The Sun.
London, England, 1824-11-12 00:00:00

TIIE DRAMA.

Mn. EDlTOR—Turning over the pages •of a
certain Critical Journal, long at the head of lite-
rature and taste in a northern capital, I found it
there set down, " in very choice English," that
this is not the age of invention, but of criticism !
In their own words, " If literature in our day
" has-taken this decided turn into a critical chan-
" nel, Is it not a presumptive proof that it ought
" to do so ?"—Again, " If we insist on absolute
" originality in living Writers or Artists, we
" should begin by destroying the works of their
44 predecessors. We want another Osmyn to
" burn and spare not, and then the work of ex-
" termination and the work of regeneration would
"go on kindly together. Are we to learn all
" that is already known, and at the same time to
" invent more ?" But more immediately in re-
" ference to the Drama,—" The deep rich tragic
" vein of SHAKSPEARP, WEBSTER, FORD,
" DECKAH, MARLOW, BEAUMONT and FLETCHER,
" was discovered and worked out in the time of
" ELIZABETH and the two first STUARTS. Ali
4' that the heart of man could feel, all that the
" wit of man could express on the most striking
and interesting occasions, had been exhausted
" by half a dozen great writers, who left little
64 to their successors but pompous turgidity or
" smooth common place,—the art of swell-
" ing trifles into importance, or taming rough
'' boldness into insipidity." With much
more plausible and ingenious reasoning to
the same end ; wound up, previous to the
critique—Thus, " If we do not succeed in
" solid folio, let us excel in light duodecimo. If
" we are superficial, let us be brilliant. If we can-
not be profound, let us at least be popular.—
" Therefore, let Reviews flourish, let Magazines
" increase and multiply, let the Daily and
" Weekly Newspapers live for ever ; we are
" Optimists in literature, and hold, with certain
" limitations, that in this respect, whatever is, is
" right."*

Charmed with these sentiments and opinions
deliverkl by so high an authority, and which, to
confess the truth, squared well with the consti-
tutional indolence of my disposition, 1 became a
convert to their doctrine, and resolved,hencefor-
ward, on abandoning all the old and new ex-
ploded pursuits of literature. What ! the tragic
vein worked out, so long back as the reign of
EtazAßErrif and the STuA ?" All feeling and
wit exhausted ?" Nothing left .to Authors, now-
a-days, to work upon but what is common and
insipid ?"—A las ! for the race of Poets, Artists,
Dramatists, and Historians present, and to come.
No matter; Magazines, Reviews, Literary Ga-
zettes, and Newspapers, thank God, are still left
us. "If we cannot be profound, let us at least
be popular."
Thus resigned, and yielding to the conviction
of trath, I sedulously entered upon my new course
of study. I rend the Quarterly till I became a
Capulet, ready to exclaim with the Optimist—
" Whatever is, is ;right !" I dozed over Weeklies
and Monthlies; Gazettes, Mercantile, Military,
and Literary ; studied all the leading articles of
all the leading newspapers, till the aching sense
of memory, and of judgment too, became totally
bewildered. I conned over the Debates, small
and crowded as the printing was, without spec-
your houses !) until the
c
indistinct to my vision.
spec-
tacles,
characters (a
rs plague
lawg cuaem 0t: both
Tempted by an eastern description of the settle-
ment on Van Dieman's Land, 1 had nearly
made up my mind to encounter the hazards of
emigration—having a double object in view—
change and variety of climate, together with the
hope of finding a new Dramatis Personae, with
which I might one day return to Europe.
Where all this might have ended, it was (Hill-
, cult to foresee ; but, as chance would have it, my
now course of study was not fated to be of long
duration.—A certain Magazine, containing the
seriocomic epistles of Mr. JOHN LACY, address-
.ed to the Dramatists of the day +, happening to
fall under my observation, the medal became
quickly reversed. :• For, not being extraordinari-
ly gifted with the virtue of consistency (by some
termed obstinacy), I shame not to say that, after
attentively perusini, the said epistles of the said
Mr. Jon LACY, CbecatTle renegade to the doc-
trines I so lately believed in—particularly us to
the working out of the tragic vein—and gladly
gave up the hum of the coffee-room for the so-
lemnity of my chamber. And, in contradistinc-
tion to the opinions and sentiments already nar-
rated, as well as in part for my ovin justification,
I take leave here to quote from Mr. LACY'S first
letter to the Dramatists of the day, as follows :-
4‘ GENTLEMEN—As you are known to me only by your
works, a visitation of Providence, which I will not obtrude
upon you, debarring me not only from society, but from all—
you may be anxious to learn on what plea I address you.
Simply. this : I love the drama, and would hurt see the mighty
m geus of British Tragedy awake from the slumber which bath
oppressed her for ages.
" To revive the Drama is impracticable, some (of your ene-
mies) will say. Allow me, Gentlemen, in your name, to re-
tort courteously—it is not. Prove your words, so the malig-
nants. Prove your own first, 'said' the advocate.
" ' Tis true,—' and pity 'tit, 'tis true,"—we may
not be
able so far to revivify Melpomene, that she shall spit fire and
spout rain' with primeval energy at the first onset. But we
may so fur recover her Ladyship from her trance, that sheshall
call for her customary bowl of hemlock.
Magdalene locks, and look about her a little. We may then
tweak her Ladyship's nose, till she burst throw back her
into a genuine
tragedy squall: cry havoc in our ears, to sec her start a stride
or two in the and, by dint of
encouraging, and re-
proaching, perhaps at length, prevail upon her Ladyship to
coaxing,
shafting,
ifipcavitnsgweeppinocfbitnhice,boards ;
moke a few damnable faces and begin.'
Renaldo, in the gardens of Armida, when ad-
dressed by the messengers of Godfrey, changed
not more suddenly then did 1, on reading this
cheering address. By
ate time I had got through
the second epistle, the revolution of opinion was
complete.—ln
a fit of renovated spirits I tossed
the light octavo in the air ; exclaiming, as I
started from my ehair,—by the beard of Aris-
totle ! here is another nostrum titan that vended
by the gentleman in blue and buff. Stocks,
tithes, and pauperism—hence! ye are dry as dust.
Spain., West India sugar, and the Court of Chan-
cery—avaunt! and for ever.•--I have been vilely
gulled to be sure ! Tragic vein exhaused, truly.
By the mass, they are now about revivifying the
sleeping Melpomene secundum argent: the most
violent remedies are to be had recourse to, to