which, with a few flight alterations, might be extracted, and leave the action more complete without, than with it. And yet Zara is the principal perfon in the play She is painted in such rapid colours, fuch violent paffions, and fuch a daring foul, that the audience ever gives the first attention to her. Now if the poet meant her as his heroine, her fate should move all our pity; and then the parts of Ofmyn and Almeira would be vicious and but fecondary: But as they are meant for the principal characters, Zara quite eclipses them; we expect more the confequence of her turbulent paffions, than the fate of the fuffering Almeira. Was our pity to be raised much at her death, the aim of the piece would be abfolutely destroyed; the poet therefore gave her that mixed character, and this occafioned another fault, to escape a greater: that perfon 13 perfonage who attracts all our attention in the play, is not the heroine, and dies at laft without our compaffion: Confequently our fentiments thus divided and broken, we can neither feel thoroughly for the danger of Almeira and Ofmyn through the course of the piece, nor fully rejoice at their happiness in the cataftrophe of it. For though Zara does not overwhelm us with pity, yet her fate gives us a mixed fentiment, fo that inftead of being wholly interefted in Almeira's joy, we are partly touched at Zara's unhappy end, who had a foul of godlike mold, intrepid, and commanding the attention of the audience. Mr. Addifon very justly obferves, after agreeing with Ariftotle in favour of pieces that end unhappily, "Terror and commiferation leave a pleafing anguifh in the mind, and fix the audience in fuch a serious compore composure of thought, as is much more lafting and delightful, than any little tranfient starts of joy and fatisfaction." This fhort examination of fome fables of modern tragedy, will, I think, be fufficient to prove that Ariftotle's maxim, of the fubject being the most important part, yet holds true: 'Erì dv Tis èpйis φήσεις ἠθικὰς, καὶ λέξεις και διανοίας εὖ πεποιη μένας ἐ ποιήσει ὁ ἦν τῆς τραγῳδίας έργον, ἀλλὰ - πολὺ μᾶλλον ἡ καταδεετέροις τέτοις κεχρημένη τραγῳδία, ἔχεσα δὲ μῦθον καὶ βύσασιν πραγμάτ των. ПЕРІ ПОІНТ. сар. vis. N SECT. VI. TEXT to the fable, the characters of tragedy fhould be confidered, under which title I include Ariftotle's two. divifions, of Manners and Sentiment.. Every character in the poem ought to, L4 have have fome diftinguifhing trait; for nothing difplays greater poverty of invention than not marking the characters with fome paffion, that varies and contrafts them. Homer and Shakespear are by far the most excellent in this art. The former has drawn Achilles, Agamemnon, Neftor, &c. all fo different, that we might with a tolerable penetration affign each fpeech to its author, if we did not fee his name at the head of it. Shakespear, with the fame art, throughout his best plays, has prodigiously varied his characters; every speech they make, contains the fentiments natural to the paffions and difpofition with which he has marked them. This conduct throws a moft pleafing variety over the piece; and by giving rife to oppofite fentiments, muft greatly enliven every part.-Thus, in the Brothers, we are entertained with three of a differ ent ent caft, and each ftrongly "marked *. Philip is diftinguished by a warmth of temper, and haughtiness of foul, and a tenderness for his children, that runs over in the most affecting manner: Perseus is a different villain from any we have seen upon the ftage; policy and bravery are fo blended in him, that we see their mixed effects in every fcene: And Demetrius is of fo amiable a difpofition, that an audience must be naturally inclined to love him, and, for his fake, to dread the reftlefs turbulent fpirit of Perfeus. They both are bright; but one Benignly bright, as ftars to mariners; And one a comet, with malignant blaze, Critics are divided concerning the proper characters for the principal per * Vide Gray's Inn Journal. fonages |
