The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-07-03

ridge, thus: Tragedy is poetry in its
deepest earnest; comedy is poetry in
unlimited JEST"
All the answers give Hamlet and
Macbeth as two of Shakespeare's prin-
cipal tragedies. Two give Romeo and
Juliet and Julius Cesar for the re-
naming ones, and the third gives
julius Caesar aud Lear. Hazlitt says
! that Hamlet, Macbeth, Lear and Othello
are usually reckoned Shakespeare's four
principal tragedies. But he would
very likely class julius Caesar with the
historical plays, although it is also
a tragedy. He says of those four
plays: Lear stands first, for the
profound intensity of the passion
Macbeth, for the wildness of the mag-
ination and the rapidity of the action
Othello, for the progressive interest and
powerful alterations of feeling; Ham
let, for the refined development of
thought and sentiment"
B. H. A. sends the following outline
of the Tempest.
The play opens with a ship in a Sc
we're storm, which drives the vessel to
her doom. Scene II.-An island, on
which is cell where are Prospero and
Miranda, his daughter. Prospero was
rightful Duke of Milan, although this
dukedom had been usurped by his
brother, Antonio. Prospero had come
to this island, where he practced the
magician's arts and compelled the spir-
its of the air TO do his bidding Among
them we find Ariel, veritable disem-
bodied joy, too airy and spiritual to feel
human joys or sorrows. Prospero gain
ing knowledge that a ship containing
his brother, Antonio, was near the
island, sent his servant spirits to raise
the storm with which the play opens
but charged them to spare all on board
alive, but to cause them to land on
separate parts of the island, so that
each party should think all others de-
stroyed. Ferdinand, son of the King
of Naples, is led by Ariel's voice to
Prospero's cell, where he falls in love
with Miranda, who also falls in love
with him, although at first she does not
know what he is, since she has never
seen but two men excepting her father
The ships crew are finally reunited
the ship is found safe in the harbor
and all return TO Naples. Prospero is
restored to his lawful dukedom, and
Ferdinand and Miranda are married
Before departing, however, Prospero
buries all his instruments of magical
arts, releases his spirit servants
and renounces such practices for
ever. In this play we find Shakes
peare's serenest view of like. Unlike
the Midsummer Nights Dream the
spirit elves do not sport with human
beings, but are subject to their sway
Prospero is not vulgar magician, but
one who secs into and through life
willing to take part in its action. Mi
randa is pure, true woman, and Fer.
dinand an example of worthy man
Ariel is beyond the reach of human
feelings in his ETHEREAL nature, while
Caliban is appetite, passion, the basel
nature personified, retaining, however
some traces of Imagination. ProsperC
probably is Shakespeare himself, ant
these spirits are but the mind images
of the players who have acted the
thoughts of his mind. This play i;
supposed to have been written after he
determined to retire to Stratford tt
spend the close of his life.
Sd" wishes that some one would
give a brief outline of "Coriolanus ,
or Much Ado about Nothing
"Peach-blow" has promised an out
line of the latter.
Several quotations and questions
must be deferred for another time
Another request has come that W.
study Hamlet.
Kate F. r. asks this que stion, which
we will take for our next lesson:
% "Was Hamlet's madness real OF
feigned?"
Also we will ask: (2) "What wer,
some of the pesonal characteristicsIo
Hamlet?"
Address Scribe" Is South Lorine
street, Lowell, Mass.