This tragedy should be read with that of Romeo and Juliet. They both treat of and relate to love, the latter, being one of the purest and most perfect representations of the feeling. in its natural state ever written; while in Antony and Cleopatra, the mere animal passion of love apart from affection, pervades the whole tragedy, which rivals Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello, in the power and strength of its language, in the truth of its construction and in the correctness of its portraiture of character. THE TEMPEST.-The Tempest is a remarkable instance of the true romantic drama. It is addressed to the imaginative portion of man's nature, and is unique in its kind. The excitement of the opening scene prepares the mind for everything which follows, and the sympathy which we feel for the characters does not proceed so much from the circumstances in which they are placed, for its source can be traced within, it being our sympathetic imagination that is awakened. The character of Prospero, is marked by a strong love of humankind and redolent in the practice of humanity. Possessed of the power to punish those whose usurpation had driven him from his throne, his country and his friends, he seeks not to do so, but satisfied with their penitence, he takes them back into his friendship. To their evil action he opposes good deeds, for malevolence he returns benevolence. The fair Miranda is one of the most exquisite creations in the whole range of the Shaksperean drama. She is a fit compeer for Cordelia, Perdita and Desdemona,-one of those quiet natures whose mental worth is closed as in a bud; whose depth of character is concealed like the fire of the diamonds, until occasions serves and reveals the strength and beauty of her inner life. She is full of pity, and her training, which has been without intercourse with the outer world, has taught her the two virtues, modesty and pity, both of which she never fails to practice. The deeds of Prospero and the acts of the dainty Ariel, whose characteristics are tenderness, speed and grace, remove the drama from the world of reality, and they, in conjunction with its poetic thoughts and its true poetic language, create for awhile a world of fancy, in which our imagination revels in the very madness of pleasure and delight. No work is known from whence Shakspere could have drawn the incidents of this most charming play. From within himself-from the vast stores of his own imaginative powers, did Shakspere get both language and incident of this most marvellous poem. Everything is in harmony; the rough manners of the boatswain are quite truthful and dramatic, they are not too extravagant, and they serve as an excellent contrast to the polished manners and expressions of the king and his courtiers. This romantic play is usually ascribed to be the last of Shakspere's productions, and if so, it is a remarkable instance of the vigour of his powers, and also remarkable for the firm grasp which the day-dreams of his youth, held of his powers in the days of their maturity. HAMLET. The character of Hamlet is of the highest type, no further refinement is scarcely possible, either in the circumstances in which he is placed, or in the niceties and subtleties by which he is moved. In this early work, 1588, Shakspere had learned to subordinate all the characters in a drama to one, spreading one feeling over the whole. This was a great advance in dramatic art, and the play of Hamlet is remarkable for its unity, being most excellent in its dramatic construction and one of the noblest poems the world has yet known. In the character of Hamlet we have the development of thought instead of action. The deep-thinking of the young prince prevented action, for the consequences of action are all foreshadowed in his thinking. The action of the tragedy drifts towards Hamlet, instead of its being a result of a course of action resolved on by the young prince. Man and his destiny is the burden of the tragedy of Hamlet. The endless perplexities of life, its hopes and fear, its melancholy, and the thoughts which "come like shadows," stand face to face with the silent, immoveable and impenetrable world of destiny. Hamlet is the story of a life, in it is represented the various phases of human existence. There would not be harmony in all its parts if the grave-digging scene was omitted. The picture would not be perfect; one phase of humanity would be unrepresented and the completeness of the work would be marred. Life is an enigma, an uncertainty, and this tragedy is a development of it. It teaches us a lesson and causes us to accept life with its uncertainties, and shows that the whole is harmonious and complete; that nought transpires but what contains a lesson which we should profit by. The deeper nature of Hamlet overpowers the shallowness of Polonius. The young prince at once interprets the character of the old courtier, and being throughout a hater and detester of falsehood, he despises and contemns the fawning courtier, who has been all through "his life, a foolish prating knave." "To be, or not to be,-that is the question:- Shakspere has been charged by some writers with being guilty of great incoherence of thought in this passage, they saying, the train of reflection does not take its natural or logical course. To this opinion I cannot subscribe. The condition of thought sought to be pourtrayed is that of doubt, and while that state exists, incoherency is a result to be calculated on. It is only when those doubts are satisfied,-when in fact the pros and cons of the question have been fully argued, and a clear fixity of opinion is obtained, that we can expect coherence of thought. Shakspere has thus most justly because truthfully, in those lines displayed his almost infinite knowledge of the action of the human brain. The character of Sir John Falstaff is one of the most remarkable in the whole range of the comic drama. It stands by itself, independent of all other characters, both in Shakspere, or any other writer. Its true characterization is found in what Falstaff says of himself, the "brain of this foolish-compounded clay, man, is not able to invent anything that tends to laughter, more than I invent or is invented on me. I am not only witty in myself, but the cause of that wit is in other men. To analyse the character of Falstaff in all its fulness, would not only be difficult, but it would also be unacceptable, for in the performance of such an analysis, much of its comic power, which lies in its unintentional wit and in its dry humour, would be destroyed. There is great fancy, deep truthfulness, merriment unrestrained, the choicest wit, an abundance of liveliness, and an almost inexhaustible variety to be found in the character of the fat knight. MERCUTIO is one of the most brilliant characters that Shakspere ever created. He possesses a strong humourous perception, and is talkative in the highest degree, for he "speaks more in a minute, than he will stand to in a month." His confidence in his own powers is unbounded, and he was "very well beloved of all men." He is a prime jester, dashing, wordy, yet not lacking meaning, and he is most sarcastic on the follies of his compeers. He is compounded of wit, fancy and valour, and they are so dexterously displayed in this marvellous creation, that they stamp it as one of the finest specimens of the bard's power of characterization. Mercutio quickens the action of the tragedy, and gives it a vitality which greatly heightens the interest. * Henry IV. Part II, A. 1, s. 2. R |
