222 Poetry. 



some notice of a few of these features before bring- 

 ing this section to a close. 



One circumstance in which modern dramas dif- 

 fer from those of former times, is, that they are 

 more consistent and correct in the structure of their 

 fable. If they do not surpass or equal some pre- 

 ceding productions of this class in genius, they r 

 must be allowed to excel in taste and regularity 

 of plan. Many of the noblest dramas which were 

 given to the world before the eighteenth century, 

 violated every principle of probability and nature. 

 They departed from the most obvious unities of 

 time, place and action. They gave to one country 

 the customs, laws, and general characters of 

 another; and thus, amidst splendid excellences, 

 abounded with manifest absurdities; and while 

 they gratified the taste, also put to a severe test the 

 patience of the critic. With the most of these 

 faults, even the immortal Shakspeare is charge- 

 able. The best dramatists of the eighteenth cen- 

 tury may be said, in general, to adhere more closely 

 to probability and nature ; to employ a fable more 

 correct and consistent, and less frequently to offend 

 against the just laws of fiction. 



A further circumstance in which the dramatic 

 compositions of the last age differ from those of 

 former times, is, that they abound more in plot 

 and action. The great excellence of Shakspeare 

 is not the artful contrivance of his story, nor the 

 variety and interest of his incidents. Were his plays 

 tried upon ground of this sort, they would doubt- 

 less be found inferior to many of smaller name. 

 But his distinguishing merit consists in his know- 

 ledge of human nature, in the accurate delineation 

 of his characters, in forcible and natural descrip- 

 tions, and in the weight and sublimity both of his 

 sentiments and his language. These, notwithstand- 

 ing numerous defects in the structure of his dramas, 



