Page 284.
_How smart a Lash, that Speech doth give my Conscience_, &c.
The Poet here is greatly to be commended for his Conduct. As consummate
a Villain as this King of _Denmark_ is represented to be, yet we find
him stung with the deepest Remorse, upon the least Sentence that can any
ways be supposed to relate to his Crime. How Instructive this is to the
Audience, how much it answers the End of all publick Representations by
inculcating a good Moral, I leave to the Consideration of every Reader.
Hamlet's Conversation with _Ophelia_, we may observe, is in the Style of
Madness; and it was proper that the Prince should conceal his Design
from every one, which had he conversed with his Mistress in his natural
Style could not have been.
I am perswaded, that our Author was pleas'd to have an Opportunity of
raising a Laugh now and then, which he does in several Passages of
_Hamlet's_ satirical Reflections on Women; but I have the same
Objections to this Part of the Prince's Madness, that I have before
mentioned, viz. that it wants Dignity. _Ophelia's_ melancholy
Reflections upon _Hamlet's_ having lost his Sovereignty of Reason, is
natural and very beautiful. As to the King's sending him to _England_,
See Mr. _Theobald's_ Note. I purposely omit taking Notice of the famous
Speech, _To be, or not to be_, &c. every _English_ Reader knows its
Beauties.
The Prince's Directions to the Players are exceeding good, and are
evidently brought in as Lessons for the Players, who were
_Shakespeare's_ Companions, and he thought this a very proper Occasion
to animadvert upon those Faults which were disagreeable to him. Whoever
reads these Observations of his, if one may prove a Thing by a negative
Argument, must believe _Shakespeare_ to have been an excellent Actor
himself; for we can hardly imagine him to have been guilty of the
Mistakes he is pointing out to his Brethren.
Notwithstanding all this, and that the Opportunity seems natural enough
to introduce these Remarks, yet I cannot think them agreeable in such a
Piece as this; they are not suitable to the Dignity of the Whole, and
would be better plac'd in a Comedy.
Page 292, Act 3d.
Hamlet's Expression of his Friendship for _Horatio_, has great Beauties;
it is with Simplicity and Strength, and the Diction has all the Graces
of Poetry. It was well imagin'd, that he should let his Friend know the
Secret of his Father's Murder, because, thus his Request to him, to
observe the King's Behaviour at the Play, is very naturally introduc'd
as a prudent Desire of the Prince's. The Friendship of _Eneas_ for
_Achates_ in the _Eneid_, is found Fault with much for the same Reasons
that some Criticks might carp at this of _Hamlet's_ for _Horatio_, viz.
that neither of them are found to perform any great Acts of Friendship
to their respective Friends. But, I think, that the Friendship of
_Hamlet_ and _Horatio_ is far superior to that of _Eneas_ and _Achates_,
as appears in the last Scene, where _Horatio's_ Behaviour is exceeding
Tender, and his Affection for the Prince likely to prove very useful to
his Memory.
Hamlet's whole Conduct, during the Play which is acted before the King,
has, in my Opinion, too much Levity in it. His Madness is of too light a
Kind, although I know he says, he must be idle; but among other Things,
his Pun to _Polonius_ is not tolerable. I might also justly find Fault
with the want of Decency in his Discourses to _Ophelia_, without being
thought too severe. The Scene represented by the Players is in wretched
Verse. This we may, without incurring the Denomination of an ill-natur'd
Critick, venture to pronounce, that in almost every Place where
_Shakespeare_ has attempted Rhime, either in the Body of his Plays, or
at the Ends of Acts or Scenes, he falls far short of the Beauty and
Force of his Blank Verse: One would think they were written by two
different Persons. I believe we may justly take Notice, that Rhime
never arrived at its true Beauty, never came to its Perfection in
_England_, until long since _Shakespeare's_ Time.
The King's rising with such Precipitation, and quitting the Play upon
seeing the Resemblance of his own foul Crime, is very much in Nature,
and confirms the Penetration of our Author's Hero.
Page 302.
Hamlet's Pleasantry upon his being certified that his Uncle is Guilty,
is not a-propos in my Opinion. We are to take Notice that the Poet has
mix'd a Vein of Humour in the Prince's Character, which is to be seen in
many Places of this Play. What was his Reason for so doing, I cannot
say, unless it was to follow his Favourite _Foible_, viz. that of
raising a Laugh.
Page 306.
The Prince's Resolution upon his going to his Mother, is beautifully
express'd, and suitable to his Character.
Page 306, 307.
What _Rosincrantz_ says of the Importance of the King's Life, is
express'd by a very just Image.
Page 307.
The King's seeming so very much touch'd with a Sense of his Crime, is
supposed to be owing to the Representation he had been present at; but I
do not well see how _Hamlet_ is introduced so as to find him at Prayers.
It is not natural, that a King's Privacy should be so intruded on, not
even by any of his Family, especially, that it should be done without
his perceiving it.
Page 309.
Hamlet's Speech upon seeing the King at Prayers, has always given me
great Offence. There is something so very Bloody in it, so inhuman, so
unworthy of a Hero, that I wish our Poet had omitted it. To desire to
destroy a Man's Soul, to make him eternally miserable, by cutting him
off from all hopes of Repentance; this surely, in a Christian Prince, is
such a Piece of Revenge, as no Tenderness for any Parent can justify. To
put the Usurper to Death, to deprive him of the Fruits of his vile
Crime, and to rescue the Throne of _Denmark_ from Pollution, was highly
requisite: But there our young Prince's Desires should have stop'd, nor
should he have wished to pursue the Criminal in the other World, but
rather have hoped for his Conversion, before his putting him to Death;
for even with his Repentance, there was at least Purgatory for him to
pass through, as we find even in a virtuous Prince, the Father of
_Hamlet_.
Page 310.
_Enter the Queen and_ Polonius, _and afterwards_ Hamlet.
We are now come to a Scene, which I have always much admired. I cannot
think it possible, that such an Incident could have been managed
better, nor more conformably to Reason and Nature. The Prince, conscious
of his own good Intentions, and the Justness of the Cause he undertakes
to plead, speaks with that Force and Assurance which Virtue always
gives; and yet manages his Expressions so as not to treat his Mother in
a disrespectful Manner. What can be expressed with more Beauty and more
Dignity, than the Difference between his Uncle and Father! The Contrast
in the Description of them both, is exquisitely fine: And his inforcing
the Heinousness of his Mother's Crime with so much Vehemence, and her
guilty half Confessions of her Wickedness, and at last her thorough
Remorse, are all Strokes from the Hand of a great Master in the
Imitation of Nature.
His being obliged to break off his Discourse by the coming in of his
Father's Ghost once more, adds a certain Weight and Gravity to this
Scene, which works up in the Minds of the Audience all the Passions
which do the greatest Honour to human Nature. Add to this, the august
and solemn Manner with which the Prince addresses the Spectre after his
Invocation of the Celestial Ministers.
The Ghost's not being seen by the Queen, was very proper; for we could
hardly suppose, that a Woman, and a guilty one especially, could be able
to bear so terrible a Sight without the Loss of her Reason. Besides
that, I believe, the Poet had also some Eye to a vulgar Notion, that
Spirits are only seen by those with whom their Business is, let there be
never so many Persons in Company. This Compliance with these popular
Fancies, still gives an Air of Probability to the Whole. The Prince
shews an extreme Tenderness for his Father in these Lines,
_On Him! on Him!_ &c.
_His Form and Cause conjoin'd_, &c.
and really performs all the strictest Rules of Filial Piety thro' out
the whole Play, both to Father and Mother; and particularly, to the
Latter in this Scene, whilst he endeavours to bring her to Repentance.
In a Word, We have in this important Scene, our Indignation raised
against a vile Murderer, our Compassion caus'd for the inhuman Death of
a virtuous Prince; our Affection is heighten'd for the Hero of the Play;
and, not to enter into more Particulars, we are moved in the strongest
Manner, by every Thing that can gain Access to our Hearts.
Hamlet's killing _Polonius_, was in Conformity to the Plan _Shakespeare_
built his Play upon; and the Prince behaves himself on that Occasion, as
one who seems to have his Thoughts bent on Things of more Importance. I
wish the Poet had omitted _Hamlet's_ last Reflection on the Occasion,
_viz. This Counsellor, &c._ It has too much Levity in it; and his
_tugging_ him away into another Room, is unbecoming the Gravity of the
rest of the Scene, and is a Circumstance too much calculated to raise a
Laugh, which it always does. We must observe, that _Polonius_ is far
from a good Character, and that his Death is absolutely necessary
towards the _Denoüement_ of the whole Piece. And our Hero had not put
him to Death, had not he thought it to have been the Usurper hid behind
the _Arras_; so that upon the Whole, this is no Blemish to his
Character.
Hamlet's Behaviour to the King, &c. (Act _fourth_, p 320 and Sequel,)
concerning _Polonius's_ Body, is too jocose and trivial.
Page 326. _Enter_ Fortinbrass _with an Army_.
This is a Conduct in most of our Author's Tragedies, and in many other
of our Tragedy Writers, that is quite unnatural and absurd; I mean,
introducing an Army on the Stage. Although our Imagination will bear a
great Degree of Illusion, yet we can never so far impose on our
Knowledge, and our Senses, as to imagine the Stage to contain an Army:
Therefore in such a Case, the Recital of it, or seeing the Commander,
and an Officer or Two of it, is the best Method of conducting such a
Circumstance. _Fortinbrass's_ Troops are here brought in, I believe, to
give Occasion for his appearing in the last Scene, and also to give Rise
to _Hamlet's_ reflections thereon, (p. 327.) which tend to give some
Reasons for his deferring the Punishment of the Usurper.
Laertes's Character is a very odd one; it is not easy to say, whether it
is good or bad; but his consenting to the villainous Contrivance of the
Usurper's to murder _Hamlet_, (p. 342.) makes him much more a bad Man
than a good one. For surely Revenge for such an accidental Murder as was
that of his Father's (which from the Queen, it is to be supposed he was
acquainted with all the Circumstances of) could never justify him in any
treacherous Practices. It is a very nice Conduct in the Poet to make the
Usurper build his Scheme upon the generous unsuspicious Temper of the
Person he intends to murder, and thus to raise the Prince's Character by
the Confession of his Enemy, to make the Villain ten Times more odious
from his own Mouth. The Contrivance of the Foil unbated (i.e. without a
Button) is methinks too gross a Deceit to go down even with a Man of the
most unsuspicious Nature.
The Scenes of _Ophelia's_ Madness are to me very shocking, in so noble a
Piece as this. I am not against her having been represented mad; but
surely, it might have been done with less Levity and more Decency.
Mistakes are less tolerable from such a Genius as _Shakespeare's_ and
especially in the very Pieces which give us such strong Proofs of his
exalted Capacity. Mr. _Warburton's_ Note (in Mr. _Theobalds_) on
_Laertes's_ Rebellion, is very judicious, (as indeed are all those of
that Gentleman) only I cannot think _Laertes_ (for the Reasons I have
given) a good Character.