DRAM A. 



tna in the 

 Ittth cen- 

 tury. 



Alficri. 



central point of union for Italian ambition. The Ko- 

 , the Lombards, the Tuscans, the Picdmontete, 

 the Venetians, and the Neopolitan>, considered each 

 other as having different interests, and as enemies, or 

 at least rivals, both in tin- sciences ami in the fine arts." 

 Here Calsibigi dilutes on the baneful effects of the op- 

 position in schools of painting, a subject on which we 

 are incapable of appreciating the truth of his remarks ; 

 but language being a more conventional way of imita- 

 ting nature, than by objects addressed immediately to 

 the sight, and intelligible to all men, it must clearly be 

 much more affected in its progress towards refinement 

 than either painting or sculpture, by the provincial 

 distractions of an unsettled style. " This is the reason, 

 (he continues) that having no permanent theatre, whilst 

 in many cities there was a musical stage, almost con- 

 stantly we have returned to this latter, forming drama- 

 tic monsters ; for such are the greatest port of our mu- 

 sical plays." 



Kttf of the 111 spite of all these disadvantages, Italy again 

 luJian dra- rose into dramatic lustre in the eighteenth century. 

 Goldoni redeemed the genius of its comedy, if not en- 

 tirely from farce, at least to comparative refinement 

 from its former state. Metastasio infused poetry into 

 the opera, and Maffei delineated in his Mi-rope, souse 

 of the strongest workings of the human heart. Seine 

 pieces of considerable interest appeared from the time 

 of Maffei to that of Alfieri; but, upon the whole, the 

 tragic genius of the country, seemed to be again sink- 

 ing into languor, when that latter extraordinary genius 

 (Alfieri) appeared. In him, the tragic muse spoke a 

 language fraught with an elevation of sentiment, and 

 a strength of majesty, of which her dramatic pieces 

 had formerly coin eyed no trace. With classical sim- 

 plicity of structure, he sought to unite a stern and aus- 

 tere grandeur of diction, wholly unlike the conceits and 

 fffeminacy which had so long possessed his native stage. 

 The universal feelings of his countrymen seemed to 

 sympathise with his regenerating efforts ; and the burst 

 of public applause which they excited, seemed to say, 

 that Italy had still majestic sentiments of virtue, to 

 which the portraitures of her sickly drama had not be- 

 fore done justice. Even the partiality of his country- 

 men, however, was not blind to the errors into which 

 his genius fell, from a systematic and overstrained pur- 

 suit of peculiar excellencies. The regularity of his 

 four first tragedies, * was felt to border upon stiffness ; 

 his austerity of sentiment, on harshness ; and the pu- 

 rity of his diction, on boldness and abrupt compression. 

 In avoiding the florid luxury of his national poetry, he 

 over-affected the sombrous energy of Dante. At a subse- 

 quent period, he adopted the scripture subject of Saul; 

 and it appears upon the whole, by its grandeur and pri- 

 mitive simplicity, to have accorded well with the tone 

 of his genius. 1'robably instructed by public opinion, 

 he now gave his thoughts a more poetical dress ; there 

 is even occasionally in this piece an oriental pomp of 

 expression. The subject is the frenzy and death of the 

 Hebrew monarch ; the cliaracters which attach our 

 sympathy by their dangers and pourtrayed affections, 

 are those of Jonathan, David, and his beloved Micol. 

 The reader, without l)eing hypercritical, will regret in 

 this beautiful tragedy, that the knot of interest is not 

 sufficiently distinct and visible. We have a general 

 alarm arcf presentiment of danger, from the menacing 

 insanity of Saul ; but the events to be hoped for or t'e., r- 

 cd, are somcw-hat too undefined, and the curiosity is 



rather passively than actively exercised. Rut .till the Dram*, 

 tone of the piece is inspired and enchanting. The ^""V"*' 

 beauty of the friendly characters fixes our love ; the 

 madness of Saul is a thrilling nnd terrible picture; and 

 the proud, fanatic enthusiasm of Achimelt c, when lie 

 denounces the curse of heaven on the king for his 

 slaughter of the priests, contrasted with the severe in- 

 trepidity of Samuel, furnish scenes of the most profound 

 and electrifying effect. To enter on the whole drama 

 of Alfieri, would far surpass our limits; we must con- 

 tent ourselves with remarking, that in Vincenzo Monti, Vinrrnr* 

 who, we believe, is still alive, Italy possesses a highly Monti, 

 promising tragic poet, who, in his tragedies ofGalcot- 

 to, Mani'redi, and Aristodcmus, has evinced a spirit 

 worthy of succeeding Allieri, and who, in the charms 

 of diction, is supposed even to surpass In'm. The re- 

 vi\al of pot-try at so late a period, may well encourage 

 us to expect, that a people whose genius has ever shone 

 so conspicuous in the other arts, will yet enrich the 

 world of fancy with captivating productions of the dra- 

 ma. 



Among the nations of modern Europe, Spain com- ni, ( ,, r yot 

 menced her career in literature more independently of (in 

 strangers than any other. Dramatic poetry, in particu- drann. 

 lar, sprung up among them, Ix-fore the subsequent ex- 

 tension of their empire gave them any connection with 

 their neighbours, and forming itself on the ancient Cas- 

 tilian taste, after their own manners, and customs, and 

 romantic fancies, it was much less regular than that of 

 other nations ; much less imbued with the sage spirit 

 which united philosophy with enthusiasm among the 

 Greeks ; but it was much more calculated to move the 

 native Spaniard ; much more in harmony with his opi- 

 nions and feelings ; and much more calculated to lay 

 hold of his national pride. Such was its impression, 

 that neither the satires of other nations, nor die criti- 

 cisms of their own literary men, nor the prizes of 

 academies, nor the favour of princes, have ever l>een 

 able to bring the Spaniards into the dramatic system 

 which predominates in the rest of Europe. Italy boasts 

 of Trissino, in the 16th century, as the author of the 

 first regular tragedy of modern Europe. Without a 

 claim to regularity, the Spaniards go back to the 15th 

 century for the birth of their dramatic poetry. They 

 ascribe its origin to three works of a kind very different 

 from one another, vi/. the mysteries of the churches; the 

 satirical and pastoral drama, entitled Mi ago Kebulgo ; and Drama of 

 the dramatic romance of Calixlns and .Mrlitiaca, or Ccles- M>"go He- 

 tina. The mysteries, which constituted the ornaments of l)ul - 

 their religious solemnities, had an indisputable influence 

 on the Spanish theatres; and the Autos Sacrametitalcs 

 of their most celebrated authors, are made almost on 

 the model of those ancient holy farces. The work cal- 

 led Mi/ifO Hc/in/iri>, composed before the middle of the 

 15th century, under the reign of John II. and which 

 was meant to turn the monarch and his court into ridi- 

 cule, is rather a political satire in dialogue, than a dra- n . 

 ma. But the ('c/cftina has very different claims to the Celestina. 

 attention of those who are curious about the origin of 

 the modern drama. Of this strange piece, the first act 

 was written by one whose name is unknown, about the 

 middle of the 15th century, at a time when tlie s-est of 

 l-'uro]>e was aiiplauding the profane drollery of the 

 mysteries, and long before any other people of modern 

 Europe had shewn the slightest talent lor the comic 

 drama. The dialogue of Cc/esliiia has frequently spi- 

 rit, wit, and gaiety ;, the characters arc tolerably traced 





Philip, Polynicei, Antigone, uiU Virginia. 



