THis is but a fhort Sketch of the main Part of Shakespeare's particular Excellencies; the others will be taken Notice of in the Pro

grefs of my Remarks. Remarks. And if I am so happy as to point out fome Beauties not yet difcovered, or at least not put in the Light they ought to be, I hope I fhall deferve my Reader's Thanks, who will thereby, I imagine, receive that Pleasure which I have always done upon any new Discovery of this fort, whether made by my own Labour, or by the Penetration of others: And as to those Things which charm by a certain fecret Force, and ftrike us we know not how, or why; I believe it will not be difagreeable, if I fhew to every one the Reafon why they are pleas'd, and by that Confideration they will be сараcitated to discover ftill more and more Charms in the Works of this great Poet, and thereby increase their Pleasure without End.

I Do not pretend, in Publishing thefe Remarks of mine, to arrogate any Superiority of Genius; but I think every one should contritribute to the Improvement of fome Branch or other of Literature in this Country of ours, and thus furnish out his Share towards the Bettering of the Minds of his Countrymen, by affording fome Honest Amusements, which can entertain a Man, and help to refine his Tate, and improve his Understanding, and no Ways at the Expence of his Honesty and Virtue. In the Course of these Remarks, I shall make use of the Edition of this B 2

Poet,

Poet, given us by Mr. Theobalds, becaufe he is generally thought to have understood our Author beft, and certainly deferves the Applause of all his Countrymen for the great Pains he has been at to give us the best Edition of this Poet, which has yet appear'd. 'I would not have Mr. Pope offended at what I fay, for I look upon him as the greatest Genius in Poetry that has ever appear'd in England: But the Province of an Editor and a Commentator is quite foreign to that of a Poet. The former endeavours to give us an Author as he is; the latter, by the Correctness and Excellency of his own Genius, is often tempted to give us an Author as he thinks he ought to be.

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BEFORE I proceed to the particular Parts of this Tragedy, I must premife, that the great Admirers of our Poet cannot be offended, if I point out fome of his Imperfections, fince they will find that they are very few in Proportion to his Beauties. mongst the former, we may reckon fome Anachronisms, and alfo the inordinate Length of Time fuppofed to be employ'd in feveral of his Pieces; add to all this, that the Plots of his Plays in general, are charged with fome little Abfurdity or other. But then, how eafily may we forgive this, when we reflect upon his many Excellencies! The Tragedy that is now coming under our Examination, is one of the beft of his Pieces, and ftrikes us with a certain Awe and Serioufnefs of Mind, far beyond thofe Plays whofe Whole Plot turns upon

vehe.

vehement and uncontroulable Love, fuch as are most of our modern Tragedies. Thefe certainly have not the great Effect that others have, which turn either upon Ambition, the Love of one's Country, or Paternal or Filial Tenderness. Accordingly we find, that few among the Ancients, and hardly any of our Author's Plays, are built upon the Paffion of Love in a direct Manner; by which I mean, that they have not the mutual Attachment of a Lover and his Miftrefs for their chief Bafis. Love will always make a great Figure in Tragedy, if only its chief Branches be made ufe of; as for inftance, Jealousy (as in Othello) or the beautiful Diftrefs of Man and Wife (as in Romeo and Juliet) but never when the whole Play is founded upon two Lovers defiring to poffefs each other: And one of the Reasons for this feems to be, that this last Species of that Paffion is more commonly met with than the former, and fo confequently ftrikes us lefs. Add to this, that there may a Sufpicion arife, that the Paffion of Love in a direct Manner may be more fenfual than in those Branches which I have mention'd which Sufpicion is fufficient to take from its Dignity, and leffen our Veneration for it. Of all Shakespeare's Tragedies, none can furpafs this, as to the noble Paffions which it naturally raises in us. That the Reader may fee what our Poet had to work upon, I fhall infert the Plan of it as abridged from Saxo-Grammaticus's Danish Hiftory by Mr. Theobalds.

"The

"The Hiftorian calls our Poets Hero Ams "lethus, his Father Horwendillus, his Un"cle Fengo, and his Mother Gerutha. The "old King in fingle Combat, flew Collerus, "King of Norway; Fengo makes away with "his Brother Horwendillus, and marries his "Widow Gerutha. Amlethus, to avoid be

A fine

ing suspected by his Uncle of Designs, "affumes a Form of utter Madness. "Woman is planted upon him, to try if he "would yield to the Impreffions of Love. "Fengo contrives, that Amlethus, in order to "found him, fhould be closetted by his Mo"ther. A Man is conceal'd in the Rushes to "overhear their Discourse; whom Amlethus "discovers and kills. When the Queen is "frighted at this Behaviour of his; he tasks "her about her criminal Courfe of Life, and "inceftuous Converfation with her former "Husband's Murtherer; confeffes his Mad"nefs is but counterfeited, to protect him"felf, and fecure his Revenge for his Father; "to which he injoins the Queen's Silence. "Fengo fends Amlethus to Britain: Two of "the King's Servants attend him with Letters "to the British King, ftrictly preffing the "Death of Amlethus, who, in the Night "Time, coming at their Commiffion, over"reads it, forms a new One, and turns the "Destruction defigned towards himself on the "Bearers of the Letters. Amlethus return"ing Home, by a Wile furprizes and kills his "Uncle." I fhall have Occafion to remark

in

in the Sequel, that in one Particular he has follow'd the Plan fo clofely as to produce an Abfurdity in his Plot. And I must premise alfo this, that in my Examination of the whole Conduct of the Play, the Reader must not be surprised, if I cenfure any Part of it, although it be entirely in Conformity to the Plan the Author has chofen; because it is eafy to conceive, that a Poet's Judgment is particularly fhewn in chufing the proper Circumftances, and rejecting the improper Ones of the Ground-work which he raises his Play upon. In general we are to take Notice, that as History ran very low in his Days, most of his Plays are founded upon fome old wretched Chronicler, or fome empty Italian Novelift; but the more bafe and mean were his Materials, fo much more ought we to admire His Skill, Who has been able to work up his Pieces to fuch Sublimity from fuch low Originals. Had he had the Advantages of many of his Succeffors, ought not we to believe, that he would have made the greatest Use of them? I fhall not infift upon the Merit of those who first break through the thick Mist of Barbarifm in Poetry, which was fo strong about the Time our Poet writ, because this must be easily fenfible to every Reader who has the leaft Tincture of Letters; but thus much we must observe,. that before his Time there were very few (if any) Dramatick Performances of any Tragick Writer, which deferve to be remembred; fo much were all

the