shakspeare's writings. 27 



Every part is to be found in nature : — it is the com- 

 bination which is so " solely singular." Hamlet is 

 a young man of boundless enthusiasm, and (a natu- 

 ral concomitant) acute sensitiveness ; energetic but 

 undecisive — of fiery temperament, but too much the 

 creature of momentary impulse to fulfil any violent 

 resolution not within immediate compass — a youth 

 of natural wit and polished education ; of unimpeach- 

 able integrity — strong in his likings, and (by reason) 

 marked in his aversions — favorably inclined to 

 honesty, albeit in " a Fishmonger," and to players 

 who "do but poison in jest" — not overlooking real 

 roguery and affecting to despise him who only mimics 

 it ; hating the quackery of court fashion, and disgust- 

 ed to think that man " so noble in reason ! so infi- 

 nite in faculties ! in action so like an angel ! in 

 apprehension so like a god ! " should be capable of 

 folly and prone to guilt ! — that " the paragon of ani- 

 mals, and the beauty of the world " should so dis- 

 grace his noble nature as to succumb to the tyranny 

 of lust as exampled in his uncle — to the meanness of 

 a truckling courtesy, as practised by Polonius — to 

 the acceptance of dishonorable hire, as seen in 

 Rozincrantz and Guildensterne — or to the rule of 

 foppery as shown in the " waterfly " Osrick. That 

 Hamlet is not yet understood, sufficiently appears in 

 the contest, which has hitherto existed among the 

 critics, as to whether he is ever mad or not. I had 

 long thought — and, since the delivery of an admira- 

 ble paper upon Insanity, by a brother member, in 

 December last — am more convinced that we are all 

 mad, more or less. But, I would ask this question : 

 — If Hamlet's denial of madness (after some appear- 

 ances of it have been manifested) be no arp^ument of 

 his sanity, may we not think that his singularity is in 

 a very great degree feigned ? He himself tells us, 

 that he will " hereafter put an antic disposition on " 

 — and (be it remembered) in the closet scene, con- 

 jures his mother to go with him in the deception. 

 He is sufliciently rational when he first appeals 



