752 POE 
field of poetry, the ludicrous. It has thefe three forms ; 
the dramatic, the narrative, and the epigrammatic. The 
dramatic fpecies, or Comedy, embraces much variety. 
In its earlieft ftate, as in the old comedy of the Greeks, 
and in our own farces, it was a coarfe witticifm which 
turned perfonal deformities, gravity, old age, and many 
proper and beautiful matters, into ridicule. As it im¬ 
proved, errors in judgment, the faults orjrather the foibles 
of charadler, were ridiculed, the connexion between venial 
errors and real vices became traced. The affedlations of 
the living age and reigning faftrions were laughably pour- 
trayed ; and it affumed a Itation in the moral education 
of the world equal to tragedy. There has arifen, efpe- 
cially with us, what is termed genteel comedy; but it fhould 
rather be called “ the drama of modern life,” becaufe 
comedy is oftentimes a fecondary confideration of it, and 
quite abfent in the better fcenes. A comedy founded on 
thofe follies or faults which belong to man in all ages, 
tnuft naturally live forever; as for inftance, the School 
for Scandal; lince hypocrify and warm-heartednefs will 
always exift, and always contrail favourably; fince fcandal 
will never ceafe to be the employment of the frivolous and 
uninformed. But a comedy may pleafe highly which 
pourtrays reigning errors, as peculiar affedlations of gal¬ 
lantry, fpeech, or drefs; but it cannot live with pofterity, 
unlefs fome fparks of natural wit and beauty illumine its 
ephemeral charadters. How dull and difagreeableare the 
bucks of the time gone by ! How tedious is the Common 
charadler of the coachman-peer! yet in point of fad! the 
latter is fcarcely dead. But when will the public tire of 
the affedlionate old Dornton and his amiable fon ; of Le 
Malade imaginaire, or of a thoufand others of the like 
natural fpecies ? Of artificial charadters, fome live longer 
than others. The aff'edted magniloquence of Holoferr.es 
pieafes, becaufe pedantry is the natural vice of a fchool- 
mafter; and Jeremy Didlers and Lacklands will ever 
exift, while fo much falfe tafle remains in fociety, that it 
will rather notice a man who meanly fponges than one 
who honourably digs. 
In comedy, befide3 the nature and the temporal appli¬ 
cation of the charadters, a good buttling ftory fhould be 
told; full of incident, continually catching new hold of 
the mind; pleafing by variety, by a feries of fucceffive 
delights, not by the one grand feature which .tragedy 
fhould dazzle with. The firft and molt difficult thing is 
to write a natural dialogue; for here we are tried, not 
only by the laws of the imagination as in tragedy, but 
alfo by thofe of experience; for here, if even the turn of 
an expreflion differs from that in common ufe, the cha- 
radter feetns unnatural. Hence, to write a comedy, a 
man tnuft poflefs a knowledge of life : lie mufl adlually 
converfe with the peer and the beggar, the fcholar and 
the dandy : for in this drama, as in tragedy, truth is every 
thing. Now, with reference to this matter, a great differ¬ 
ence is obferved in the length of fpeeches in the two; 
for in Tragedy a man may be allowed a long expofitktn 
of his griefs or his pleafures, on account of the fublimfty 
of the fubjedt: but, as long fpeeches are feldom ufed in 
modern life, and never without being very difagreeable, 
all the dialogue fhould be fhort and broken, except inde.ed 
where the aCtor becomes very animated. All foliloquies 
fhould be banifhed from comedy, except they are very 
fhort reflexions; as v. g. where the fmiling hypocrite 
Jofeph Surface fpeaks to himfelf, after Stanley is gone, of 
the ufe of forrowing words of pity inftead of cafh. A 
man in a fltuation of remorfe may reproach himfelf with 
imprudence, becaufe fome men have a way of talking to 
themfelves infenflbly, which natural error forms the 
ground on which the foliloquy may be built. But it 
would be prepofterous if he were to fay “ I have done 
this,” or “I will do fo and fo;” or if he were long en¬ 
gaged in this folitary dialogue. 
Humour is an eflential of comedy. We have defined 
the ludicrous in general to be error whether of the head 
P 
TRY. 
or heart. Humour therefore is the clever adjuftment of 
fituations, fo that the fpectators may laugh at the flags- 
effedt, or the full expofition of charadler, fo that impro¬ 
prieties and errors become at once apparent; but this 
mufl be done very artfully, and fhould not be pointed to 
by the dialogue, but merely pourtrayed, fo that the ob- 
ferver may himfelf difcover it. Laftly; the collifion cf 
thoughts and opinions gives rife to the humorous, and 
thus alfo comes wit. Now many authors run very 
much after this captivating jewel; but, like all jewels, it 
may be ufed too often. It is a high finifli to a drefs, but 
it is good for nothing unlefs thrown out by a fairground. 
The procedure of the plot, the difplay of the charadters, 
fhould never be delayed for the fake of introducing the 
higheft witticifm. If it does not come in naturally, it is 
belt to leave it out. The French plays are more witty 
than our’s; our’s more humorous than theirs. Every 
body agrees that a pun is very inferior to a witticifm. 
This is allowed even in real life, when the quicknefs 
with which a pun is often made, and its clever afiocia- 
tion with a ludicrous idea, often fhows a witty turn of 
mind. But certainly ftudied puns are fo eafy, that a man 
lhould be afhamed to introduce them into a comedy, 
unlefs in the charadler of a pretender to wit. 
The plot of a comedy may be any thing that does not 
interfere with known fadts, and fhould inculcate moral 
inftrudtion juft in the fame manner as tragedy. This 
inftrudtion may vary from the molt important truths to 
the molt trifling errors and inconfiftencies, becaufe thefe 
trifling errors are always the firft fteps to great vices. 
In rude ages, men chiefly expedt unhappinefs from 
violence and murder, from rapine or the ravifhment of 
females. Hence fuch fubjedts figure much in tragedy. 
In civilized life, men chiefly expedt unhappinefs from the 
injuftice of friends, the badnefs of their wives, or the 
terrors of poverty. The fecond is perhaps the fevereft in 
its effedts ; and accordingly in comedy love, a matter of 
fo much importance to civilized beings, is an altnoft con- 
flant ingredient. 
The narrative form of ludicrous poetry is fecond only 
to the dramatic. And indeed, though its pidtures are 
not fo precife, it takes a bolder range, becaufe one may 
write what one dare not adt. Among us, Butler Hands 
alone and unrivalled in this department. The Italians 
have many burlefque narratives, and fome which are 
highly entertaining. The Beppo of Byron, and Don 
Juan, are modelled on this fchool. Though not often 
ufed in verfe, the ludicrous narrative is fufficiently ab un- 
dant in profe. Cervantes, Gil Bias, the works of Fielding 
and Smollet, are exquifite examples. 
The Epigram is a feries of lines which exprefies one 
thought. Sometimes by one metaphor or figure: when 
by many, the laft fhould be molt brilliant, for the mind 
likes in this fhort excurfion to finifh in the cleareft and 
mod lofty idea. Praife or ridicule, compliment or fatire, 
are alike the fubjedt of an epigram. The following are 
familiar examples. 
See, whilft thou weep’ft, fair Chloe, fee 
The world in fympathy with thee. 
The cheerful birds no longer fing. 
Each drops his head, and hangs his wing. 
The clouds have bent their bofom lower. 
And filed their forrow in a fhower. 
The brooks beyond their limits flow, 
And louder murmurs fpeak their wo: 
The nymphs and fwains adopt thy cares ; 
They heave thy fighs, and weep thy tears. 
Fantaftic nymph ! that grief fhould move 
Thy heart obdurate againft love. 
Strange tears! whofe pow’r can foften all 
But that dear breaft on which they fall. Prior. 
Flavia the leaft and flighted toy 
Can with refiftlefs art employ. 
This 
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