Rosalind. And your experience makes you sad: I had rather have a CH. XV. fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad; and to travel for it too! Jaques appears suddenly to wake up to the sort of impression he is making on the attractive youth, and he seizes the first opportunity for retreating in disgust, with the woman's last word following him down the glade. XVI. TOPICS OF DRAMATIC CRITICISM. a Purpose: to survey Criticism ductive N the Introduction to this book I pleaded that a regular CH. XVI. inductive science of literary criticism was a possibility. In the preceding fifteen chapters I have endeavoured to exhibit such a regular method at work on the dramatic analysis of Dramatic leading points in Shakespeare's plays. The design of the as an inwhole work will not be complete without an attempt to science. present our results in complete form, in fact to map out a Science of Dramatic Art. I hope this may not seem too pretentious an undertaking in the case of a science yet in its infancy; while it may be useful at all events to the young student to have suggested to him a methodical treatment with which he may exercise himself on the literature he studies. Moreover the reproach against literary criticism is, not that there has not been plenty of inductive work done in this department, but that the assertion of its inductive character has been lacking; and I believe a critic does good service by throwing his results into a formal shape, however imperfectly he may be able to accomplish his task. It will be understood that the survey of Dramatic Science is here attempted only in the merest outline: it is a glimpse, not a view, of a new science that is proposed. Not even a survey would be possible within the limits of a few short chapters except by confining the matter introduced to that previously laid before the reader in a different form. The leading features of Dramatic Art have already been explained in the application of them to particular plays: they are now included in a single view, |