Shakspeare. I am forry to trouble you with trifles, yet what must be done, when grave men insist upon them? It should feem to be the opinion of some modern criticks, that the perfonages of classick land began only to be known in England in the time of Shakspeare; or rather, that he particularly had the honour of introducing them to the notice of his countrymen. For instance, Rumour painted full of tongues, gives us a prologue to one of the parts of Henry the Fourth; and, fays Dr. Dodd, Shakspeare had doubtless a view to either Virgil or Ovid in their description of Fame. But why fo? Stephen Hawes, in his Pastime of Pleasure had long before exhibited her in the fame manner, "A goodly lady envyroned about and fo had Sir Thomas More in one of his Pageants:" "Fame I am called, mervayle you nothing Though with tonges I am compaffed all rounde." not to mention her elaborate portrait by Chaucer, in The Boke of Fame; and by John Higgins, one of the assistants in The Mirrour for Magistrates, in his Legend of King Albanacte. A very liberal writer on the Beauties of Poetry, who had been more converfant in the ancient literature of other countries, than his own, "cannot but wonder, that a poet, whose classical images are compofed of the finest parts, and breath the very 8 Cap. 1. 4to. 1555. 9 Amongst the things, which Mayster More wrote in his youth for his paftime," prefixed to his Workes, 1557, Fol. spirit of ancient mythology, should pass for being illiterate: "See, what a grace was feated on this brow! "New lighted on a heaven-kissing hill." Hamlet. Illiterate is an ambiguous term: the question is, whether poetick history could be only known by an adept in languages. It is no reflection on this ingenious gentleman, when I say, that I use on this occafion the words of a better critick, who yet was not willing to carry the illiteracy of our poet too far:-" They who are in such astonishment at the learning of Shakspeare, forget that the pagan imagery was familiar to all the poets of his time; and that abundance of this fort of learning was to be picked up from almost every English book, that he could take into his hands." For not to infift upon Stephen Bateman's Golden Booke of the Leaden Goddes, 1577, and several other laborious compilations on the subject, all this and much more mythology might as perfectly have been learned from the Testament of Crefeide, and the Fairy Queen, as from a regular Pantheon or Polymetis himfelf. Mr. Upton, not contented with heathen learning, when he finds it in the text, muft neceffarily superadd it, when it appears to be wanting; because Shakspeare most certainly hath loft it by accident! • Printed amongst the works of Chaucer, but really written by Robert Henderson, or Henryfon, according to other authorities. 3 It is obfervable that Hyperion is used by Spenser with the fame error in quantity. In Much ado about Nothing, Don Pedro says of the infenfible Benedict, "He hath twice or thrice cut Cupid's bow-ftring, and the little hangman dare not shoot at him." This mythology is not recollected in the ancients, and therefore the critick hath no doubt but his author wrote " Henchman, -a page, pufio: and this word seeming too hard for the printer, he translated the little urchin into a hangman, a character no way belonging to him." But this character was not borrowed from the ancients; it came from the Arcadia of Sir Philip Sidney: "Millions of yeares this old drivell Cupid lives; " Of all those fooles that will have all they fee." B. II. c. 14. I know it may be objected on the authority of such biographers as Theophilus Cibber, and the writer of the Life of Sir Philip, prefixed to the modern editions; that the Arcadia was not published before 1613, and confequently too late for this imitation: but I have a copy in my own pofsession, printed for W. Ponfonbie, 1590, 4to. which hath escaped the notice of the industrious Ames, and the reft of our typographical antiquaries. Thus likewife every word of antiquity is to be cut down to the classical standard. In a note on the Prologue to Troilus and Creffida, (which, by the way, is not met with in the quarto,) Mr. Theobald informs us, that the very names of the gates of Troy, have been barbarously demolished by the editors: and a deal of learned dust he makes in fetting them right again; much however to Mr. Heath's fatisfaction. Indeed the learning is modeftly withdrawn from the later editions, and we are quietly instructed to read, "Dardan, and Thymbria, Ilia, Scea, Troian, But had he looked into the Troy boke of Lydgate, instead of puzzling himself with Dares Phrygius, he would have found the horrid demolition to have been neither the work of Shakspeare nor his edi. tors: " "Therto his cyte | compaffed enuyrowne Lond, empr. by R. Pynfon, 1513, fol. B. II. ch. xi. 4 The Troye Boke was fomewhat modernized, and reduced into regular stanzas, about the beginning of the last century, under the name of "The Life and Death of Hector who fought a hundred mayne Battailes in open Field against the Grecians; wherein there were flaine on both Sides Fourteene Hundred and Sixe Thousand Fourfcore and Sixe Men." Fol, no date. This work, Dr. Fuller and several other criticks have erroneously quoted as the original; and observe in confequence, that " if Chaucer's coin were of greater weight for deeper learning, Lydgate's were of a more refined standard for purer language: so that one might mistake him for a modern writer!" Let me here make an observation for the benefit of the next editor of Chaucer. Mr. Urry, probably misled by his predeceffor, Speght, was determined, Procruftes-like, to force every line in the Canterbury Tales to the same standard: but a precise number of 華 Our excellent friend Mr. Hurd hath borne a noble testimony on our fide of the question. "Shakspeare," says this true critick, "owed the felicity of freedom from the bondage of classical fuperftition, to the want of what is called the advantage of a learned education. This, as well as a vast superiority of genius, hath contributed to lift this astonishing man to the glory of being esteemed the most original thinker and Speaker, since the times of Homer.” And hence indisputably the amazing variety of style and manner, unknown to all other writers: an ar gument of itself fufficient to emancipate Shakspeare from the supposition of a classical training. Yet, to be honest, one imitation is fastened on our poet: which hath been infifted upon likewife by Mr. Upton and Mr. Whalley. You remember it in the famous speech of Claudio in Measure for Measure: "Ay, but to die and go we know not where!" &c. Most certainly the ideas of "a spirit bathing fyllables was not the object of our old poets. Lydgate, after the example of his master, very fairly acknowledges, "Well wot I | moche thing is wronge, " Falfely metryd | both of short and longe." and Chaucer himself was perfuaded, that the rime might possibly be Somewhat agreable, Though fome verse faile in a fyllable." In short, the attention was directed to the cafural pause, as the grammarians call it; which is carefully marked in every line of' Lydgate: and Gascoigne in his Certayne Notes of Inftruction concerning the making of Verje, obferves very truly of Chaucer, "Whofoeuer do peruse and well confider his workes, he shall find, that although his lines are not always of one selfe fame number of syllables, yet beyng redde by one that hath understanding, the longest verse and that which hath most syllables in it, will fall to the eare correfpondent unto that which hath feweft fyllables in it: and likewife that whiche hath in it fewest syllables shall be found yet to confift of wordes that hath fuche naturall founde, as may feeme equall in length to a verse which hath many moe fyllables of lighter accents." 4to. 1575. |