472 SCHELLING— THE COMMON FOLK OF SHAKESPEARE. 



The drama by Shakespeare's day had ah-eady evolved, or rather 

 created by iteration, several very definite stock personages. One of 

 these is the pedant or schoolmaster, so well known to Italian comedy ; 

 and Holof ernes, in "Love's Labour's Lost," with his loquacity, 

 affectation of learning and essential ignorance, is Shakespeare's most 

 certain contribution to the type. As to " the pedant " so nominated 

 in " The Shrew," this personage is taken over bodily from Gascoigne's 

 " Supposes," the translation of an Italian play, and performs no 

 " pedantic '' function ; while Pinch, in " The Errors/' is called in 

 momentarily to exorcise the devil out of half maddened Antipholus 

 of Ephesus. In the Welshman, Sir Hugh Evans of " The Merry 

 Wives of Windsor," we modulate, so to speak, from the schoolmaster 

 to the parson, for Evans apparently performed the functions of both. 

 Evans is no fool, however he may have sung to keep up his courage 

 on one memorable occasion, in breaking voice, ungowned and sword 

 in trembling hand, while he awaited the coming of his terrible adver- 

 sary, the Erench Doctor Caius, deceived in the meeting like himself, 

 by a parcel of incorrigible wags. 



Shakespeare's curates, parsons and religious folk are many. Of 

 the class of Evans are Sir Nathaniel, in " Love's Labour's Lost " and 

 Sir OHver Martext in " As You Like It." Sir Nathaniel is zany to 

 the ponderous folly of Holofernes, he who plays the role of 

 " Alisander " to the latter's Judas in the immortal " ostentation, or 

 show, or pageant, or antique of the Nine Worthies " ; while our joy 

 in Sir Oliver lies more in his delectable cognomen " Martext " than 

 in the very brief scenes in which he is brought in to " despatch " 

 Touchstone and his Audrey into matrimony under the greenwood 

 tree. The Shakespearean friar is a more important personage, from 

 the plotting, necromantic Home and Southwell in the second part of 

 " Henry VI " to Juliet's Friar Lawrence with his minor counterpart 

 of minor function, Eriar Erancis in " Much Ado," and the Duke, 

 disguised as such, in " Measure for Measure." Whether a matter 

 wholly referable to his sources or not, Shakespeare conceived of the 

 friar of Roman Catholic Verona, Messina or Vienna, in a very 

 different spirit from that in which he represents the small parson. 

 Sir Hugh or Sir Oliver. Eriar Erancis in "Much Ado" detects 

 the " strange misprision in the two princes " whereby the Lady Hero 



