be free. Alon. This is as strange a maze as e'er men trod: And there is in this business more than nature Pro. Sir, my liege, Do not infest your mind with beating on The strangeness of this business: at pick'd leisure, Which shall be shortly, single I'll resolve you (Which to you shall seem probable3) of every These happen'd accidents: till when, be cheerful, And think of each thing well.-Come hither, spirit; [Aside. Set Caliban and his companions free: There are yet missing of your company Re-enter ARIEL, driving in CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and TRINCULO, in their stolen apparel. Ste. Every man shift for all the rest, and let no man take care for himself; for all is but fortune:Coragio, bully-monster, Coragio! Trin. If these be true spies which I wear in my nead, here's a goodly sight. Cal. O Setebos, these be brave spirits, indeed! How fine my master is! I am afraid He will chastise me. Ant. Very like; one of them Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable. Pro. Mark but the badges of these men, my lords, Then say, His mother was a witch; and one so strong Cal. should they Find this grand liquor that hath gilded them ?"-How cam'st thou in this pickle? Trin. I have been in such a pickle, since I saw you last, that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing, Seb. Why, how now, Stephano? And worship this dull fool! Pro. Go to; away! Alon. Hence, and bestow your luggage where you found it. Seb. Or stole it, rather. [Exeunt CAL. STE. and TIN. Pro. Sir, I invite your highness, and your train To my poor cell where you shall take your rest For this one night; which (part of it) I'll waste With such discourse, as, I not doubt, shall make it Go quick away: the story of my life, And the particular accidents, gone by, Since I came to this isle: And in the morn, I'll bring you to your ship, and so to Naples, Where I have hope to see the nuptial Of these our dear-belov'd solemnized; And thence retire me to my Milan, where Every third thought shall be my grave. Alon. I long To hear the story of your life, which must Take the ear strangely. I'll deliver all; And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales, And sail so expeditious, that shall catch That is thy charge; then to the elements Your royal fleet far off.-My Ariel,-chick,Be free, and fare thou well!--[Aside.] Please you, [Exeunt. Pro. draw near. EPILOGUE. SPOKEN BY PROSPERO. Now my charms are all o'erthrown, Ás you from crimes would pardon'd be, Let your indulgence set me free. [It is observed of The Tempest, that its plan is regular; this the author of The Revisal thinks, what I think too, an accidental effect of the story, not intended or regarded by our author. But whatever might be Shak speare's intention in forming or adopting the plot, he has Ste. O, touch me not; I am not Stephano, but a made it instrumental to the production of many charac cramp. on. Pro. You'd be king of the isle, sirráh? Ste. I should have been a sore one then. Alon. This is as strange a thing as e'er I look'd [Pomting to CALIBAN. Pro. He is as disproportion'd in his manners, As in his shape :-Go, sirrah, to my cell; Take with you your companions; as you look To have my pardon, trim it handsomely. Cal. Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter, And seek for grace: What a thrice double ass Was I, to take this drunkard for a god, 1 Conductor. 2 There is a vulgar expression still in use, of similar import, "Still hammering at it." 3 This parenthetical passage seems to mean:-"When ters, diversified with boundless invention, and preserved with profound skill in nature, extensive knowledge of opinions, and accurate observation of life. In a single drama are here exhibited princes, courtiers, and sailors, all speaking in their real characters. There is the agency of airy spirits, and of an earthly goblin. The operations of magic, the tumults of a storm, the adven tures of a desert island, the native effusion of untaught affection, the punishment of guilt, and the final happi ness of the pair for whom our passions and reason are equally interested.] JOHNSON. 5 That is, work the same effects as the moon without her delegated authority. 6 The allusion is to the elixir of the Alchemists The phrase of being gilded was a trite one for being drunk Fletcher uses it in the Chances : Duke. Is she not drunk too? Wh. A little gilded o'er, sir; old sack, old boys. 7 By your applause. Noise was supposed to dissolv I have explained to you, then these strange events shall a spell. Thus before in this play :seem more probable than they do now." PRELIMINARY REMARKS. THIS is one of Shakspeare's earliest if not his first play. It was not printed until 1623, but it is mentioned by Meres in his Wit's Treasury, printed in 1598. It bears strong internal marks of an early composition. Pope has observed, that "the style of this comedy is less figurative, and more natural and unaffected than the greater part of Shakspeare's, though supposed to be one of the first he wrote." Malone is inclined to consider this to be in consequence of that very circumstance, and that it is natural and unaffected because it was a youthful performance. "Though many young poets of ordinary talents are led by false taste to adopt inflated and figurative language, why should we suppose that such should have been the course pursued by this mas ter genius? The figurative style of Othello, Lear, and Macbeth, written when he was an established and long practised dramatist, may be ascribed to the additional knowledge of men and things which he had acquired during a period of fifteen years; in consequence of which his mind teemed with images and illustrations, and thoughts crowded so fast upon him, that the construction, in these and some other plays of a still later period, is much more difficult and involved than in the productions of his youth." condemned for adopting a mode of writing admired by his contemporaries; they were not considered low and trifling in Shakspeare's age, but on the contrary were very generally admired and allowed for pure and ge nuine wit. Yet some of these scenes have much farcical drollery and invention: that of Launce with his dog in the fourth act is an instance, and surely "Speed's mode of proving his master to be in love is neither deficient in wit or sense." "The tender scenes in this play, though not so highly wrought as in some others, have often much sweetness of sentiment and expression." Schlegel says: "it is as if the world was obliged to accommodate itself to a transient youthful caprice, called love." Julia may be considered a light sketch of the lovely characters of Viola and Imogen. Her answer to Lucetta's advice against following her lover in disguise has been pointed out as a beautiful and highly poetical passage. "That it should ever have been a question whether this comedy were the genuine and entire composition of Shakspeare appears to me very extraordinary," says Malone. "Hanmer and Upton never seem to have considered whether it were his first or one of his latest pieces:-is no allowance to be made for the first flights of a young poet? nothing for the imitation of a prece. ding celebrated dramatist, which in some of the lower dialogues of this comedy (and these only) may, I think, be traced? But even these, as well as the other parts of the play, are perfectly Shakspearian (1 do not say as finished and beautiful as any of his other pieces ;) and the same judgment must, I conceive, be pronounced concerning the Comedy of Errors and Love's Labour's Lost, by every person who is intimately acquainted with his manner of writing and thinking."' Hanmer thought Shakspeare had no other hand in this play than the enlivening it with some speeches and lines, which, he thinks, are easily distinguished from the rest. Upton peremptorily asserts, "that if any proof can be drawn from manner and style, this play must be sent packing, and seek for its parent else. where." "How otherwise," says he, "do painters distinguish copies from originals, and have not authors their peculiar style and manner, from which a true critic can form as unerring judgment as a painter?" To this Johnson replies very satisfactorily: "I am afraid this illustration of a eritic's science will not prove what is desired. A painter knows a copy from an original by rules somewhat resembling those by which critics know a translation, which, if it be literal, and literal it must be to resemble the copy of a picture, will be easily Jistinguished. Copies are known from originals, even when a painter copies his own picture; so if an author should literally translate his work, he would lose the manner of an original. Upton confounds the copy of a picture with the imitation of a painter's manner. Copies are easily known; but good imitations are not detected with equal certainty, and are, by the best judges, often mistaken. Nor is it true that the writer has always peculiarities equally distinguishable with those of the painter. The peculiar manner of each arises from the desire, natural to every performer, of facilitating his subsequent work by recurrence to his former ideas; this recurrence produces that repetition which is called habit. The painter, whose work is partly intellectual and partly manual, has habits of the mind, the eye, and the hand; the writer has only habits of the mind. Some of the incidents in this play may be sup Yet some painters have differed as much from them-posed to have been taken from The Arcadia, book 1. selves as from any other; and I have been told, thatch. vi. where Pyrocles consents to head the Helots. there is little resemblance between the first works of The Arcadia was entered on the Stationers' books in Raphael and the last. The same variation may be ex1588. The love adventure of Julia resembles that of pected in writers; and, if it be true, as it seems, that Viola in Twelfth Night, and is indeed common to many they are less subject to habit, the difference between their works may be yet greater." Sir William Blackstone observes, "that one of the great faults of the Two Gentlemen of Verona is the has tening too abruptly, and without preparation, to the denouement, which shows that it was one of Shakspeare's very early performances." Dr. Johnson in his concluding observations has remarked upon the geogra phical errors. They cannot be defended by attributing them to his youthful inexperience, for one of his latest productions is also liable to the same objection. To which Malone replies: "The truth, I believe, is, that as he neglected to observe the rules of the drama with respect to the unities, though before he began to write they had been enforced by Sidney in a treatise which doubtless he had read; so he seems to have thought that the whole terraqueous globe was at his command; and as he brought in a child at the beginning of a play, who in the fourth act appears as a woman, so he seems to have set geography at defiance, and to have considered countries as inland or maritime just as it suited his fancy or convenience." of the ancient novels. Mrs. Lennox informs us, that the story of Proteus and Julia might be taken from a similar one in "The Diana" of Montemayor. This pastoral romance was translated from the Spanish in Shakspeare's time, by Bartholomew Young, and published in 1598. It does not appear that it was previously published, though it was translated two or three years before by one Thomas Wilson, perhaps some parts of it may have been made public, or Shakspeare may have found the tale elsewhere. It has before been observed that Meres menItions the Two Gentlemen of Verona in his book, published in 1598. Malone conjectures that this play was the first that Shakspeare wrote, and places the date of its composition in the year 1591. "But by the internal marks of composition we may discover the author with probability, though seldom with certainty. When I read this play, I cannot but think that I find both in the serious and ludicrous scenes, the language and sentiments of Shakspeare. It is not indeed one of his most powerful effusions; it has neither many diversities of character, nor striking delineation of life, but it abounds in yvopai beyond most of his plays, and few have more lines or passages which, singly considered, are eminently beautiful." am yet inclined to believe that it was not very success. ful, and suspect that it has escaped corruption, only be cause, being seldom played, it was less exposed to the hazards of transcription." Pope has set what he calls a mark of reprobation upon the low and trifling conceits which are to be found in this play. It is true that the familiar scenes abound with quibbles and conceits; but the poet must not be * Malone points at Lilly, whose comedies were performed with great success and admiration previous to Shakspeare's commencement of his dramatic career Think on thy Proteus, when thou, haply, seest Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel: Wish me partaker in thy happiness, JULIA, a Lady of Verona, beloved by Proteus. SILVIA, the Duke's Daughter, beloved by ValenLUCETTA, Waiting-woman to Julia. tine. Servants, Musicians. SCENE, sometimes in VERONA; sometimes in MILAN; and on the frontiers of MANTUA. And he that is so yoked by a fool, Pro. Yet writers say, As in the sweetest bud Val. And writers say, As the most forward bud Is eaten by the canker ere it blow, Even so by love the young and tender wit Pro. And thither will I bring thee, Valentine. Val. Sweet Proteus, no; now let us take our leave. To Milan, let me hear from thee by letters, When thou dost meet good hap; and, in thy Betideth here in absence of thy friend; danger, If ever danger do environ thee, Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers, Val. And on a love-book pray for my success. Pro. Upon some book I love, I'll pray for thee. Val. That's on some shallow story of deep love, How young Leander cross'd the Hellespont.3 Pro. That's a deep story of a deeper love; For he was more than over shoes in love. Val. 'Tis true; for you are over boots in love, And yet you never swam the Hellespont. Pro. Over the boots? nay, give me not the boots.4 Val. No, I will not, for it boots thee not. What? Val. To be in love, where scorn is bought with groans; Coy looks, with heart-sore sighs; one fading mo ment's mirth, With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights: If lost, why then a grievous labour won; Or else a wit by folly vanquished. And I likewise will visit thee with mine. Pro. He after honour hunts, I after love. Speed. Sir Proteus, save you: Saw you my master? Pro. But now he parted hence, to embark for Milan. Speed. Twenty to one then he is shipp'd already; And I have played the sheep,' in losing him. Pro. Indeed a sheep doth very often stray, An if the shepherd be awhile away. Speed. You conclude that my master is a shepherd then, and I a sheep? Pro. I do. Speed. Why then, my horns are his horns, whe Pro. So by your circumstance, you call me fool.ther I wake or sleep. prove. Pro. "Tis love you cavil at; I am not Love. Val. Love is your master, for he masters you: 1 Milton has the same play upon words in his Comus. "It is for homely features to keep home, They had their name thence." 2 The expression shapeless idleness is admirably expressive, as implying that idleness prevents the giving form or character to the manners. 3 The allusion is to Marlow's poem of Hero and Leander, which was entered on the Stationers' books 1593. though not published till 1598. It was proba. bly circulated in manuscript in the interim, as was the custom at that period. The poem seems to have made an impression on Shakspeare, who appears to have recently perused it, for he again alludes to it in the third act. And in As You Like It he has quoted a line from it. Pro. A silly answer, and fitting well a sheep. 4 A proverbial expression, now disused, signifying, 'Don't make a laughing-stock of me.' The French have a phrase Bailler foin en corne: which Cotgrave interprets, 'to give one the boots; to sell him a bargain." Perhaps deduced from a humorous punishment at har. vest home feasts in Warwickshire. 5 Circumstance is usea equivocally. It here means conduct; in the preceding line, circumstantial de duction. 6 The construction of this passage, is, "Let me hear from thee by letters to Milan," i. e. addressed to Milan. 7 In Warwickshire, and some other counties, a sheep is pronounced a ship. Without this explanation the jest, such as it is, might escape the reader Pro. It shall go hard, but I'll prove it by another. Speed. The shepherd seeks the sheep, and not the sheep the shepherd; but I seek my master, and my master seeks not me: therefore I am no sheep. Pro. The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd, the shepherd for food follows not the sheep; thou for wages followest thy master, thy master for wages follows not thee: therefore thou art a sheep. Speed. Such another proof will make me cry baa. Pro. But dost thou hear! gav'st thou my letter to Julia? Speed. Ay, sir; I, a lost mutton, gave your letter to her, a laced mutton;' and she, a laced mutton, gave me, a lost mutton, nothing for my labour. Pro. Here's too small a pasture for such a store of muttons. Speed. If the ground be overcharged, you were best stick her. Speed. I. [SPEED nods. Pro. Nod, I! why, that's noddy. Speed. You mistook, sir? I say she did nod: and you ask me, if she did nod; and I say, I. Pro. And that set together is-noddy. Speed. Now you have taken the pains to set it together, take it for your pains. Pro. No, no, you shall have it for bearing the letter. Speed. Well, I perceive I must be fain to bear with you. Pro. Why, sir, how do you bear with me? Speed. Marry, sir, the letter very orderly; having nothing but the word, noddy, for my pains. Pro. Beshrew me, but you hav a quick wit. Speed. And yet it cannot overtake your slow purse. Pro. Come, come, open the matter in brief: What said she? Speed. Open your purse, that the money and the matter may be both at once delivered. Pro. Well, sir, here is for your pains: What said she? Speed. Truly, sir, I think you'll hardly win her. Pro. Why? Could'st thou perceive so much from her? Speed. Sir, I could perceive nothing at all from her; no, not so much as a ducat for delivering your letter: And being so hard to me that brought your mind, I fear she'll prove as hard to you in telling your mind. Give her no token but stones, for she's as hard as steel. Pro. What, said she nothing? Speed. No, not so much as-take this for thy pains. To testify your bounty, I thank you, you have testern'd' me; in requital whereof, henceforth carry your letters yourself: and so, sir, I'll commend you to my master. Pro. Go, go, begone, to save your ship from wreck; Which cannot perish, having thee aboard, SCENE II. The same. Garden of Julia's house. Jul. But say, Lucetta, now we are alone, Would'st thou then counsel me to fall in love? Luc. Ay, madam; so you stumble not unheed. fully, Jul. Of all the fair resort of gentlemen, That every day with parle encounter me, In thy opinion, which is worthiest love? Luc. Please you, repeat their names, I'll show my mind According to my shallow simple skill. Jul. What think'st thou of the fair Sir Eglamour? Luc. As of a knight well-spoken, neat and fine; But, were I you, he never should be mine. Jul. What think'st thou of the rich Mercatio? Luc. Well of his wealth; but of himself, so, so. Jul. What think'st thou of the gentle Proteus? Luc. Lord, lord! to see what folly reigns in us! Jul. How now! what means this passion at his name? Luc. Pardon, dear madam; 'tis a passing shame, That I, unworthy body as I am, Should censure thus on lovely gentlemen. Jul. Why not on Proteus, as of all the rest? Luc. Thon thus,-of many good I think him best. Jul. Your reason? Luc. I have no other but a woman's reason; I think him so, because I think him so. Jul. And would'st thou have me cast my love or. him? Luc. Ay, if you thought your love not cast away Jul. I would, I knew his mind. That the contents will show. He would have given it you, but I, being in the way, Ju. Will you be gone? Luc. That you may ruminate. [Exit. Jul. And yet, I would I had o'erlook'd the letter. It were a shame to call her back again, And pray her to a fault for which I chid her. What fool is she, that knows I am a maid, And would not force the letter to my view! Since maids, in modesty, say No, to that Which they would have the profferer construe, Ay. Fie, fie, how wayward is this foolish love, That, like a testy babe, will scratch the nurse, And presently, all humbled, kiss the rod! How churlishly I chid Lucetta hence, When willingly I would have had her here! How angerly I taught my brow to frown, When inward joy enforc'd my heart to smile! My penance is, to call Lucetta back, And ask permission for my folly past:What ho! Lucetta! Luc. That I might sing it, madam, to a tune: Give me a note: your ladyship can set.3 Jul. As little by such toys as may be possible: Best sing it to the tune of Light o' love." Luc. It is too heavy for so light a tune. Jul. And why not you? Luc. I cannot reach so high. Jul. Let's see your song:-How now, minion? Luc. No, madam; it is too sharp. And mar the concord with too harsh a descant:4 Go, get you gone; and let the papers lie: Injurious wasps! to feed on such sweet honey, I throw thy name against the bruising stones, And throw it thence into the raging sea! He couples it to his complaining names: Now kiss, embrace, contend, do what you will. SCENE III.-The same. A Room in Antonio' Pant. He wonder'd, that your lordship Would suffer him to spend his youth at home; While other men, of slender reputation, Put forth their sons to seek preferment out: Some, to the wars, to try their fortune there; Some, to discover islands far away; Some, to the studious universities. For any, or for all these exercises, He said, that Proteus, your son, was meet; And did request me, to importune you, To let him spend his time no more at home, Which would be great impeachment to his age, In having known no travel in his youth. Ant. Nor need'st thou much importune me to that [Tears the letter. Whereon this month I have been hammering. To be so anger'd with another letter. [Exit. Jul. Nay, would I were as anger'd with the same! O hateful hands, to tear such loving words! 1 First folio, ye. 2 Stomach, for passion or obstinacy. 7 Since. 8" for catching cold," i. e. lest they should catch cold, anciently a common form of expression. See Horne Tooke's explanation of this word in the first volume of "The Diversions of Purley." 9 Month's mind, a longing, probably from "the longing of women, which takes place (or commences, at least) in the first month of pregnancy." This is the 3 Set is here used equivocally; in the preceding speech in the sense in which it is used by musicians, and in the present line in a quite different sense. Το set by in old language signifies, to make account of, to estimate. See the first Book of Samuel, xviii. 30. 4 Descant signified formerly what we now call vari-ingenious conjecture of John Croft, Esq. of York. The ations. It has been well defined to be musical paraphrase The mean is the tenor in music. 5 To bid the base means, to run fast, challenging another to pursue at the rustic game called Base, or Prisonbase. The allusion is somewhat obscure, but it appears to mean here, "to challenge to an encounter." 6 i. e. bustle, stir. commentators have endeavoured to refer this passage to the month's minds, or periodical celebrations in memory of dead persons, usual in times of popery ;-but the phrase in this place can have no relation to them. 10 i. e. grave or serious. 11 Impeachment in this passage means reproach or imputation. |