Page:The Plays of William Shakspeare (1778).djvu/28

16 thoe exhibitions which would be more affecting, for the ake of thoe which are more eay.

It may be oberved, that in many of his plays the latter part is evidently neglected. When he found himelf near the end of his work, and in view of his reward, he hortened the labour to match the profit. He therefore remits his efforts where he hould mot vigorouly exert them, and his catatrophe is improbably produced or imperfectly repreented.

He had no regard to ditinction of time or place, but gives to one age or nation, without cruple, the cutoms, intitutions, and opinions of another, at the expence not only of likelihood, but of poibility. Thee faults Pope has endeavoured, with more zeal than judgment, to transfer to his imagined interpolators. We need not wonder to find Hector quoting Aritotle, when we ee the loves of Theeus and Hippolyta combined with the Gothick mythology of fairies. Shakepeare, indeed, was not the only violator of chronology, for in the ame age Sidney, who wanted not the advantages of learning, has, in his Arcadia, confounded the patoral with the feudal times, the days of innocence, quiet, and ecurity, with thoe of turbulence, violence, and adventure.

In his comick cenes he is eldom very uccesful, when he engages his characters in reciprocations of martnes and contets of arcam; their jets are commonly gros, and their pleaantry licentious; neither his gentlemen nor his ladies have much delicacy, nor are