Traditions of that kind of people. In Tragedy, nothing was fo fure to Surprize and cause Admiration, as the most strange, unexpected, and confequently moft unnatural, Events and Incidents; the moft exaggerated Thoughts; the most verbofe and bombaft Expreffion; the most pompous Rhymes, and thundering Verfification. In Comedy, nothing was fo fure to Pleafe, as mean buffoonry, vile ribaldry, and unmannerly jefts of fools and clowns. Yet even in thefe, our Author's Wit buoys up, and is born above his fubject: his Genius in thofe low parts is like fome Prince of a Romance in the difguife of a Shepherd 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 Au dience had no notion of the rules of writing, but few even of the better fort piqu'd themselves upon any great degree of knowledge or nicety that way; 'till Ben Johnson getting poffeffion of the Stage, brought critical learning into vogue: And that this was not done done without difficulty, may appear from those frequent leffons (and indeed almoft Déclamations) which he was forced to prefix to his firft plays, and put into the mouth of his Actors, the Grex, Chorus, &c. to remove the préjudices, 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 History. To judge therefore of Shakespear 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 advantage of education or acquaintance among them: without that knowledge of the beft models, the Ancients, to infpire him with an emula fion of them; in a word, without any views of Re putation, and of what Poets are pleas'd to call Immortality: Some or all of which have encourag'd the vanity, or animated the ambition, of other writers. Yet it must be obferv'd, that when his perfor mances 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 instance, 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. VOL. I b Another Another Caufe (and no less strong than the former) may be deduced from our Author's being a Player, and forming himself firft upon the judgments of that body of men whereof he was a member. They have ever had a Standard to themselves, upon other principles than thofe of Ariftotle. As they live by the Majority, they know no rule but that of pleafing the prefent humour, and complying with the wit in fashion; a confideration which brings all their judgment to a fhort point. Players are just fuch judges of what is right, as Taylors are of what is graceful. And in this view it will be but fair to allow, that most of our Author's faults are lefs to be afcribed to his wrong judgment as a Poet, than to his right judgment as a Player. By these Men it was thought a praise to Shakespear, that he fcacre ever blotted a line. This they induftrioufly propagated, as appears from what we are told by Ben Johnson in his Difcoveries, and from the preface of Heminges and Condell to the firft folio Edition. But in reality (however it has prevailed) there never was a more groundless report, or to the contrary of which there are more undeniable evidences. As, the Comedy of the Merry Wives of Windfor, which he entirely new writ; the History of Henry the 6th, which was first published under the title of the Contention of York and Lancaster; and that of Henry the 5th, extremely improved; that of Hamlet enlarged to alnjoft as much again as at first, and many others. I believe the common opinion of his want of Learning proceeded from no better ground. This too might be thought a Praise by fome, and to this his Errors have as injudiciously been afcribed by others. For 'tis certain, were it true, it could concern but a fmall part of them; the most are fuch as are not properly Defects, but Superfoetations: and arife not from want of learning or reading, but from want of thinking or judging: judging: or rather (to be more juft to our Author) from a compliance to those wants in others. As to a wrong choice of the fubject, a wrong conduct of the incidents, falfe thoughts, forc'd expreffions, &c. if these are not to be afcrib'd to the forefaid accidental reafons, they must be charg'd upon the Poet himself, and there is no help for it. But I think the two Difadvantages which I have mention'd (to be obliged to pleafe the loweft of people, and to keep the worst of company) if the confideration be extended as far as it reasonably may, will appear fufficient to mislead and deprefs the greatest Genius upon earth. Nay the more modefty with which fuch a one is endued, the more he is in danger of fubmitting and conforming to others, against his own better judgment. But as to his Want of Learning, it may be neceffary to fay fomething more: There is certainly a vast difference between Learning and Languages. How far he was ignorant of the latter, I cannot determine; but 'tis plain he had much Reading at leaft, if they will not call it Learning. Nor is it any great matter, if a man has Knowledge, whether he has it from one language or from another. Nothing is more evident than that he had a tafte of natural Philofophy, Mechanicks, ancient and modern Hiftory, Poetical learning and Mythology: We find him very knowing in the customs, rites, and manners of Antiquity. In Coriolanus and Julius Cæfar, not only the Spirit, but Manners, of the Romans are exactly drawn; and ftill a nicer diftinction is fhown, between the manners of the Romans in the time of the former, and of the latter. His reading in the ancient Hiftorians is no lefs confpicuous, in many references to particular paffages: and the fpeeches copy'd from Plutarch in Coriolanus may, I think, as well be made an inftance of his learning, as thofe copy'd from Cicero in Catiline, of Ben Johnson's. The manners of other nations in ge b 2 neral, neral, the Egyptians, Venetians, French, &c. are drawn with equal propriety. Whatever object of nature, or branch of science, he either speaks of or describes it is always with competent, if not extenfive knowledge: his descriptions are ftill exact; all his metaphors appropriated, and remarkably drawn from the true nature and inherent qualities of each fubject. When he treats of Ethic or Politic, we may constantly observe a wonderful juftnefs of diftinction, as well as extent of comprehenfion. No one is more a master of the -Poetical story, or has more frequent allufions to the various parts of it: Mr. Waller (who has been celebrated for this laft particular) has not fhewn more learning this way than Shakespear. We have Tranflations from Ovid published in his name, among those Poems which pafs for his, and for fome of which we have undoubted authority, (being published by himfelf, and dedicated to his noble Patron the Earl of Southampton :) He appears alfo to have been converfant in Plautus, from whom he has taken the plot of - one of his plays: he follows the Greek Authors, and particularly Dares Phrygius, in another: (altho' I will not pretend to fay in what language he read them.) The modern Italian writers of Novels he was manifeftly acquainted with; and we may conclude him to be no lefs converfant with the Ancients of his own country, from the ufe he has made of Chaucer in Troilus and Creffida, and in the Two Noble Kinfinen, if that Play be his, as there goes a Tradition it was, (and indeed it has little refemblance of Fletcher, and more of our Author than fome of thofe which have been received as genuine.) I am inclined to think, this opinion proceeded originally from the zeal of the Partizans of our Author and Ben Johnson; as they endeavoured to exalt the one at the expence of the other. It is ever the nature pf Parties to be in extremes; and nothing is so pro bable, |