Remains the cenfure of this hellish villain; This heavy act, with heavy heart, relate 2. [Exeunt. of judgment to make a critic, as appears from his Edgar, and his Remarks on Shakespeare, had yet juft enough to play the buffoon and caviller. His criticifm on the Poets of the last age, with only a mixture of trite remarks, transcribed from the French commentators on Ariftotle, are one continued heap of ignorance and infolence. Almoft the only remark on Shakefpeare, which, I think, deferves an anfwer, is upon Iago's character, which he thus cenfures. To entertain the audience (fays he) with fomething new and furprising, against common fense and nature, he would pass upon us a close, diffembling, falje, ungrateful rafcal, instead of an open-hearted, frank, plain-dealing joldier, a character conftantly worn by them for fome thousands of years in the world. This hath the appearance of fenfe, being founded on that rule of Nature and Ariftotle, that each character should have manners convenient to the age, sex, and condition. Etatis cujufque notandi funt tibi mores, &c. fays Horace. But how has our critic applied it? According to this rule it is confeffed, that a foldier fhould be brave, generous, and a man of honour. This is to be his dramatic character. But either one or more of any order may be brought in. If only one, then the character of the order takes its denomination from the manners of that one. Had therefore the only foldier in this play been Iago, the rule had been tranfgreffed, and Rymer's cenfure well founded. For then this eternal villain muft have given the character of the foldiery; which had been unjust and unnatural. But if a number of the fame order be reprefented, then the character of the order is taken from the manners of the majority; and this, according to nature and common fenfe. Now in this play there are many of the order of the foldiery, and all, excepting Iago, reprefented as open, generous, and brave. From thefe the foldier's character is to be taken; and not from Iago, who is brought as an exception to it, unless it it be unnatural to fuppofe there could be an exception; or that a villain ever infinuated himfelf into that corps. And thus Shakespeare ftands clear of this impertinent criticifm. WARBURTON. The beauties of this play imprefs themfelves fo ftrongly upon the attention of the reader, that they can draw no aid from critical illustration. The fiery openness of Othello, magnanimous, artlefs, and credulous, boundlefs in his confidence, ardent in his affection, inflexible in his refolution, and obdurate in his revenge; the cool malignity of Iago, filent in his refentment, ment, fubtle in his defigns, and ftudious at once of his interest and his vengeance; the foft fimplicity of Desdemona, confident of merit, and confcious of innocence, her artless perfeverance in her fuit, and her flowness to fufpect that she can be fufpected, are fuch proofs of Shakespeare's skill in human nature, as, I fuppofe, it is vain to seek in any modern writer. The gradual progrefs which lago makes in the Moor's conviction, and the circumstances which he employs to inflame him, are so artfully natural, that, though it will perhaps not be faid of him as he fays of himself, that he is a man not eafily jealous, yet we cannot but pity him, when at laft we find him perplexed in the ex treme. There is always danger, left wickednefs, conjoined with abilities, fhould fteal upon efteem, though it miffes of approbation; but the character of Iago is fo conducted, that he is from the first scene to the laft hated and defpifed. Even the inferior characters of this play would be very confpicuous in any other piece, not only for their juftness, but their ftrength. Caffio is brave, benevolent, and honeft, ruined only by his want of stubbornness to refift an infidious invitation. Roderigo's fufpicious credulity, and impatient fubmiffion to the cheats which he fees practifed upon him, and which by perfuafion he fuffers to be repeated, exhibit a ftrong picture of a weak mind betrayed by unlawful defires to a falfe friend; and the virtue of Emilia is fach as we often find, worn loofely, but not caft off, eafy to commit fmall crimes, but quickened and alarmed at atrocious villainies. The scenes from the beginning to the end are bufy, varied by happy interchanges, and regularly promoting the progreffion of the ftory; and the narrative in the end, though it tells but what is known already, yet is necessary to produce the death of Othello. Had the scene opened in Cyprus, and the preceding incidents been occafionally related, there had been little wanting to a drama of the moft exact and fcrupulous regularity. JOHNSON VOL. X, LI APPEN. APPENDIX. SOM COME apology perhaps is neceflary for the inconvenience of an Appendix, which, however, we can juftify by the strongest of all pleas, the plea of neceffity. The Notes which it contains, whether communicated by correfpondents, or collected from published volumes, were not within our reach when the plays were printed, to which they relate. Of that which chance has fupplied, we could have no previous knowledge; and he that waited till the river fhould run dry, did not act with lefs reason than the Editor would do, who should fufpend his publication for poffibilities of intelligence, or promifes of improvement. Had we foreseen the Oxford edition, the affiftance we expected from it might have perfuaded us to pause; but our volumes were completely finished before its publication. APPENDIX Y ARELY (p. 3.) nimbly, readily. "Fall to't yarely." Here it is applied as a fea-term, and in other parts of the fcene. So he uses the adjective, A&t V. Sc. V. "Our ship "is tight and yare." And in one of the Henries, “yare are our fhips." To this day the failors fay, "fit yare to .. the helm." Again in Anton. and Cleop. 11. 3. "The tackles yarely frame the office." It occurs in its general acceptation, in Robert of Gloucefter's chroni le; where Edward the Confeffor receives from two pilgrims the notice of his approaching death, edit. Hearne, 1. p. 348. In confe quence of this unexpected admonition, fays the chronicler, His gold he delde to pouere men, and made his bernes bare, And his treforie al fo gode, and to god hym made at gare. Gare is yare, g and y being convertible. "He diftributed "his goods to the poor, and made himself ready for God.” The fame writer has alfo gare y made, i.e. "finished, well"prepared." Chaucer, who wrote many years afterwards, has it both as a fhip phrafe, and in its general fenfe. But the common and unreftrained ufe of this word was grown obfolete before the age of Shakespeare; who notwithstanding feems affectedly fond of introducing it in that fignification. In Twelfth Night, A&t III. Sc. XII. Sir Toby fays, "Dif"mount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation." And in Ant. and Cleop. and other plays. On this reafoning Dr. Warburton's ingenious emendation of a difficult paffage in Cymbeline, rejected by Upton without due confideration, may be defended. At L. S. III. Cym. O difloyal thing, That fhouldft repair, my youth, thou heapest Where that critic conjectures yare for year's. Sir T. Hanmer, not unhappily, but with too great a deviation from any copy, reads, Thou heapest many A year's age on me. At length Johnson feems to have difcovered the most proba ble correction, Thou heap'ft Years, Ages, on me. Mr. WARTON. |