WINTER'S TALE.] This play, throughout, is written in the very spirit of its author. And in telling this homely and fimple, though agreeable, country tale, Our fweeteft Shakspeare, fancy's child, Warbles his native wood-notes wild. This was neceffary to obferve in mere juftice to the play; as the meanness of the fable, and the extravagant conduct of it, had misled fome of great name into a wrong judgment of its merit; which, as far as it regards fentiment and character, is scarce inferior to any in the whole collection. WARBUrton. At Stationers' Hall, May 22, 1594, Edward White entered "A booke entitled A Wynter Nyght's Paftime:" STEEVENS. The ftory of this play is taken from The Pleasant History of Doraftus and Fawnia, written by Robert Greene. JOHNSON. In this novel, the King of Sicilia, whom Shakspeare names Leontes, is called Egiftus. Garinter. Doraftus. Franion Porrus. Bellaria. Faunia. Mopfa. The parts of Antigonus, Paulina, and Autolycus, are of the poet's own invention; but many circumftances of the novel are omitted in the play. STEEVENS. Dr. Warburton, by "fome of great name," means Dryden and Pope. See the Effay at the end of the Second Part of The Conqueft of Granada: "Witness the lameness of their plots; [the plots of Shakspeare and Fletcher ;] many of which, efpecially those which they wrote firft, (for even that age refined itself in some measure,) were made up of fome ridiculous incoherent story, which in one play many times took up the business of an age. I fuppofe I need not name, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, [and here, by-the-by, Dryden exprefsly names Pericles as our author's production,] nor the hiftorical plays of Shakspeare; befides many of the reft, as The Winter's Tale, Love's Labour's Loft, Meafure for Measure, which were either grounded on impoffibilities, or at leaft fo meanly written, that the comedy neither caufed your mirth, nor the ferious part your concernment." Mr. Pope, in the Preface to his edition of our author's plays, pronounced the fame ill-confidered judgment on the play before us : "I fhould conjecture (fays he,) of fome of the others, particularly Love's Labour's Loft, THE WINTER'S TALE, Comedy of Errors, and Titus Andronicus, that only fome characters, fingle fcenes, or perhaps a few particular passages, were of his hand.' None of our author's plays has been more cenfured for the breach of dramatick rules than The Winter's Tale. In confirmation of what Mr. Steevens has remarked in another place— "that Shakspeare was not ignorant of these rules, but difregarded them," it may be observed, that the laws of the drama are clearly laid down by a writer once univerfally read and admired, Sir Philip Sidney, who, in his Defence of Poefy, 1595, has pointed out the very improprieties into which our author has fallen in this play. After mentioning the defects of the tragedy of Gorboduc, he adds: "But if it be fo in Gorboducke, how much more in all the reft, where you shall have Afia of the one fide, and Affricke of the other, and fo manie other under kingdomes, that the player when he comes in, muft ever begin with telling where he is, or else the tale will not be conceived.-Now of time they are much more liberal. For ordinarie it is, that two young princes fall in love, after many traverses she is got with childe, delivered of a faire boy: he is loft, groweth a man, falleth in love, and is readie to get another childe, and all this in two houres space: which how abfurd it is in fence, even fence may imagine." The Winter's Tale is fneered at by B. Jonson, in the Induction to Bartholomew Fair, 1614: "If there be never a fervantmonster in the fair, who can help it, nor a neft of antiques? He is loth to make nature afraid in his plays, like those that beget TALES, Tempests, and fuch like drolleries." By the neft of antiques, the twelve fatyrs who are introduced at the sheepfhearing feftival, are alluded to.-In his converfation with Mr. Drummond of Hawthornden, in 1619, he has another stroke at his beloved friend: "He [Jonfon] faid, that Shakspeare wanted art, and fometimes fenfe; for in one of his plays he brought in a number of men, saying they had fuffered fhipwreck in Bohemia, where is no fea near by 100 miles." Drummond's Works, fol. 225, edit. 1711. When this remark was made by Ben Jonson, The Winter's Tale was not printed. These words, therefore, are a sufficient anfwer to Sir T. Hanmer's idle fuppofition that Bohemia was an error of the prefs for Bythinia. This play, I imagine, was written in the year 1604. See An Attempt to afcertain the Order of Shakspeare's Plays, Vol. II. MALONE. Sir Thomas Hanmer gave himself much needlefs concern that Shakspeare fhould confider Bohemia as a maritime country. He would have us read Bythinia: but our author implicitly copied the novel before him. Dr. Grey, indeed, was apt to believe that Doraftus and Faunia might rather be borrowed from the play; but I have met with a copy of it, which was printed in 1588.-Cervantes ridicules these geographical mistakes, when he makes the princess Micomicona land at Offuna.-Corporal Trim's king of Bohemia " delighted in navigation, and had never a feaport in his dominions ;" and my Lord Herbert tells us, that De Luines, the prime minister of France, when he was embaffador there, demanded, whether Bohemia was an inland country, or lay" upon the fea ?"-There is a fimilar mistake in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, relative to that city and Milan. FARMER. The Winter's Tale may be ranked among the historic plays of Shakspeare, though not one of his numerous criticks and commentators have difcovered the drift of it. It was certainly intended (in compliment to Queen Elizabeth,) as an indirecta pology for her mother, Anne Boleyn. The addrefs of the poet appears no where to more advantage. The fubject was too delicate to be exhibited on the ftage without a veil; and it was too recent, and touched the Queen too nearly, for the bard to have ventured fo home an allufion on any other ground than compliment. The unreasonable jealousy of Leontes, and his violent conduct in confequence, form a true portrait of Henry the Eighth, who generally made the law the engine of his boisterous paffions, Not only the general plan of the story is most applicable, but feveral paffages are so marked, that they touch the real history nearer than the fable. Hermione on her trial says: for honour, ""Tis a derivative from me to mine, "And only that I stand for." This feems to be taken from the very letter of Anne Boleyn to the King before her execution, where the pleads for the infant Princess his daughter. Mamillius, the young Prince, an unneceffary character, dies in his infancy; but it confirms the allufion, as Queen Anne, before Elizabeth, bore a still-born fon. But the moft ftriking paffage, and which had nothing to do in the tragedy, but as it pictured Elizabeth, is, where Paulina, defcribing the new-born Princess, and her likeness to her father, fays: "She has the very trick of his frown." There is one fentence indeed fo applicable, both to Elizabeth and her father, that I should suspect the poet inserted it after her death. Paulina, speaking of the child, tells the King: 'Tis yours; "And might we lay the old proverb to your charge, "So like you, 'tis the worfe." The Winter's Tale was therefore in reality a fecond part of Henry the Eighth. WALPOLE. |