Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-06-09

CURIOUS SHAKEsPERIAE CRITICISMS. "A
collection of Shakesperan criticisms would
make very curious volume, but it would hard
ly contain an odder example than that of the
swell who complained that "Hamle" was
"dOOced full of quotations" Worthy Mr..
Pepys, who, despite sundry VOWS of theatrical
abstinence, found himself pretty regularly in
the playhouse has set down in his diary his
honest opinions of the plays he ever saw. The
most inspid, ridiculous play he ever saw in his
life was "a Midsummer Nights Dream" he
was pleased by no part of "The Merry Wives of
Windsor" and "0thello," which he had es-
teemed mighty good play, became a mean
thing in his eyes after reading "The Adventures
Of FIvel Hours" On the other hand, he adj
mired "Hamlet" exceedingly, when BettertOn
played the hero; and Macbeth" he considered
"an excellent play in all respects, but especially
in advertisement, though it be deep tragedy
which is a sta ange pefection in a tragedy it be-
ing most proper here and suitable;" while that
'most innocent play, The Tempest although
displaying no great wit, was yet good above or
binary plays" II must be remembered in the
secretary's behalf, that the version of Shakes
peare's plays witnessed by him were too often
the adaptations Of Dryden and other marrers of
the great dramatisfs work. Oliver Goldsmith
had not that excuse for his depreciation of
Shakespeare He was especially offended by the
famous "Io be or not to be" soliIoquy, which
he calls a chaos OF homogeneous metaphors
proving his case in the following fashion:
'If the imetaphors were reduced to painting
we should find il a very difficult task, il not
altogether impracticable, to represent with any
propriety outrageous fortune using her sings
and arrows, between which there is no sort OF
analogy in nature. Neither can any figure be
more ridiculously absurd than that of a man
taking arms against sea; exclusive of the in.
| congruous medley Of sings, arrows and seas,
| justled within the compass Of one reflection,
| What follows is a strange rhapsody Of broken
images, of sleeping, dreaming and shifting off a
coil, which last conveys no idea that can be re-
| presented on canvas. A man may be exhibited
shutting off his garments Ur bis chains; but how
lie should shuttle off coil, which is another
name for noise and tumult, we cannot eompre
| bend. Then we have long-iYed calamity and
| Time armed with whips and seorns;' and
| patient merit spurned at by unworthiness;' and
| misery with bare bodkin going TO make hi.
own quietus,' which is at best but mean met
| aphor. These are followed by figures Sweating
under fardles of burdens puzzled with doubts,
Shaking with fears and dying from evils.
Finally, we see resolution scklied Oer with
pale thought, a conception like that of repre-
senting health by sickness; and current o.
pith turned away so as TO lose the name of ae
ti0n,' which Is both an error of fancy and @
solecism in sense" Goldsmith also falls foul Of
Hamlet, for describing death as
That undiscovered country, from whose bourne
No traveller returns,
When he had just been talking with his fathers
spirit, piping hot from purgatory.
When Prof. FELTON,, reading "a Midsummer
Nights Dream" 10 the captain Of the ship Of
which he was passenger, came TO the description
OF Oberon sitting on promontory listening &c
a mermaid on dolphiB's back, the seaman wa.
disguised. "The dolphin's back" said he, "ii
as sharp as razor, and no mermaid could pos
sibly ride the beast unless she rst saddled him.
| -Chdnbery Journal