Dramatis Perfonæ. ME N. DUKE of MILAN, Father to Silvia. } ANTHONIO, Father to Protheus. WOMEN. SILVIA, the Duke of Milan's Daughter, beloved of Valentine. JULIA, a Lady of Verona, beloved of Protheus, THE Two Gentlemen of Verona. HE Fable of this Play has no more moral in it, than the former, nor does it make us much amends, either by the number, or variety of its documents. I would, therefore, have paffed it. by, as fome of the editors have done, on the suppofition of its not being one of Shakespeare's; but that I thought any thing which had ever been imputed to that author, had a right to claim a place in this Work; unless the rejection of it were established upon better grounds, than the diverfity of opinions about its authenticity, among the Commentators, And, indeed, were I to offer any doubt upon this point, myself, it should not be fo much from the objections adduced by the editors, as on account of the unnatural inconfiftency of character, in the perfon of Protheus; who, in the first Act, and during above half the fecond, appears to ftand in the most amiable and virtuous lights, both of morals and manhood, as a fond lover, and a faithful friend; and yet fuddenly belies his fair feemings, by an infidelity toward the first object, and a treachery with regard to the fecond. 'Tis true, indeed, that in the latter end he expreffes a fort of contrition for his crimes; but yet this ftill feems to remain equivocal; as it does not appear to have arifen from any remorfe of confcience, or abhorrence of his bafenefs, but rather from a difappointment in his purfuit, and an open detection of his villainy. There are but few inftances of this kind, that I remember to have met with, throughout the drama of Shakespeare; for however he may fport, as he often does, with the three unities of Ariftotle, time, place, place, and action, he feldom fins against a fourth, which I am furprifed the Critics have not added, as being worth them all-namely, that of character; the tenor of which is generally preferved, from first to laft, in all his works. This confiftency is required in the epic, and why not infifted on in the dramatic poem, I cannot conceive. I am venturing, I own, beyond my purpose; but I am tempted here, upon mentioning his breach of the unities, to observe, that the Commentators do our author great injuftice, to examine him by the cold rules of artful conftruction, Shakespeare's writings refemble the antient mufic, which confifted in melody alone, without regard to barmony, which is a fcience of much later invention; and it has been remarked, that the original airs of every country, which charm a natural ear most, have been thofe that give offence to modern compofers, by an utter neglect of the counter-point. The compofitions of our Bard have the fame beauty, with the fame defect, He ought, therefore, never to be confidered but under the defcription which Milton has given of him 3 Our sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child, "Warbling his native wood-notes wild." Would they restrain him within the precincts of art, the height, the depth of whofe imagination and creative genius found even the extent of Nature too ftreightly bounded for it to move in? Exhaufted worlds, and then imagined new." Like an eastern monarch, his word was law, his will and pleafure edicts and decrees. But there are certain mechanists in criticifm, who have no other way of judging, but by applying the rule and compafs; like antient gardeners, who trimmed their foreft-trees into cones and cylinders, and reduced winding brooks to fquare canals. A man muft be born a critic, as well as a poet; but, at this rate, he may be bred both. But to return from this digreffion to the fubject which lies more properly before us, at prefent. ACT |