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As Zephyrs blowing below the violet, Not wagging his fweet head; and yet as rough

(Their royal blood enchaf'd) as the rud'ft wind

That by the top doth take the mountain

pine,

And make it stoop to th' vale.

WITH what dignity do the numbers move in the opening of this addrefs? In the close, they fpring into a ftorm, and fweep all before them.

Hor. I recollect, in Lear, a beautiful example of a most affecting transition in the found, correfponding with a sudden and pathetic change in the idea.

Lear,

I tax not you, you elements, with unkind

nefs;

I never

I never gave you kingdoms, called yout children;

You owe me no fubfcription. Then let fall Your horrible pleasure;-here I stand your brave;

"A poor, infirm, weak, and defpis'd old

4

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Again, when Hamlet prevents Horatio from drinking the poifon.

Hamlet.

If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,
Abfent thee from felicity a while,

"And in this harsh world draw thy breath
in pain.

The breaft actually labours to get through

this laft line.

Eug. And yet thefe arts pass unnoticed in Shakespear, while they are celebrated in

Poets

T

Poets of inferior merit. The caufe of this may be, that we more readily observe any artifice in the management of the founds, when we are not much affected by the ideas. It is in excellent poetry, as in capital painting, the fine and delicate touches of art are loft in the general effect. It requires fome degree of temper to trace the minute and auxiliary beauties of poetic harmony thro fuch a paffage as this.

Do you go

Othello.

back dismay'd? 'tis a loft fear?

Man but a rush against Othello's breast,
And he retires. Where fhould Othello

go?

Now-How doft thou look now? Oh ill

ftarr'd wench,

Pale as thy fmock! when we fhall meet at

compt

This look of thine will hurl my foul from

heav'n,

And fiends will fnatch at it. Cold, cold, my Girl,

Ev'n like thy chastity. O curfed flave!
Whip me, ye Devils,

From the poffeffion of this heav'nly fight,
Blow me about in winds, roast me in fulphur,
Plunge me in steep-down gulphs of liquid
fire.

BEFORE We quit Shakespear's verfification, I muft obferve to you,-that he in-. tended it to be nothing nore than a measured [1] or mufical profe; except, when he

[In general, Shakespear's verfe has the eafy profaic flow of the Iambic on extraordinary occafions, it rifes into the dignity and harmony of the Hexameter. Thus, he has greatly the advantage of the Greek Tragedians, who were confined to the Iambick; and of the French, who, from the regularity of the Couplet, cannot loosen their verfe into a profaic movement. That Shakespear's

meant

meant to rife in his fubject, or give a diftinction to a thought; and then, we shall always trace in his numbers the influence of his feelings; and find, that they affume a regularity and harmony, in proportion as he was interested in the effects. Nothing could be more oppofite to the genius and character of this Poet, than a constant equality of verfification; nay, it is easy to fee that he has often been careful to avoid it. The fame is obfervable in Milton, who fometimes defcends into a profaic negli

verfification is agreeable to nature, may be proved from the authority of Aristotle, who having obferved, that the Tambick measure was beft adapted to the genius of tragedy, because it came the nearest to common difcourfe, proceeds thus

Δεξεως δε γενομένης, αύτη η φύσις το οικειον μέτρον ευρεί pañısa yag dexlıxov twv pilęwr to saμbao 151. orjessar di στο πλαιτα γαρ ιαμβεία λεγομεν εν τη διαλεκίῳ τη προς αλληλοις εξαμερα δε Ολιγακις, και εκβαινονες της λιανικής mass Cap. iv. De Poetica.

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