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THE MERCHANT OF VENICE;

A COMEDY, BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEAre.

A PASSAGE in Stephen Gosson's School of Abuse, 1579, wherein he speaks of "The Jew shewn at the Bull, representing the greediness of worldly choosers, and the bloody minds of usurers," has been supposed to refer to a drama, comprehending all the plots of the present, exhibited long before Shakspeare commenced author: though the words may be equally well applied to Marlow's Jew of Malta, acted in 1591 and 1594. The Merchant of Venice is supposed by Chalmers to have been written in 1597, but Malone places it in 1594; his chief arguments, however, being a manuscript notice that the " Venesyan Comedy" was then acted, and a supposed allusion to an account of the Coronation of Henry IV. of France, published in that year. The Play was entered at Stationers' Hall, July 22nd, 1598, and it is mentioned by Meres in his list of Shakspeare's works; though the first known edition of it is the quarto of 1600.

The principal features of the plot have been traced to several sources: as a story in Il Pecorone of Ser Govanni Fiorentini, a novelist who wrote in 1378; the 32nd history in Wynkyn de Worde's old English edition of the Gesta Romanorum, which furnished the incidents of the caskets; a translation of Alex. Silwayn's Orator, 1596, for the Jew's speech before the Senate ; and two old ballads of Gernutus the Jew of Venice, and the Rich Jew of Malta, published about 1594. The story of the Jew and the Christian is, however, stated to have actually occurred in Italy; only the cruelty was really on the part of the latter, and the Hebrew debtor died beneath it's effects.

The strength of character and dialogue exhibited in the part of Shylock, prove it to have been intended by the Author as tragic; but in 1701, Granville, Lord Lansdowne, produced an alteration of this play at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in which the celebrated Dogget performed the Jew as broad farce. This piece caused the original to be neglected until Macklin found it, saw it's fine tragic capabilities, and appeared in it at Drury-Lane, February 14th, 1741, with the most triumphant success; though when he first announced his intention of performing Shylock seriously, he was assailed with raillery and entreaties to make him abandon it.-Since his time perhaps Kean has played it with the most congenial talent.

The Merchant of Venice was adapted to the modern stage, by J. P. Kemble, and produced at Drury-Lane, March 10th, 1795; and in 1825 a series of the most accurate historical costumes was prepared for it by Mr. J. R. Planché, for the Theatre Royal Covent-Garden.

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Launcelot. I know not what I shall think of that; but I am Launcelot, the Jew's man; and I am sure, Margery, your wife, is my mother.

Gobbo. Her name is Margery, indeed: I'll be sworn, if thou be Launcelot, thou art mine own flesh and blood. Lord worshipped might he be! what a beard hast thou got! thou hast got more hair on thy chin, than Dobbin, my thill-horse, has on his tail.

Launcelot. It should seem then, that Dobbin's tail grows backward; I am sure he had more hair on his tail, than I have on my face, when I last saw him. Act 2. Sc. 2.

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AS YOU LIKE IT :

A COMEDY, BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.

THE Forest of Ardenne, in which the principal scenes of this beautiful play
are laid, is an extensive woody district in French Flanders, near the Meuse,
between Charlemont and Rocroy. As a sovereign Duke of France is one of
the characters, the action may be supposed to take place before the union of
the great fiefs to the crown ; or not later than the reign of Louis XII., whose
marriage with Anne of Bretagne in 1499, incorporated that last, and most
independent, Duchy to the royal dominions. In this Comedy, Jaques, Touch-
stone, and Audrey, are allowed to be original characters; but the plot of the
play has been traced by Stevens to Thomas Lodge's Novel of Rosalynde, or
Euphues' Golden Legacie, London, 1590, 4to., which Shakspeare has followed
rather more closely than usual. Dr. Grey and Mr. Upton attributed the
drama to The Coke's Tale of Gamelyn, erroneously called Chaucer's; but there
existed no printed edition of it until 1721.

The first publication of As You Like It appears to have been the folio of 1623,
yet it is supposed to have been written after 1596 and before 1600. Rosalind's
expression of "Diana in the Fountain," Act iv. Sc. 1,-though sufficiently
general and intelligible,—has been referred to the figure of Diana, which, Stow
relates, was set up as a fountain on the East of the Cross in Cheapside, in
1598; and which, in 1603, he speaks of as being then decayed. There is also
an allusion to Marlow's Hero and Leander, printed in 1598, or probably earlier;
and in an entry in the Stationers' Hall books of August 4th, 1600, there is a
caveat against publishing Shakspeare's Henry V., Much ado about Nothing, and
the present Comedy. The two former, however, appeared within the month,
but no such early edition of this has been discovered. Shakspeare himself
is said to have performed Adam in this Comedy.

Dr. Johnson has praised all the features of this play; calling the fable wild and pleasing, the character of Jaques natural and well preserved, the comic dialogue sprightly, with less of low humour than is usual with Shakspeare, and the graver parts elegant and harmonious.

The modern revisal of As You Like It was produced by J. P. Kemble at Covent-Garden in 1810; and November, 25th, 1824, it was brought out at Drury-Lane, with songs, composed by Bishop, selected from the poetical works of the Author. In 1825, the researches of Mr. J. R. Planché supplied it with a series of accurate historical costume, expressly for the proprietors of Covent-Garden Theatre.

As You Like It.

Rosalind. Gentleman, [Giving him a chain from her neck.] Wear this for me; one, out of suits with fortune, That could give more, but that her hand lacks means.

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THE TAMING OF THE SHREW:

A COMEDY, BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.

On the Stationers' Hall books of May 24th, 1594, is entered a Pleasant conceyted Historie, called the Taming of A Shrew,-sundry times acted by the Earl of Pembroke, his servants; which is commonly attributed to George Peele, or Robert Greene: and Sir John Harington is supposed to allude to it in his Metamorphosis of Ajax, 1596, in saying "read the booke of Taming of a Shrew, which hath made a number of us so perfect, that now every one can rule a shrew in our country,-save he that hath her!" Upon this very inferior production, erroneously attributed to Shakspeare, the present drama is supposed to have been founded: since it was not an uncommon practice in his age for authors, booksellers, and actors, to avail themselves of the titles of elder popular works; and the name of even the old play mentioned above, was probably adopted from that of the more ancient story called A Wyf wrapped in Morell's skin, or the Taming of a Shrew. Some further confusion also appears to have arisen, from the remains of the Earl of Pembroke's company reproducing the old play, in consequence of the popularity of Shakspeare's piece, performing at the same time at the Globe or Blackfriars. The outline of the Induction has been traced to an old ballad in the Pepysian Library, called The Frolicksome Duke, or the Tinker's goodfortune; a collection of short comic prose stories, "sett forth by Maister Richard Edwards, Mayster of her Majesties Revels," 1570, black-letter; and finally to the Arabian tale of The Sleeper Awakened. It is supposed to have been written in 1596.

Though the present drama has seldom appeared upon the modern stage, it has formed the foundation of several later pieces. In 1698, the famous mimic, John Lacy, brought out Sawney the Scot, or the Taming of the Shrew, at Drury-Lane; in 1716 was produced Charles Johnson's Cobbler of Preston, at the same house, whilst another piece of a similar name was played at the same time at Lincoln's Inn Fields; but the most regular adaptation of it was Garrick's well-known Catherine and Petruchio, acted at Drury-Lane in 1756. The oldest edition of this Comedy is the folio of 1623, but a quarto impression appeared in 1631. In 1647, Beaumont and Fletcher published a sequel to it, called The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed; wherein a character called Petruchio is subdued by a second wife. The scene of the Induction to this Comedy is Wincot-Heath, in Warwickshire, and the action of it is supposed to be but a few hours. The scene of the presented play is in Padua, and the country near it, and it's incidents occur within a fortnight.

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