it often levelled against the magistrates of its native country, Athens; but merely take it up according to the best examples of English composition. Without any formal definition, Comedy may be considered as a Dramatical composition exhibiting in a natural and familiar manner, the infinitely various passions and pursuits of mankind in the common transactions of life; her province is also ridicule and raillery, and when these are judiciously conducted and properly levelled, may be of singular use in correcting the fashionable vices of the people. A vast description of character comes within the embrace of the Comic muse. Anciently her authority was only allowed over vulgar personages, but for many years the man of refinement and the peasant, frequently come in a pleasing contact with each other, and all the intermediate characters that are visible in society, tend to increase the strength, and enhance the delights of Comedy.

The public mind is always gratified with that Drama, which contains a succession of lively incidents; and when a judicious portion of elegance is happily contrasted with the coarser features of the piece, the mind is then lifted into a pleasing enthusiasm; consequently show and action appear the primary sources of delight in all Theatrical entertainments. When true manners and characters are accurately preserved by an author of a Comedy, it will go far to recommend his composition, though otherwise artless and wanting grace or elegance of diction, whereas we frequently see compositions unsuccessful, though wrought and set off with pompous language, from being defective in tracing na

ture.

It

:

may be expected that we should define the term nature in our humble conception, nature is an equivocal phrase, and of various and extensive import, as a character which is natural in one Drama, may be quite otherwise in another. To see Romeo make love to a creature whom the poet had drawn deformed in person, and wanting every grace and accomplishment that could inspire love in the bosom of a young man of an eminent family in Verona, would only produce ridicule and disgust, there being no cause to generate the gentle passion of affection, in one whose birth and situation gave him the means of introduction to those females on whom nature and art had lavished their choicest gifts. But this miserable female would not be improperly placed, when the object of a peasant's affection; her situation as sweetheart or wife, would then be consistent with the natural order of things, her limitted charms being on a level with the intellect, notions, and habits of her lover. The propriety of arranging characters in a Drama, with respect to connecting elevated and dignified personages with those in vulgar life, may be further illustrated by an example in painting. How strange would it appear in Raphael's picture of the crucifixion of our Saviour, to see a Flemish boor playing on a violin! The introduction of such a figure would scarcely accord with the inconsistencies of Bassan. Yet the merry peasant out of the festive picture of Teniers, is as natural as the solemn group bewailing the death of our Saviour, but when embodied in one subject quite otherwise. carry our elucidation of the term Nature either in Tragedy or Comedy, by shewing the regularity of

Το

some Plays, and the defects of others, is incompatible with the limited extent of this work, and the variety of subjects it is intended to embrace with respect to the Stage. But we beg leave to call the attention of our readers, to Cibber's Part of the Provoked Husband *. Had Lady Townly been an inelegant person, void of the graces of high life, (for here we except her follies) and the refinement of a woman of fashion, the interest of the Scenes between her and Lord Townly would be unworthy notice, as their characters would be unnaturally contrasted, and lessen the dignity of his Lordship's situation, and turn what is now an interesting lesson into a caricature of all Dramatic propriety, and the

It has been laid down by the pen of fastidious criticism, that all the Scenes that bring the family of the Wrongheads into action, being ludicrous and farcical, agree very ill with the principal Scenes displaying the severe and bitter expostulations between Lord Townly and his Lady."

Here a question of some importance may be submitted for solution; that is, how far may contrast be admitted in the Drama, particularly Comedy, without a violation of the unities? Contrasting hath been found not only useful but necessary in painting, and such is the relation of this art with poetry, that the essential circumstances which obtain in the one are generally found in a major or minor degree proper, if not necessary, in the other: an opposition of characters is almost indispensible in Comedy, insomuch that a fable will be found insipid without it. If therefore in Comedy a double plot can be so conducted or the one be so interwoven with the other, that the unities shall in no respect be violated, the requisites to please will be obtained. The Comedy before us in our humble opinion is not so objectionable as the remark of the critic goes to inforce, the distresses of the one family approaching the dignified gravity of Tragedy, are happily contrasted with the ludicrous impertinencies of the other, nor are the laws of the Drama so far violated as to be offensive; this piece carries an ample and judicious portion of light and shade, which is not unacceptable to an audience, being generally composed of youth and age; those who are in years will be pleased with the grave and monitorial part, while the young and gay have an ample share of entertainment, from the whimsical misfortunes of the Wrongheads,

natural connection of elevated life. If we go a step further, what is it that constitutes the great interest we take in the unhappy situation of Beverly in the Gamester, but his being allied to a woman of a noble soul, whose language breathes the sentiments of a cultivated and feeling mind? And what tends to increase his distress to the audience, is her being on an equality with him in the gifts of nature and acquirements: but if she had been mean in mind and person, and vulgar in sentiment and language, his situation would not engage half the interest it at present does, and instead of shedding the tear of sympathy at his folly and accumulating misery, we should rather rejoice to see a gambler fall a sacrifice to the indulgence of a base and mercenary passion. The whole and every limb of this Tragedy evinces the author's great knowledge of Dramatic action, and his having been a fine observer of nature and manners. An industrious enquiry into the best writers, on the nature of Dramatic composition, will materially assist a fertile mind, in the formation of a good Play, as the ancient rules laid down by Aristotle, have been acknowledged by several erudite men to be founded in nature; and do not, as many thoughtless persons have said, fetter genius; on the contrary, they give an artist the power to select the beauties of nature, and reject the useless and inapplicable parts of her multifarious workmanship. In order to support this position, we beg leave to quote part of a discourse delivered on painting at the Royal Academy in the year 1769. "But whatever may be our proportion of success, of this we may be sure, that the present institution

1

will at least contribute to advance our knowledge of the arts; and bring us nearer to that ideal excellence which it is the lot of genius always to contemplate, and never attain.-Every opportunity should therefore be taken to discountenance that false and vulgar opinion, that rules are the fetters of genius; they are fetters only to men of no genius, as the armour which upon the strong becomes an ornament, and a defence upon the weak and misshapen, turns into a load and cripples the body, which it was made to protect."

To be able to form a good Play, even with a perfect knowledge of the rules, and the possession of the best thoughts on the art of composition, the artist must be able to mould his mind into various modes of thinking, in order to give appropriate language and sentiment to each character, but this is a task that few authors are sufficient observers of nature to be able to execute.; as he who is drawing his figure must be able to metamorphose his countenance and thought into the very feeling, passion, and sentiment, that corresponds with the situation of the Dramatic personage, who is the subject of his pen; and the infinite variety of thoughts, and appropriate action which must accompany his labour,while moulding a Dramatic gentleman, miser, clown, &c. require a great portion of talent, opposite powers of feeling and judgment, in order to enable him to give a proper shape to his character, with a richness of colouring, and delicacy of shades. The possession of this Art is highly necessary to ensure attention and admiration to the type of nature's image.