miss'd the meteor once, and hit that woman, Flourish. Enter King, and Train. who cried out, clubs ! when I might see from Cran. (Kneeling.) And to your royal grace, far some forty truncheoneers draw to her suc and the good queen, cour, which were tbe hope of the Strand, where My noble partners and myself thus pray :she was quartered. They fell on; I made good all comfort, joy, in this most gracious lady, my place; at length they came to the broom Heaven ever laid up to make parents bappy, staff with me, I detied them still; when sud. May hourly fall upon ye! denly a file of boys behind them, loose shot, K. Hen. Thank you, good lord archbishop. delivered sucb a shower of pebbles, that I was what is her name fain to draw ipine honour in, and let them win Cran. Elizabeth. the work : The devil is amongst them, I think, K. Hen. Stand up, lord.surely. (The King kisses the child. Port. These are the youths that thunder at a With this kiss take my blessing : God proiect play-house, and fight for bitten apples; that thee! no audience, but the Tribulation of Tower-bill, Into whose bands I give thy life. or the limbs of Limebouse, their dear brothers, Cran. Amen. are able to endure. I have some of them in K. Hen. My noble gossips, ye have been too Limbo Patrum,+ and there they are like to prodigal : Cran. Let me speak, Sir, For heaven now bids me ; and the words I Cham. Mercy o'me, what a multitude arc utter here! Let none think Aattery, for they'll find them They grow still too, from all parts they are truth. coming, This royal infant, (heaven still move about As if we kept a fair here! Where are these her !) porters, Though in her cradle, yet now promises These lazy kuaves ?-Ye have made a fine band, Upon this land a thousand thousand blessings, fellows. Which line shall bring to ripeness : She sball There's a triin rabble let in : Are all these be Your faithful friends o'the suburbs? We shall (But few now living can bebold that goodness,) have A pattern to all princes living with her, Great store of room, no doubt, left for the And all that shall succeed : Sbeba was never ladies, More covetous of wisdom, and fair virtue, When they pass back from the christening. Than this pure soul shall be: all princely Port. An't please your honour graces, We are but men; and what so many may do, That mould up such a mighty piece as this is, Not being torn a pieces, we have done : With all the virtues that attend the good, An army cannot rule them. Shall still be doubled on her : truth shall nurse Cham. As I live, her, If the king blame me for't, I'll lay ye all Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel By the heels, and suddenly ; and on your heads her : Ciap round fines, for neglect : You are lazy She shall be lov'd and fear'd: Her own shall knavesi bless ber : And here ye lie baiting of bumbards, 5 when Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn, Ye should do service. Hark, the trumpets And hang their beads with sorrow : Good sound; grows with her : They are come already from the christening : In her days, every man shall eat in safety Go, break among the press, and find a way out Under his own vine, what he plants ; and sing To let the troop pass fairly; or I'll find The merry songs of peace to all bis neighbours : A Marshalsea shall hold you play these two God shall be truly known; and those about her months. From ber shall read the perfect ways of bon. Port. Make way there for the princess. our, Man. You great fellow, stand close up, or And by those claim their greatness, not by I'll make your head ache. blood. Port. You i'the camblet, get up o'the rail ; (Nor. shall this peace sleep with her : But as I'll pick you o'er the pales else. (Exeunt. when The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phenix, SCENE IV.-The Palace. I Her ashes new create another heir, As great in admiration as herself; Enter Trumpets, sounding: then two AlSo shall she leave her blessedness to one, dermen, Lord MAYOR, GARTER, CRANMER, (When heaven shall call her from this cloud of Duke of NORFOLK, with his Marshal's darkness,) Staff, Duke of Suffolk, two Noblemen who, froin the sacred ashes of her honour, bearing great standing bowls for the christ. Sball star-like rise, as great in fame as she ening gifts; then four Noblemen bearing a was, canopy, under which the Duchess of Nor. And 60 stand ax'd : Peace, plenty, love, truth, POLK, godmother, bearing the child richly terror, habited in a manile, &c. Train borne by That were the servants to this chosen infant, Lady, then follows the Marchioness of Shall then be hip, and like a vine grow to him ; DORSET, the other godmother, and Ladies. Wherever the bright sun of heaven shall shine, The Troop pass once about the stage, and His honour and the greatness of his name GARTER speeks. Sball be, and make new nations : He sball Gart. Heaven from thy endless goodness, flourish, Send prosperous life, long, and ever happy, tó And, like a mountain cedar, reach his branthe high and mighty princess of England, To all the plains about him :--Our children's ches Elizabeth children • The brazier. + Place of confinement. Shall see this, and bless heaven. 1 A desert of whipping: K. Hen. Thou speakest wonders.] [land, $Black leather vessels to hold beer. Cran. She shall be, to the happiness of Eng! Pitch. At Greenwich. • These are the actual words used at Elizabeth's christening • These lines tu !he interruption by the king seem to bare been inserted at a subsequent period. An aged princess ; many days shall see her, She will be sick else. This day, no man think And yet no day without a deed to crown it. He bas business at bis house ; for all shall Would I had known no more! but she must stay, die, This little one shall make it holiday. (Exeunt. She must, the saints must have her ; yet a vir. gin, EPILOGUE.. 'Tis ten to one, this play can never please All that are bere : Some come to ber. take their K. Hen. o lord archbishop, ease, Thou hast made me now a man ; never, before And sleep an act or two ; but those, we fear, This bappy child, did I get any thing : We have frighted with our trumpets ; so, 'tis clear This oracle of confort has so pleas'd me, That, when I am in heaven, I shall desire They'll say, 'tis daught : others, to bear the To see what this child does, and praise my Abus'd extremely, and to cry,—that's witty ! city Maker.I thank ye all,-To you, my good lord mayor, Which we have not done neither : that, I fear, And your good brethren, I'am much beholden ; All the expected good we are like to hear I bave receiv'd much honour by your presence, For this play at this time, is only in And ye sball find me thankful, Lead the way, for such a one we show'd them: If they smile, The merciful construction of good women ; Ye must all see the queen, and she must thank And say, 'twill do, I know, within a while All the best men are our's ; for 'tis ill hap, ye, If they bold, when their ladies bid them clap. * As this play was probably written in the time of Queen Elizabeth, it is easily determined where Cran. • It is supposed that the epilogue and prologio te mer's eulogium terminated this play were both written by Ben Jonson. lords ; A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. LITERARY AND HISTORICAL NOTICE. THE title of this play was probably suggested (like Twelfth Night, and The Winter's Tale,) by the time at which it was first performed ; viz. at Midsummer :---thus it would be announced as “ A Dream for the Entertainment of a Midsummer Night." No other ground can be assigned for the same which our author has given to it; since the action is distinctly pointed out as occurring on the night preceding May-day. The piece was written in 1592 ; and, according to Stevens, migbi have been suggested by the Knight's Tale in Chaucer, or, as Capell supposes, Shakspeare may bave taken the idea of his furies from Dray. ton's fantastical poem, called Nymphidia, or, The Court of Fairy. Mason, however, enies that our poct made use of the materials which Shakspeare had rendered so popular; and asserts (in opposition to Johnson) that there is no analogy or resemblance between the fairies of the one, and the fairies of the other. The same critics are also at issue upon the general merits of this singular play. Jobuson de. clares that “ all the parts, in their various modes, are well written." Malone, that the principal personages are insignificant---the fable meagre and uninteresting. Hippolyta, the Amazon, is undistinguished from any other female ; and the solicitudes of Hermia and Demetrius, of Lysander and Helena, are childish and frivolous. Thesens, the companion of Hercules, is not engaged in any adventure worthy his rank and reputation : "he goes out a Maying; meets the lovers in perplexity, and makes no effort to promote their happiness; but when supercatural events have reconciled them, he joins their company, and concludes the entertainment by uttering some miserable puns, at an interlude represented by clowns.” These faults are, however, almost wholly redeemed, by the glowing fervoor, and varied imagination, which Sbakspeare has displayed in the poetry ; by the rich characteristic humour (free from the taint of grossness) which enlivens the blunt-witted devices of his theatrical tailors and cobblers ; and by the admirable satire which he bas passed on those self-conceited actors, who (not unlike some modern "staps'') would monopolize the favours of the public, trample upon every competitor, and “bear the palm alone.” Bottom was perhaps the leading tragedian of some rival house, and on that account is honoured with an ass's head. } Мотн, } DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. THESEUS, Duke of Athens. HELENA, in love with Demetrius, Eceus, Father to Hermia. O BERON, King of the Fairies. LYSANDER, in love with Hermia. TITANIA, Queen of the Fairies. DEMETRIUS, Puck, or Robin-goodfellow, a Fairy. PHILOSTRATE, Master of the Revels to The PEASBLOsson, seus COBWEB, Fairies. MUSTARDSEBD, PYRAMUS, FLUTE, the Bellows-mender. Thisbe, Characters in the Interlude SNOUT, the Tinker. STARVELING, the Tailor. MOONSHINE, performed by the Clowns LION, HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus. Other Fairies attending their King and HERMIA, Daughter to Egeus, in love with Queen. Attendants on Theseus and Hippolyta. WALL, SCENE-Athens, and a Wood not far from it. ACT I. Like to a step-dame, or a dowager, Long withering out a young man's revenue. SCENE I.-Athens.-A Room in the Palace Hip. Four days will quickly steep themselves of THESKUS. in nights ; Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, And then the moon, like to a silver bow Four rights will quickly dream away the time; and Attendants, New bent in heaven, sball behold the night The. Go, Philostrate, |
0 Críticas As críticas não são validadas, mas a Google verifica a existência de conteúdo falso e remove-o quando é identificado Escrever crítica |