- 7 
CHARACTERS. 
charms by which he interests us so 
forcibly in his plots. These are 
the .only features of the Spanish 
‘stage which Corneille left unim- 
proved; and to these some slight 
resemblance may be traced in the 
operas of Metastasio, whom *the 
Spaniards represent as the admirer 
and imitator of their theatre. In 
his heroic plays there is a greater 
4 variety of plot than in his comedies, 
though it is not to be expected that 
inthe many hundreds he composed, 
he should not often repeat the same 
Situation and events. On the whole, 
however, the fertility of his genius, 
in the contrivance of interesting plots, 
_ is as surprising as in the composition 
of verse. Among the many I have 
read, [ have not fallen on one which 
does not strongly fix the attention ; 
and though many of his plots have 
been transferred to the French and 
English stage, and rendered more 
correct and more probable, they 
have seldom or never been improved 
___ in the great article of exciting curio- 
sity_and interest. This was the 
spell by which he enchanted the 
populace, to whose taste for won- 
ders he is accused of having sacri- 
ficed so much solid reputation. True 
it is that his extraordinary and em- 
barrassing situations are often as un- 
prepared by previous events as they 
are unforeseen by the audience; 
they come upon one by surprise, and 
when we know them, we are as 
much at a loss to account for such 
strange occurrences as before ; they 
are produced, not for the purpose 
of exhibiting the peculiarities of cha- 
racter, or the workings of nature, 
but with a view of astonishing the 
audience with strange, unexpected, 
unnatural, and often inconsistent 
~ conduct in some of the principal cha- 
racters, Nor is this the only de. 
853 
fect in his plots. The personages, 
like the author, ara full of intrigue 
and invention ; and while they lay 
schemes and devise plots, with as 
much ingenuity as Lope himself, 
they seem to be actuated by the same 
motives also; for it is diflicult to 
discover any other than that of di- 
vertiug and surprising the audience. 
Theic efforts were generally attend. 
ed with success.. All contemporary 
authors bear testimony to the po- 
pularity of Lope’s pieces ; and for 
many years he continued the fa- 
vourite of the public. Stories are 
related of the audience taking so 
lively an interestin his plays, as to. ° 
tally to give way to the illusion, and 
to interrupt the representation. A 
spectator on one occasion is said to 
have interfered with great anxiety 
for the protection of an unfortunate 
princess—‘ dando voces,’ says my 
author, ‘ contra el cruel homicida 
que degollaba al parecer una dama 
inocente’—crying out against the 
cruel murderer, who to all ap- 
pearanee was slaying an innocent 
lady.” 
“* Tt has often appeared to me,” 
says lord Ifolland, ‘‘ that the fre- 
quent recurrence of antithesis on the 
Spanish stage was a natural conse- 
quence of the short verses, in which 
most of their old scenes are com- 
posed. As the public are extremely 
partial to that metre, which is near- 
ly the same as that of the old bal- 
lads or romances, and as they think 
it peculiarly adapted to recitation, 
a stranger should speak with great 
difidence in his own judgment, 
when it is. at variance with the 
Spaniards on such a subject ; but it 
is certain that such dialogues as con~ 
tain most points, are those which 
are best received on their stage ; 
and few couplets in that metre are 
313 quoted 
