Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

OTHELLO,

THE

MOR

of VENIE.

1 2

Dramatis Perfonæ.

DUKE of Venice.

Brabantio, a noble Venetian.

Gratiano, Brother to Brabantio.

1.odovico, Kinfman to Brabantio and Gratiano.
Othello, the Moor, General for the Venetians in Cyprus.
Caflio, his Lieutenant-general.

Iago, Standard-bearer to Othello.

Rodorigo, a foolish Gentleman, in love with Defdemona. Montano, the Moor's Predeceffor in the Government of Cyprus. Clown, Servant to the Moor.

Herald.

Nefdemona, Daughter to Brabantio, and Wife to Othello.
Ailia, Wife to Iago.

Bianca Courtezan, Mistress to Cassio.

Officers, Geremen, Meffengers, Musicians, Sailors and Attendants.

SCENE, for the First Actice; during the reft of Play, in Cyp's.

OTHELLO. (1)

N

A C T I.

SCENE, a Street in Venice.

Enter RODORIGO and 1AGO.

RODORI GO.

EVER tell me, I take it much unkindly, That thou, Jago, who haft had my purfe, As if the ftrings were thine, fhouldst know of this.

(1) Othello. The ground-work of this play is built on a novel of Cinthio Giraldi, (Dec. 3. Nov. 7.) who feems to have defigned his tale a document to young ladies against difproportioned marriage; di non fe accompagnare con huomo, cui la natura et il cielo, et il modo della vita difgiange da noi: That they fhould not link themselves to fuch, against whom Nature, Providence, and a different way of living have interpofed' a bar. Our Poet inculcates no fuch moral; but rather, that a woman may fall in love with the virtues and fhining qualities of a man, and therein overlook the difference of complexion and colour. Mr Rymer has run riot against the conduct, manners, fentiments, and diction of this play; but in fuch a strain, that one is moved rather to laugh at the freedom and coarfenefs of his raillery, than' provoked to be downright angry at his cenfures. To take a short fample of his criticifm;- Shakespeare in this play calls 'em the fuper-fubtle Venetians; yet examine thoroughly the tragedy, there is nothing in the noble Defdemona that is not below any country chambermaid with us. And the account he gives of their noblemen and fenate, can only be calculated for the latitude of Gotham. The character of the Venetian state is to employ ftrangers in their wars; but fhall a poet thence fancy, that they will fet a negro to be their general? or truft a Moor to defend them against the Turks? With us a black-a-moor might rife to be a trumpeter; but Shakespeare would not have him lefs than a lieutenant-general. With us a Moor might marry fome little

Iago. But you'll not hear me.

If ever I did dream of fuch a matter, abhor me. Rod. Thou told'ft me, thou didst hold him in Iago. Defpife me,

[thy hate.

If I do not. Three great ones of this city,
In perfonal fuit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp'd to him: and, by the faith of man, (2)
I know my price, I'm worth no worse a place.
But he, as loving his own pride and purpose,
Fvades them with a bombaft circumstance,
Horribly ftuft with epithets of war,
And, in conclufion,

Non-fuits my mediators. "Certes," fays he,
"I have already chofe

And what was he?

my.

officer."

Forfooth, a great arithmeticían, (3).

drab, or fmallcoal wench; Shakespeare would provide him the daughter and heir of fome great lord, or privy-counsellor, and all the town should reckon it a very suitable match. Yet the English are not bred up with that hatred and aver fion to the Moors as are the Venetians, who fuffer by a perpetual hoftility from them; littora littoribus contraria. Nothing is more odious in nature than an improbable lie, and certainly never was any play fraught like this of Othello with improbabilities, &c."

Thus this critic goes on; but fuch reflexions require no ferious anfwer. This tragedy will continue to have lafting charms enough to make us blind to such abfurdities as the Poet thought were not worth his care.

is

Co ftood. cap

(2) Oft capt to him:] Thus the oldest Quarto, and fome modern editions; but I have chose to restore the reading of the first and fecond Folio impreflions off capt,, in hand, foliciting him. So, in Antony;held my cap off to thy fortunes.

And in Timon;

I have ever

And let his very breath, whom thou'lt observe,
Blow off thy cap.

(3) For footh, a great arithmetician,

One Michael Caffio, a Florentine,

A fellow almost damned in a fair wife ] Thus has this paf

One Michael Caffio; -(" the Florentine's "A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;")

fage ignorantly been corrupted, (as Mr Warburton likewife faw with me) by falfe pointing, and an inadvertence to matter of fact, through the whole courfe of the editions. By the by, this play was not publithed even fingly, that I can find, till fix years after the Author's death; and by that interval became more liable to errors. I'll fubjoin the correction, and then the reafons for it:

[blocks in formation]

Nonfuits my mediators: "Certes," fays he,
"I have already chofe my officer;"-
And what was he?

Forfooth, a great arithmetician,

One Michael Caffio;-("the Florentine's
"A fellow almost damned in a fair wife;"-
That never, &c.

-).

This pointing fets circumftances right, as I fhall immediately explain; and it gives a variety in lago reporting the behaviour of Othello, to start into thefe breaks; now, to make Othello fpeak; -1 then, to interrupt what Othello fays, with his own private reflexions; then again, to proceed with Othello's specches;-for this not only marks the inquietude of lago's mind upon the subject in hand, but likewife fhews the actor in the variation of tone and gefture, whilft he (in a breath, as 'twere) perfonates alternattly Othello and himself. Befides, to come to the neceffity of the change made; lago, not Caffio, was the Florentine; lago, not Caffio, was the married man; lago's wife attends Defdemona to Cyprus; Caffio has a mittrefs there, a common ftrumpet; and Iago tells him in the fourth act;

She gives it out that you fhall marry her.

Which would be very abfurd, if Caffio had been already married at Venice. Befides, our Poet follows the authority of his novel in giving the villainous enfign a fair wife. Havea fimilmente menata questo Malvagio la fua Mogle in Cipri, la quale era bella et honefta giovane. And it is a very good reafon for rejecting lago, because he was a married man, and might be thought too much governed by his wife to be cas pable of this charge. And this was a natural objection in an unmarried general, as Othello was when he chofe his of ficers. lago therefore was the fellow almost damned in a fair wife; which is an expreffion obfcure enough to deferve a short explanation. The Poet means, lago had fo beauti

« AnteriorContinua »