Page:The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, Volume 2.djvu/197

Rh are the last product of the design, of the disposition or connection of its parts; of the characters, of the manners of those characters, and of the thoughts proceeding from those manners. Rapin's words are remarkable: 'Tis not the admirable intrigue, the surprising events, and extraordinary incidents, that make the beauty of a tragedy; 'tis the discourses, when they are natural and passionate: so are Shakspeare's.

The parts of a poem, tragick or heroick, are,

I. The fable itself.

2. The order or manner of its contrivance, in relation of the parts to the whole.

3. The manners, or decency, of the characters, in speaking or acting what is proper for them, and proper to be shewn by the poet.

4. The thoughts which express the manners.

5. The words which express those thoughts.

In the last of these, Homer excels Virgil; Virgil all ancient poets; and Shakspeare all modern poets.

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