They are mentioned with anagrams, acrostics,
rebuses, and other exercises of false wit, in the "Spectator," No.
rebuses, and other exercises of false wit, in the "Spectator," No.
Dryden - Complete
99.
Note V.
_When thou on silver Thames didst cut thy way,
With well-timed oars, before the royal barge. _--P. 434.
I confess myself, after some research, at a loss to discover the nature
of the procession, in which Shadwell seems to have acted as leader of
the band. One is at first sight led to consider the whole procession as
imaginary, and preliminary to his supposed coronation; but, on closer
investigation, it appears, that Flecknoe talks of some real occurrence,
on which Shadwell preceded the royal barge, at the head of a boat-load
of performers. We may see, in the seventh note, that he professed to
understand music, and may certainly have been called upon to assist or
direct the band during some entertainment upon the river, an amusement
to which King Charles was particularly addicted.
Note VI.
_The like was ne'er in Epsom blankets tost. _--P. 434.
This seems to be in ridicule of the following elegant expression
which Shadwell puts in the mouth of a fine lady: "Such a fellow as he
deserves to be _tossed in a blanket_. " This, however, does not occur
in "Epsom-Wells," but in another of Shadwell's comedies, called "The
Sullen Lovers. "
Note VII.
_Methinks I see the new Arion sail,
The lute still trembling underneath thy nail. _--P. 434.
Shadwell appears to have been a proficient in music, and to have
himself adjusted that of his opera of "Psyche," which Dryden here
treats with such consummate contempt. Indeed, in the preface of that
choice piece he affected to value himself more upon the music than the
poetry, as appears from the following passage in the preface: "I had
rather be author of one scene of comedy, like some of Ben Jonson's,
than of all the best plays of this kind, that have been, or ever shall
be written; good comedy requiring much more wit and judgment in the
writer, than any rhiming, unnatural plays can do. This I have so little
valued, that I have not altered six lines in it since it was first
written, which (except the songs at the marriage of Psyche, in the
last scene) was all done sixteen months since. In all the words which
are sung, I did not so much take care of the wit or fancy of them, as
the making of them proper for music; in which I cannot but have some
little knowledge, having been bred, for many years of my youth, to some
performance in it.
"I chalked out the way to the composer, (in all but the song of Furies
and Devils, in the fifth act,) having designed which line I would have
sung by one, which by two, which by three, which by four voices, &c.
and what manner of humour I would have in all the vocal music. "
Note VIII.
_Not even the feet of thy own Psyche's rhyme,
Though they in number as in sense excel. _--P. 435.
This unfortunate opera was imitated from the French of Moliere, and
finished, as Shadwell assures us, in the space of five weeks. The
author having no talents for poetry, and no ear for versification,
"Psyche" is one of the most contemptible of the frivolous dramatic
class to which it belongs. It was, however, _got up_ with extreme
magnificence, and received much applause on its first appearance, in
1675. To justify the censure of Dryden, it is only necessary to quote a
few of the verses, taken at random as a specimen, of what he afterwards
calls "Prince Nicander's vein:"
_Nicander. _ Madam, I to this solitude am come,
Humbly from you to hear my latest doom.
_Psyche. _ The first command which I did give,
Was, that you should not see me here;
The next command you will receive,
Much harsher will to you appear.
_Nic. _ How long, fair Psyche, shall I sigh in vain?
How long of scorn and cruelty complain?
Your eyes enough have wounded me,
You need not add your cruelty.
You against me too many weapons chuse,
Who am defenceless against each you use.
The poet himself seems so conscious of the sad inferiority of his
verses, that he makes, in the preface, a half apology, implying
a mortifying consciousness, that it was necessary to anticipate
condemnation, by pleading guilty. "In a thing written in five weeks, as
this was, there must needs be many errors, which I desire true critics
to pass by; and which, perhaps, I see myself, but having much business,
and indulging myself with some pleasure too, I have not had leisure
to mend them; nor would it indeed be worth the pains, since there are
so many splendid objects in the play, and such variety of diversion,
as will not give the audience leave to mind the writing; and I doubt
not but the candid reader will forgive the faults, when he considers,
that the great design was to entertain the town with variety of music,
curious dancing, splendid scenes, and machines; and that I do not, nor
ever did intend, to value myself upon the writing of this play. "
Shadwell, however, had no right to plead, that this affected contempt
of his own lyric poetry ought to have disarmed the criticism of Dryden;
because, in the very same preface, he sets out by insinuating, that he
could easily have beaten our author on his own strong ground of rhyme,
had he thought such a contest worth winning. So much, at least, may be
inferred from the following declaration:
"In a good-natured country, I doubt not but this, my first essay in
rhyme, would be at least forgiven, especially when I promise to offend
no more in this kind; but I am sensible that here I must encounter a
great many difficulties. In the first place, (though I expect more
candour from the best writers in rhyme,) the more moderate of them (who
have yet a numerous party, good judges being very scarce) are very
much offended with me, for leaving my own province of comedy, to invade
their dominion of rhyme: but, methinks, they might be satisfied, since
I have made but a small incursion, and am resolved to retire. And, were
I never so powerful, they should escape me, as the northern people did
the Romans; their craggy barren territories being not worth conquering. "
Note IX.
_----Pale with envy, Singleton forswore
The lute and sword, which he in triumph bore,
And vowed he ne'er would act Villerius more. _--P. 435.
Singleton was a musical performer of some eminence, and is mentioned as
such in one of Shadwell's comedies. --"'Sbud, they are the best music
in England: there's the best shawm and bandore, and a fellow that acts
Tom of Bedlam to a miracle; and they sing _Charon, oh, gentle Charon! _
and, _Come, my Daphne_, better than Singleton and Clayton did. "--_Bury
Fair_, Act III. Scene I. Villerius, the grand master of the knights
hospitallers, is a principal character in "The Siege of Rhodes," an
opera by Sir William D'Avenant, where great part of the dialogue is in
a sort of lyrical recitative; in the execution of which Singleton seems
to have been celebrated. The first speech of this valorous chief of the
order of St John runs thus:
Arm, arm! let our drums beat,
To all our outguards, a retreat;
And to our main-guards add
Files double lined; from the parade
Send horse to drive the fields,
Prevent what ripening summer yields;
To all the foe would save
Set fire, or give a secret grave.
The combination of the lute and sword, which Dryden alludes to,
is ridiculed in "The Rehearsal," where Bayes informs his critical
friends, that his whole battle is to be represented by two persons;
"for I make 'em both come forth in armour cap-a-pee, with their swords
drawn, and hung with a scarlet ribband at their wrists, (which, you
know, represents fighting enough,) each of them holding a lute in his
hand. --_Smith. _ How, sir; instead of a buckler? --_Bayes. _ O Lord, O
Lord! instead of a buckler! Pray, sir, do you ask no more questions.
I make 'em, sir, play the battle in _recitativo_; and here's the
conceit: Just at the very same instant that one sings, the other,
sir, recovers you his sword, and puts himself into a warlike posture;
so that you have at once your ear entertained with music and good
language, and your eye satisfied with the garb and accoutrements of
war. "--_Rehearsal_, Act V. The adverse generals enter accordingly,
and perform a sort of duet, great part of which is a parody upon the
lyrical dialogue of Villerius and the Soldan Solyman, in the "Siege of
Rhodes. "
Note X.
_Ancient Decker. _--P. 436.
Decker, who did not altogether deserve the disgraceful classification
which Dryden has here assigned to him, was a writer of the reign of
James I. , and the antagonist of Jonson. I suspect Dryden knew, or at
least recollected, little more of him, than that he was ridiculed,
by his more renowned adversary, under the character of Crispinus,
in "The Poetaster. " Indeed, nothing can be more unfortunate to an
inferior wit, than to be engaged in controversy with an author of
established reputation; since, though he may maintain his ground with
his contemporaries, posterity will always judge of him by the character
assigned in the writings of his antagonist. Decker was admitted to
write in conjunction with Webster, Ford, Brome, and even Massinger;
and though he was only employed to fill up the inferior scenes, he
certainly displays some theatrical talent. Indeed he was judged, by
many of his own time, to have retaliated Jonson's satire with success,
in "The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet;" where Ben is designed under
the character of Horace Junior. Besides, Decker possessed some tragic
powers: "The Honest Whore," which is altogether his own production, has
several scenes of great merit.
Note XI.
_But worlds of Misers from his pen should flow;
Humorists, and Hypocrites, it should produce,
Whole Raymond families, and tribes of Bruce. _--P. 436.
Shadwell translated, or rather imitated, Moliere's "L'Avare," under the
title of "The Miser. " In Langbaine's opinion, he has greatly improved
upon his original; but in this, as in other cases, the critic is
probably singular. "The Miser" was printed in 1672.
"The Humorists" was a play professedly written to expose the reigning
vices of the age; but as it was supposed to contain many direct
personal allusions, it was unfavourably received by the audience.
Shadwell, by way, I suppose, of insinuating to the readers an accurate
notion of the characters, or humours, which he means to represent, is,
in this and other pieces, at great pains to give a long and minute
account of each individual in the _dramatis personæ_. Thus we have have
in "The Humorists,"
"_Crazy,_--One that is in pox, in debt, and all the misfortunes that
can be; and, in the midst of all, in love with most women, and thinks
most women in love with him.
"_Drybob,_--A fantastic coxcomb, that makes it his business to speak
fine things and wit, as he thinks; and always takes notice, or makes
others take notice, of any thing he thinks well said.
"_Brisk,_--A brisk, airy, fantastic, singing, dancing coxcomb, that
sets up for a well-bred man, and a man of honour; but mistakes in
every thing, and values himself only upon the vanity and foppery of
gentlemen. "
I do not know what to make of the "Hypocrites. " Shadwell wrote no play
so entitled; nor is it likely he gave any assistance to Medbourne, who
translated the famous "Tartuffe" of Moliere, for they were of different
opinions in religion and politics. Perhaps Dryden means the characters
of the Irish priest and Tory chaplain in "The Lancashire Witches. "
Raymond is a character in "The Humorists," described in the _dramatis
personæ_ as a "gentleman of wit and honour. " Bruce a similar person in
"The Virtuoso," characterized as a "gentleman of wit and sense. " In
these, and in all other characters where wit and an easy style were
requisite, Shadwell failed totally. His forte lay in broad, strong
comic painting.
Note XII.
_Ogleby. _--P. 436.
This gentleman, whose name, thanks to our author and Pope, has
become almost proverbial for a bad poet, was originally a Scottish
dancing-master, when probably Scottish dancing was not so fashionable
as at present, and afterwards master of the revels in Ireland. He
translated "The Iliad," "The Odyssey," "The Æneid," and "Æsop's
Fables," into verse; and his versions were splendidly adorned with
sculpture. He also wrote three epic poems, one of which was fortunately
burned in the fire of London. Moreover, he conducted the ceremony of
Charles the Second's coronation,[448] and erected a theatre in Dublin.
Note XII.
"_Love's Kingdom. _"--P. 437.
This was a play of Flecknoe's. The full title is, "Love's Kingdom,
a Pastoral Tragi-Comedy; not as it was acted at the theatre, near
Lincoln's-Inn, but as it was written, and since corrected by Richard
Flecknoe; with a short treatise of the English stage, &c. by the same
author. London, printed by R. Wood for the author, 1664. "
The author's account of this piece, in the advertisement, is, "For
the plot, it is neat and handsome, and the language soft and gentle,
suitable to the persons who speak; neither on the ground, nor in the
clouds, but just like the stage, somewhat elevated above the common. In
neither no stiffness, and, I hope, no impertinence nor extravagance,
into which your young writers are too apt to run, who, whilst they
know not well what to do, and are anxious to do enough, most commonly
overdo. "
THE PROLOGUE.
_Spoken by Venus from the Clouds. _
If ever you have heard of Venus' name,
Goddess of beauty, I that Venus am;
Who have to day descended from my sphere,
To welcome you unto "Love's Kingdom" here;
Or rather to my sphere am come, since I
Am present no where more nor in the sky,
Nor any island in the world than this,
That wholly from the world divided is:
For Cupid, you behold him here in me,
(For there where beauty is, Love needs must be,)
Or you may yet more easily descry
Him 'mong the ladies, in each amorous eye;
And 'mongst the gallants may as easily trace
Him to their bosoms from each beauteous face.
May then, fair ladies, you
Find all your servants true;
And, gallants, may you find
The ladies all as kind,
As by your noble favours you declare
How much you friends unto "Love's Kingdom" are;
Of which yourselves compose so great a part,
In your fair eyes, and in your loving heart.
This specimen of "Love's Kingdom" is extracted from the "_Censura
Literaria_," No. IX. ; to which publication it was communicated by Mr
Preston of Dublin. To "Love's Kingdom" Flecknoe subjoined a Discourse
on the English Stage, which is sometimes quoted as authority.
Note XIII.
_Let Virtuosos in five years be writ,
Yet not one thought accuse thy toil of wit. _--P. 438.
Shadwell's comedy called "The Virtuoso," was first acted in 1676 with
great applause. It is by no means destitute of merit; though, as in all
his other pieces, it is to be found rather in the walk of coarse humour
than of elegance, or wit.
The character of Sir Nicholas Gimcrack, the Virtuoso, whose time was
spent in discoveries, although he had never invented any thing so
useful as an engine to pare a cream cheese with, is very ludicrous. I
cannot, however, but notice, that some of the discoveries, which are
ridiculed with so much humour, as the composition of various kinds of
air, for example, have been realized by the philosophers of this age.
As the whole piece seems intended as a satire on the researches of
the Royal Society, its scope could not be very pleasing to Dryden, a
zealous member of that learned body; even if he could have forgiven
some hits levelled against him personally in the preface and the
epilogue, which have been quoted in the introduction to Mac-Flecknoe.
Note XIV.
_Let gentle George in triumph tread the stage,
Make Dorimant betray, and Loveit rage;
Let Cully, Cockwood, Fopling, charm the pit. _--P. 438.
The plays of Sir George Etherege were much admired during the end of
the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, till the refinement of
taste condemned their indecency and immorality. Sir George himself was
a courtier of the first rank in the gay court of Charles II. Our author
has addressed an epistle to him, when he was Resident at Ratisbon.
Etherege followed King James to France, according to one account; but
others say he was killed at Ratisbon by a fall down stairs, after he
had been drinking freely. Sir Fopling Flutter, Dorimant, and Loveit,
are characters in his well-known comedy, "The Man of Mode. " Cully and
Cockwood occur in "Love in a Tub," another of his plays.
Note XV.
_But let no alien Sedley interpose,
To lard with wit thy hungry Epsom prose. _--P. 438.
The first edition bears Sydney, which is evidently a mistake.
Shadwell's comedy of "Epsom Wells" was very successful; which was
imputed by his enemies to the assistance he received from the witty
Sir Charles Sedley. This he attempts to refute in the following lines
of the second prologue, spoken when the piece was represented before
the king and queen at Whitehall:
If this for him had been by others done,
After this honour sure they'd claim their own.
But it is nevertheless certain, that Shadwell acknowledges obligations
of the nature supposed, in the Dedication of the "True Widow" to Sir
Charles Sedley. "No success whatever," he there says, "could have made
me alter my opinion of this comedy, which had the benefit of your
correction and alteration, and the honour of your approbation. And I
heartily wish you had given yourself the trouble to have reviewed all
my plays, as they came inaccurately, and in haste, from my hands: it
would have been more to my advantage than the assistance of Scipio and
Lelius was to Terence; and I should have thought it at least as much
to my honour, since, by the effects, I find I cannot but esteem you
as much above both of them in wit, as either of them was above you in
place of the state. "
There was a general opinion current, that Shadwell received assistance
in his most successful pieces. A libel of the times, the reference
to which I have mislaid, mentions with contempt the dulness of his
"unassisted scenes. "
Note XVI.
_Sir Formal, though unsought, attends thy quill,
And does thy northern dedications fill. _--P. 438.
Sir Formal Trifle is a florid conceited orator in "The Virtuoso," whose
character is drawn and brought out with no inconsiderable portion of
humour. Dryden intimates, that his coxcomical inflated style attends
Shadwell himself upon the most serious occasions, and particularly in
his dedications to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, to whom he has
inscribed several of his plays. Hence Dryden, in the "Vindication of
the Duke of Guise," calls him the Northern Dedicator. The truth is,
that Shadwell's prose was inflated and embarrassed; and his adulation
comes aukwardly from him, as appears from the opening of the dedication
of that very play, "The Virtuoso," to the Duke of Newcastle.
"So long as your grace persists in obliging, I must go on in
acknowledging; nor can I let any opportunity pass of telling the world
how much I am favoured by you, or any occasion slip of assuring your
grace, that all the actions of my life shall be dedicated to your
service; who, by your noble patronage, your generosity and kindness,
and your continual bounty, have made me wholly your creature: nor can
I forbear to declare, that I am more obliged to your grace than to
all mankind. And my misfortune is, I can make no other return, but a
declaration of my grateful attachment. "
Note XVII.
_Nor let false friends seduce thy mind to fame,
By arrogating Jonson's hostile name. _--P. 439.
Shadwell, as appears from many passages of his prologues and prefaces,
and as we have had repeated occasion to notice, affected to consider
Ben Jonson as the object of his emulation. There were indeed many
points of resemblance between them, both as authors and men. In
their habits, a life spent in taverns, and in their persons, huge
corpulence, probably acquired by habits of sensual indulgence, much
coarseness of manners, and an ungentlemanly vulgarity of dialect,
seem to have distinguished both the original and the imitator. As a
dramatist, although Shadwell falls short of the learned vigour and deep
erudition of Ben Jonson, his dry hard comic painting entitles him to
be considered as an inferior artist of the same school. Dryden more
particularly resented Shadwell's reiterated and affected praises of
Jonson, because he had himself censured that writer in the epilogue
to the "Conquest of Granada," and in the critical defence of that
poem. [449] Hence he considered Shadwell's ranking himself under
Jonson's banners as a sort of personal defiance. But Dryden more
particularly alludes to the following ebullition of admiration, which
occurs in the epilogue to Shadwell's "Humorists:"
The mighty prince of poets, learned Ben,
Who alone dived into the minds of men;
Saw all their wanderings, all their follies knew,
And all their vain fantastic passions drew
In images so lively and so true,
That there each humorist himself might view.
Yet only lashed the errors of the times,
And ne'er exposed the persons, but the crimes;
And never cared for private frowns, when he
Did but chastise public iniquity:
He feared no pimp, no pick-pocket, or drab;
He feared no bravo, nor no ruffian's stab:
'Twas he alone true humours understood,
And with great wit and judgment made them good.
A humour is the bias of the mind,
By which with violence 'tis one way inclined;
It makes our actions lean on one side still,
And in all changes that way bends the will.
This--------
He only knew and represented right.
Thus none, but mighty Jonson, e'er could write.
Expect not then, since that most flourishing age
Of Ben, to see true humour on the stage.
All that have since been writ, if they be scanned,
Are but faint copies from that master's hand.
Our poet now, amongst those petty things,
Alas! his too weak trifling humour brings;
As much beneath the worst in Jonson's plays,
As his great merit is above our praise.
For could he imitate that great author right,
He would with ease all poets else outwrite.
But to outgo all other men, would be,
O noble Ben! less than to follow thee.
Dryden, in the text, turns the idea of bias into ridicule; for its
original application being to the leaden weight disposed in the centre
of a bowl, which inclines its course in rolling, he alleges, that the
only bias which can influence Shadwell is his predominant stupidity.
Note XIX.
_Leave writing plays, and chuse for thy command,
Some peaceful province in Acrostic land.
There thou may'st wings display, and altars raise,
And torture one poor word ten thousand ways. _--P. 440.
Among other efforts of gentle dulness, may be noticed the singular
fashion which prevailed during the earlier period of the 17th century,
of writing in such changes of measure, that by the different length
and arrangement of the lines, the poem was made to resemble an egg,
an altar, a pair of wings, a cross, or some other fanciful figure.
This laborious kind of trifling was much akin to the anagrams and
acrostics. Those who are curious to read, or rather to see, a specimen
of such whimsies, (for they are rather addressed to the eye than the
understanding,) may find a dirge of Mr George Withers, arranged into
the figure of a rhomboid, in Ellis's "Specimens of the Early English
Poets," Vol. III. p. 100.
They are mentioned with anagrams, acrostics,
rebuses, and other exercises of false wit, in the "Spectator," No. 63.
END OF THE TENTH VOLUME.
Edinburgh,
Printed by James Ballantyne & Co.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 445: An anonymous poet ascribes the estimation in which he
was held to his poetical propensities:
Verse the famed Flecknoe raised, the muses' sport,
From drudging for the stage to drudge at court.
]
[Footnote 446: Epistle dedicatory to "Bury-fair," addressed to the Earl
of Dorset. ]
[Footnote 447: See the inscription intended for his monument in
Westminster Abbey, by his son Sir John Shadwell, in the Life prefixed
to _Shadwell's Works_. But it was altered before it was placed in the
Abbey, and a blunder in the date seems to have crept in. --See CIBBER'S
_Lives of the Poets_, Vol. III. p. 49. ]
[Footnote 448: See Vol. IX. p. 61. ]
[Footnote 449: See Vol. IV. p. 211, &c. ]
* * * * *
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Transcriber notes: |
| |
| P. 46. 'priciples' chanaged to 'principles', as in other volume. |
| P. 78. Added footnote after 'manly train' as the anchor is missing |
| and seems to go here. |
| P. 82. Note V, link should be P. 69, not P. 68 changed. |
| P. 82. Note VI, link should be P. 74, not P. 73 changed. |
| Footnote 57: Added 'Note VI. ', as the link is missing. |
| Footnote 174: 'Note XI. ', should read 'Note XII. ', changed. |
| Footnote 175: 'Note XII. ', should read 'Note XIII. ', changed. |
| Footnote 178: 'Note XIII. ', should read 'Note XIV. ', changed. |
| P. 119. 'enequal' is 'unequal' in another volume, changed. |
| P. 169. 'Rosolving' is 'Resolving' in another volume, changed. |
| Footnote 208: Should reaad 'Note XIII', not 'Note XII', changed. |
| P. 394. Footnote 'Pensylvania' changed to 'Pennsylvania'. |
| P. 457. Note XIX needs to be XIII, changed. |
| Footnote 60: Should read 'Note VII', not 'Note VIII', changed. |
| Corrected various punctuation. |
| Underscore indicates italics _like this_. |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Note V.
_When thou on silver Thames didst cut thy way,
With well-timed oars, before the royal barge. _--P. 434.
I confess myself, after some research, at a loss to discover the nature
of the procession, in which Shadwell seems to have acted as leader of
the band. One is at first sight led to consider the whole procession as
imaginary, and preliminary to his supposed coronation; but, on closer
investigation, it appears, that Flecknoe talks of some real occurrence,
on which Shadwell preceded the royal barge, at the head of a boat-load
of performers. We may see, in the seventh note, that he professed to
understand music, and may certainly have been called upon to assist or
direct the band during some entertainment upon the river, an amusement
to which King Charles was particularly addicted.
Note VI.
_The like was ne'er in Epsom blankets tost. _--P. 434.
This seems to be in ridicule of the following elegant expression
which Shadwell puts in the mouth of a fine lady: "Such a fellow as he
deserves to be _tossed in a blanket_. " This, however, does not occur
in "Epsom-Wells," but in another of Shadwell's comedies, called "The
Sullen Lovers. "
Note VII.
_Methinks I see the new Arion sail,
The lute still trembling underneath thy nail. _--P. 434.
Shadwell appears to have been a proficient in music, and to have
himself adjusted that of his opera of "Psyche," which Dryden here
treats with such consummate contempt. Indeed, in the preface of that
choice piece he affected to value himself more upon the music than the
poetry, as appears from the following passage in the preface: "I had
rather be author of one scene of comedy, like some of Ben Jonson's,
than of all the best plays of this kind, that have been, or ever shall
be written; good comedy requiring much more wit and judgment in the
writer, than any rhiming, unnatural plays can do. This I have so little
valued, that I have not altered six lines in it since it was first
written, which (except the songs at the marriage of Psyche, in the
last scene) was all done sixteen months since. In all the words which
are sung, I did not so much take care of the wit or fancy of them, as
the making of them proper for music; in which I cannot but have some
little knowledge, having been bred, for many years of my youth, to some
performance in it.
"I chalked out the way to the composer, (in all but the song of Furies
and Devils, in the fifth act,) having designed which line I would have
sung by one, which by two, which by three, which by four voices, &c.
and what manner of humour I would have in all the vocal music. "
Note VIII.
_Not even the feet of thy own Psyche's rhyme,
Though they in number as in sense excel. _--P. 435.
This unfortunate opera was imitated from the French of Moliere, and
finished, as Shadwell assures us, in the space of five weeks. The
author having no talents for poetry, and no ear for versification,
"Psyche" is one of the most contemptible of the frivolous dramatic
class to which it belongs. It was, however, _got up_ with extreme
magnificence, and received much applause on its first appearance, in
1675. To justify the censure of Dryden, it is only necessary to quote a
few of the verses, taken at random as a specimen, of what he afterwards
calls "Prince Nicander's vein:"
_Nicander. _ Madam, I to this solitude am come,
Humbly from you to hear my latest doom.
_Psyche. _ The first command which I did give,
Was, that you should not see me here;
The next command you will receive,
Much harsher will to you appear.
_Nic. _ How long, fair Psyche, shall I sigh in vain?
How long of scorn and cruelty complain?
Your eyes enough have wounded me,
You need not add your cruelty.
You against me too many weapons chuse,
Who am defenceless against each you use.
The poet himself seems so conscious of the sad inferiority of his
verses, that he makes, in the preface, a half apology, implying
a mortifying consciousness, that it was necessary to anticipate
condemnation, by pleading guilty. "In a thing written in five weeks, as
this was, there must needs be many errors, which I desire true critics
to pass by; and which, perhaps, I see myself, but having much business,
and indulging myself with some pleasure too, I have not had leisure
to mend them; nor would it indeed be worth the pains, since there are
so many splendid objects in the play, and such variety of diversion,
as will not give the audience leave to mind the writing; and I doubt
not but the candid reader will forgive the faults, when he considers,
that the great design was to entertain the town with variety of music,
curious dancing, splendid scenes, and machines; and that I do not, nor
ever did intend, to value myself upon the writing of this play. "
Shadwell, however, had no right to plead, that this affected contempt
of his own lyric poetry ought to have disarmed the criticism of Dryden;
because, in the very same preface, he sets out by insinuating, that he
could easily have beaten our author on his own strong ground of rhyme,
had he thought such a contest worth winning. So much, at least, may be
inferred from the following declaration:
"In a good-natured country, I doubt not but this, my first essay in
rhyme, would be at least forgiven, especially when I promise to offend
no more in this kind; but I am sensible that here I must encounter a
great many difficulties. In the first place, (though I expect more
candour from the best writers in rhyme,) the more moderate of them (who
have yet a numerous party, good judges being very scarce) are very
much offended with me, for leaving my own province of comedy, to invade
their dominion of rhyme: but, methinks, they might be satisfied, since
I have made but a small incursion, and am resolved to retire. And, were
I never so powerful, they should escape me, as the northern people did
the Romans; their craggy barren territories being not worth conquering. "
Note IX.
_----Pale with envy, Singleton forswore
The lute and sword, which he in triumph bore,
And vowed he ne'er would act Villerius more. _--P. 435.
Singleton was a musical performer of some eminence, and is mentioned as
such in one of Shadwell's comedies. --"'Sbud, they are the best music
in England: there's the best shawm and bandore, and a fellow that acts
Tom of Bedlam to a miracle; and they sing _Charon, oh, gentle Charon! _
and, _Come, my Daphne_, better than Singleton and Clayton did. "--_Bury
Fair_, Act III. Scene I. Villerius, the grand master of the knights
hospitallers, is a principal character in "The Siege of Rhodes," an
opera by Sir William D'Avenant, where great part of the dialogue is in
a sort of lyrical recitative; in the execution of which Singleton seems
to have been celebrated. The first speech of this valorous chief of the
order of St John runs thus:
Arm, arm! let our drums beat,
To all our outguards, a retreat;
And to our main-guards add
Files double lined; from the parade
Send horse to drive the fields,
Prevent what ripening summer yields;
To all the foe would save
Set fire, or give a secret grave.
The combination of the lute and sword, which Dryden alludes to,
is ridiculed in "The Rehearsal," where Bayes informs his critical
friends, that his whole battle is to be represented by two persons;
"for I make 'em both come forth in armour cap-a-pee, with their swords
drawn, and hung with a scarlet ribband at their wrists, (which, you
know, represents fighting enough,) each of them holding a lute in his
hand. --_Smith. _ How, sir; instead of a buckler? --_Bayes. _ O Lord, O
Lord! instead of a buckler! Pray, sir, do you ask no more questions.
I make 'em, sir, play the battle in _recitativo_; and here's the
conceit: Just at the very same instant that one sings, the other,
sir, recovers you his sword, and puts himself into a warlike posture;
so that you have at once your ear entertained with music and good
language, and your eye satisfied with the garb and accoutrements of
war. "--_Rehearsal_, Act V. The adverse generals enter accordingly,
and perform a sort of duet, great part of which is a parody upon the
lyrical dialogue of Villerius and the Soldan Solyman, in the "Siege of
Rhodes. "
Note X.
_Ancient Decker. _--P. 436.
Decker, who did not altogether deserve the disgraceful classification
which Dryden has here assigned to him, was a writer of the reign of
James I. , and the antagonist of Jonson. I suspect Dryden knew, or at
least recollected, little more of him, than that he was ridiculed,
by his more renowned adversary, under the character of Crispinus,
in "The Poetaster. " Indeed, nothing can be more unfortunate to an
inferior wit, than to be engaged in controversy with an author of
established reputation; since, though he may maintain his ground with
his contemporaries, posterity will always judge of him by the character
assigned in the writings of his antagonist. Decker was admitted to
write in conjunction with Webster, Ford, Brome, and even Massinger;
and though he was only employed to fill up the inferior scenes, he
certainly displays some theatrical talent. Indeed he was judged, by
many of his own time, to have retaliated Jonson's satire with success,
in "The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet;" where Ben is designed under
the character of Horace Junior. Besides, Decker possessed some tragic
powers: "The Honest Whore," which is altogether his own production, has
several scenes of great merit.
Note XI.
_But worlds of Misers from his pen should flow;
Humorists, and Hypocrites, it should produce,
Whole Raymond families, and tribes of Bruce. _--P. 436.
Shadwell translated, or rather imitated, Moliere's "L'Avare," under the
title of "The Miser. " In Langbaine's opinion, he has greatly improved
upon his original; but in this, as in other cases, the critic is
probably singular. "The Miser" was printed in 1672.
"The Humorists" was a play professedly written to expose the reigning
vices of the age; but as it was supposed to contain many direct
personal allusions, it was unfavourably received by the audience.
Shadwell, by way, I suppose, of insinuating to the readers an accurate
notion of the characters, or humours, which he means to represent, is,
in this and other pieces, at great pains to give a long and minute
account of each individual in the _dramatis personæ_. Thus we have have
in "The Humorists,"
"_Crazy,_--One that is in pox, in debt, and all the misfortunes that
can be; and, in the midst of all, in love with most women, and thinks
most women in love with him.
"_Drybob,_--A fantastic coxcomb, that makes it his business to speak
fine things and wit, as he thinks; and always takes notice, or makes
others take notice, of any thing he thinks well said.
"_Brisk,_--A brisk, airy, fantastic, singing, dancing coxcomb, that
sets up for a well-bred man, and a man of honour; but mistakes in
every thing, and values himself only upon the vanity and foppery of
gentlemen. "
I do not know what to make of the "Hypocrites. " Shadwell wrote no play
so entitled; nor is it likely he gave any assistance to Medbourne, who
translated the famous "Tartuffe" of Moliere, for they were of different
opinions in religion and politics. Perhaps Dryden means the characters
of the Irish priest and Tory chaplain in "The Lancashire Witches. "
Raymond is a character in "The Humorists," described in the _dramatis
personæ_ as a "gentleman of wit and honour. " Bruce a similar person in
"The Virtuoso," characterized as a "gentleman of wit and sense. " In
these, and in all other characters where wit and an easy style were
requisite, Shadwell failed totally. His forte lay in broad, strong
comic painting.
Note XII.
_Ogleby. _--P. 436.
This gentleman, whose name, thanks to our author and Pope, has
become almost proverbial for a bad poet, was originally a Scottish
dancing-master, when probably Scottish dancing was not so fashionable
as at present, and afterwards master of the revels in Ireland. He
translated "The Iliad," "The Odyssey," "The Æneid," and "Æsop's
Fables," into verse; and his versions were splendidly adorned with
sculpture. He also wrote three epic poems, one of which was fortunately
burned in the fire of London. Moreover, he conducted the ceremony of
Charles the Second's coronation,[448] and erected a theatre in Dublin.
Note XII.
"_Love's Kingdom. _"--P. 437.
This was a play of Flecknoe's. The full title is, "Love's Kingdom,
a Pastoral Tragi-Comedy; not as it was acted at the theatre, near
Lincoln's-Inn, but as it was written, and since corrected by Richard
Flecknoe; with a short treatise of the English stage, &c. by the same
author. London, printed by R. Wood for the author, 1664. "
The author's account of this piece, in the advertisement, is, "For
the plot, it is neat and handsome, and the language soft and gentle,
suitable to the persons who speak; neither on the ground, nor in the
clouds, but just like the stage, somewhat elevated above the common. In
neither no stiffness, and, I hope, no impertinence nor extravagance,
into which your young writers are too apt to run, who, whilst they
know not well what to do, and are anxious to do enough, most commonly
overdo. "
THE PROLOGUE.
_Spoken by Venus from the Clouds. _
If ever you have heard of Venus' name,
Goddess of beauty, I that Venus am;
Who have to day descended from my sphere,
To welcome you unto "Love's Kingdom" here;
Or rather to my sphere am come, since I
Am present no where more nor in the sky,
Nor any island in the world than this,
That wholly from the world divided is:
For Cupid, you behold him here in me,
(For there where beauty is, Love needs must be,)
Or you may yet more easily descry
Him 'mong the ladies, in each amorous eye;
And 'mongst the gallants may as easily trace
Him to their bosoms from each beauteous face.
May then, fair ladies, you
Find all your servants true;
And, gallants, may you find
The ladies all as kind,
As by your noble favours you declare
How much you friends unto "Love's Kingdom" are;
Of which yourselves compose so great a part,
In your fair eyes, and in your loving heart.
This specimen of "Love's Kingdom" is extracted from the "_Censura
Literaria_," No. IX. ; to which publication it was communicated by Mr
Preston of Dublin. To "Love's Kingdom" Flecknoe subjoined a Discourse
on the English Stage, which is sometimes quoted as authority.
Note XIII.
_Let Virtuosos in five years be writ,
Yet not one thought accuse thy toil of wit. _--P. 438.
Shadwell's comedy called "The Virtuoso," was first acted in 1676 with
great applause. It is by no means destitute of merit; though, as in all
his other pieces, it is to be found rather in the walk of coarse humour
than of elegance, or wit.
The character of Sir Nicholas Gimcrack, the Virtuoso, whose time was
spent in discoveries, although he had never invented any thing so
useful as an engine to pare a cream cheese with, is very ludicrous. I
cannot, however, but notice, that some of the discoveries, which are
ridiculed with so much humour, as the composition of various kinds of
air, for example, have been realized by the philosophers of this age.
As the whole piece seems intended as a satire on the researches of
the Royal Society, its scope could not be very pleasing to Dryden, a
zealous member of that learned body; even if he could have forgiven
some hits levelled against him personally in the preface and the
epilogue, which have been quoted in the introduction to Mac-Flecknoe.
Note XIV.
_Let gentle George in triumph tread the stage,
Make Dorimant betray, and Loveit rage;
Let Cully, Cockwood, Fopling, charm the pit. _--P. 438.
The plays of Sir George Etherege were much admired during the end of
the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, till the refinement of
taste condemned their indecency and immorality. Sir George himself was
a courtier of the first rank in the gay court of Charles II. Our author
has addressed an epistle to him, when he was Resident at Ratisbon.
Etherege followed King James to France, according to one account; but
others say he was killed at Ratisbon by a fall down stairs, after he
had been drinking freely. Sir Fopling Flutter, Dorimant, and Loveit,
are characters in his well-known comedy, "The Man of Mode. " Cully and
Cockwood occur in "Love in a Tub," another of his plays.
Note XV.
_But let no alien Sedley interpose,
To lard with wit thy hungry Epsom prose. _--P. 438.
The first edition bears Sydney, which is evidently a mistake.
Shadwell's comedy of "Epsom Wells" was very successful; which was
imputed by his enemies to the assistance he received from the witty
Sir Charles Sedley. This he attempts to refute in the following lines
of the second prologue, spoken when the piece was represented before
the king and queen at Whitehall:
If this for him had been by others done,
After this honour sure they'd claim their own.
But it is nevertheless certain, that Shadwell acknowledges obligations
of the nature supposed, in the Dedication of the "True Widow" to Sir
Charles Sedley. "No success whatever," he there says, "could have made
me alter my opinion of this comedy, which had the benefit of your
correction and alteration, and the honour of your approbation. And I
heartily wish you had given yourself the trouble to have reviewed all
my plays, as they came inaccurately, and in haste, from my hands: it
would have been more to my advantage than the assistance of Scipio and
Lelius was to Terence; and I should have thought it at least as much
to my honour, since, by the effects, I find I cannot but esteem you
as much above both of them in wit, as either of them was above you in
place of the state. "
There was a general opinion current, that Shadwell received assistance
in his most successful pieces. A libel of the times, the reference
to which I have mislaid, mentions with contempt the dulness of his
"unassisted scenes. "
Note XVI.
_Sir Formal, though unsought, attends thy quill,
And does thy northern dedications fill. _--P. 438.
Sir Formal Trifle is a florid conceited orator in "The Virtuoso," whose
character is drawn and brought out with no inconsiderable portion of
humour. Dryden intimates, that his coxcomical inflated style attends
Shadwell himself upon the most serious occasions, and particularly in
his dedications to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, to whom he has
inscribed several of his plays. Hence Dryden, in the "Vindication of
the Duke of Guise," calls him the Northern Dedicator. The truth is,
that Shadwell's prose was inflated and embarrassed; and his adulation
comes aukwardly from him, as appears from the opening of the dedication
of that very play, "The Virtuoso," to the Duke of Newcastle.
"So long as your grace persists in obliging, I must go on in
acknowledging; nor can I let any opportunity pass of telling the world
how much I am favoured by you, or any occasion slip of assuring your
grace, that all the actions of my life shall be dedicated to your
service; who, by your noble patronage, your generosity and kindness,
and your continual bounty, have made me wholly your creature: nor can
I forbear to declare, that I am more obliged to your grace than to
all mankind. And my misfortune is, I can make no other return, but a
declaration of my grateful attachment. "
Note XVII.
_Nor let false friends seduce thy mind to fame,
By arrogating Jonson's hostile name. _--P. 439.
Shadwell, as appears from many passages of his prologues and prefaces,
and as we have had repeated occasion to notice, affected to consider
Ben Jonson as the object of his emulation. There were indeed many
points of resemblance between them, both as authors and men. In
their habits, a life spent in taverns, and in their persons, huge
corpulence, probably acquired by habits of sensual indulgence, much
coarseness of manners, and an ungentlemanly vulgarity of dialect,
seem to have distinguished both the original and the imitator. As a
dramatist, although Shadwell falls short of the learned vigour and deep
erudition of Ben Jonson, his dry hard comic painting entitles him to
be considered as an inferior artist of the same school. Dryden more
particularly resented Shadwell's reiterated and affected praises of
Jonson, because he had himself censured that writer in the epilogue
to the "Conquest of Granada," and in the critical defence of that
poem. [449] Hence he considered Shadwell's ranking himself under
Jonson's banners as a sort of personal defiance. But Dryden more
particularly alludes to the following ebullition of admiration, which
occurs in the epilogue to Shadwell's "Humorists:"
The mighty prince of poets, learned Ben,
Who alone dived into the minds of men;
Saw all their wanderings, all their follies knew,
And all their vain fantastic passions drew
In images so lively and so true,
That there each humorist himself might view.
Yet only lashed the errors of the times,
And ne'er exposed the persons, but the crimes;
And never cared for private frowns, when he
Did but chastise public iniquity:
He feared no pimp, no pick-pocket, or drab;
He feared no bravo, nor no ruffian's stab:
'Twas he alone true humours understood,
And with great wit and judgment made them good.
A humour is the bias of the mind,
By which with violence 'tis one way inclined;
It makes our actions lean on one side still,
And in all changes that way bends the will.
This--------
He only knew and represented right.
Thus none, but mighty Jonson, e'er could write.
Expect not then, since that most flourishing age
Of Ben, to see true humour on the stage.
All that have since been writ, if they be scanned,
Are but faint copies from that master's hand.
Our poet now, amongst those petty things,
Alas! his too weak trifling humour brings;
As much beneath the worst in Jonson's plays,
As his great merit is above our praise.
For could he imitate that great author right,
He would with ease all poets else outwrite.
But to outgo all other men, would be,
O noble Ben! less than to follow thee.
Dryden, in the text, turns the idea of bias into ridicule; for its
original application being to the leaden weight disposed in the centre
of a bowl, which inclines its course in rolling, he alleges, that the
only bias which can influence Shadwell is his predominant stupidity.
Note XIX.
_Leave writing plays, and chuse for thy command,
Some peaceful province in Acrostic land.
There thou may'st wings display, and altars raise,
And torture one poor word ten thousand ways. _--P. 440.
Among other efforts of gentle dulness, may be noticed the singular
fashion which prevailed during the earlier period of the 17th century,
of writing in such changes of measure, that by the different length
and arrangement of the lines, the poem was made to resemble an egg,
an altar, a pair of wings, a cross, or some other fanciful figure.
This laborious kind of trifling was much akin to the anagrams and
acrostics. Those who are curious to read, or rather to see, a specimen
of such whimsies, (for they are rather addressed to the eye than the
understanding,) may find a dirge of Mr George Withers, arranged into
the figure of a rhomboid, in Ellis's "Specimens of the Early English
Poets," Vol. III. p. 100.
They are mentioned with anagrams, acrostics,
rebuses, and other exercises of false wit, in the "Spectator," No. 63.
END OF THE TENTH VOLUME.
Edinburgh,
Printed by James Ballantyne & Co.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 445: An anonymous poet ascribes the estimation in which he
was held to his poetical propensities:
Verse the famed Flecknoe raised, the muses' sport,
From drudging for the stage to drudge at court.
]
[Footnote 446: Epistle dedicatory to "Bury-fair," addressed to the Earl
of Dorset. ]
[Footnote 447: See the inscription intended for his monument in
Westminster Abbey, by his son Sir John Shadwell, in the Life prefixed
to _Shadwell's Works_. But it was altered before it was placed in the
Abbey, and a blunder in the date seems to have crept in. --See CIBBER'S
_Lives of the Poets_, Vol. III. p. 49. ]
[Footnote 448: See Vol. IX. p. 61. ]
[Footnote 449: See Vol. IV. p. 211, &c. ]
* * * * *
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Transcriber notes: |
| |
| P. 46. 'priciples' chanaged to 'principles', as in other volume. |
| P. 78. Added footnote after 'manly train' as the anchor is missing |
| and seems to go here. |
| P. 82. Note V, link should be P. 69, not P. 68 changed. |
| P. 82. Note VI, link should be P. 74, not P. 73 changed. |
| Footnote 57: Added 'Note VI. ', as the link is missing. |
| Footnote 174: 'Note XI. ', should read 'Note XII. ', changed. |
| Footnote 175: 'Note XII. ', should read 'Note XIII. ', changed. |
| Footnote 178: 'Note XIII. ', should read 'Note XIV. ', changed. |
| P. 119. 'enequal' is 'unequal' in another volume, changed. |
| P. 169. 'Rosolving' is 'Resolving' in another volume, changed. |
| Footnote 208: Should reaad 'Note XIII', not 'Note XII', changed. |
| P. 394. Footnote 'Pensylvania' changed to 'Pennsylvania'. |
| P. 457. Note XIX needs to be XIII, changed. |
| Footnote 60: Should read 'Note VII', not 'Note VIII', changed. |
| Corrected various punctuation. |
| Underscore indicates italics _like this_. |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
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