His versification however is uniformly easy, and flows with harmonious facility; but the passions, the sentiments, the noblest emotions of patriotism, or the unblushing avowal of profligacy, succeed each other in heterogeneous confusion, without producing the smallest impression upon a cultivated audience, because they are merely the offspring of bombast declamation, and have not the smallest connexion with the heart. Sophisms are frequently substituted in the place of argument, and tedious similes introduced as a covering for want of imagination. Of all the tragedies of Dryden, two only rise above the level of mediocrity. Had the last four acts of All for Love' been equal to the first, it would have been surpassed by very few theatrical productions. The reconciliation between Don Sebastian and Dorax approaches very nearly to perfection. But his Montezumas and Almanzors, which he seems to consider as prototypes of heroical excellence, would be better placed among the monsters of the Opera stage, than among the personages of a drama, that at least affects to be rational. The political ascendency acquired by Spain in the course of the sixteenth century, diffused the knowledge of the language, and spread the literary productions of that nation among the most polished people of Europe. Since that time the study of the Castillian tongue has been universally neglected, and possibly might never have been resumed, had not the ill-judging policy of Buonaparte, by rousing the energies of a degraded people, made every thing belonging to them interesting. France had no acquaintance with the dramatic literature of the Peninsula, except from the translations of Linguet. But the selection he made was far from judicious, and the execution was conformable to the choice. The only pieces translated were comedies of intrigue, which, notwithstanding they abound in striking situations, are not the most brilliant ornaments of the Spanish theatre. It is in their historical compositions that the romantic genius of the Castillian poets is displayed with the greatest eclat. 6 It was not before the middle of the sixteenth century, that the dramatic art was brought to perfection, and in the seventeenth it began to decline. Since the War of the Succession,' it would be difficult to produce a single play, which does not indicate a deteriorated taste, and an almost total defect of imagination. Spanish pretenders to wit affect to treat with contempt the ancient national poets, but the people still regard them with enthusiastic admiration, whether represented at Mexico or Madrid. It is however quite absurd to talk of the taste of a nation, which regards the men who abolished the Inquisition, and laid the foundations of a free constitution, as enemies to their religion and country. The progress of the dramatic art in Spain is marked by the names names of her three celebrated writers, Cervantes, Lopez de Vega, and Calderon. The most accurate information which we possess, upon this subject, is transmitted to us by Cervantes himself. He had witnessed the earliest attempts at improvements, and assisted himself in promoting them. Nothing can be more amusing than his description of the uncouth spectacles at which he was present in his youth, and which he represents as equally deficient in external decoration and intrinsic merit. One of his earliest productions, the Siege of Numancium, which has been recently published, may be classed among the most extraordinary theatrical phenomena; and what renders it an object of still greater curiosity is, that the author never seems to suspect how nearly he has approached to the grandeur and simplicity of the ancients. Lopez de Vega no sooner appeared as a candidate for theatrical fame, than he eclipsed the glory of his predecessor, and for many years occupied the attention of the public with unrivalled reputation. Many of his numerous productions, the catalogue of which swells to a prodigious extent, without comprehending the whole of his works, have never been printed. It is easy however to form a tolerably accurate judgment of his merit by perusing a few of his plays, because he never attains to the highest degree of excellence, and never sinks to mediocrity. In those pieces which are taken from the ancient chronicles, or borrowed from tradition and romance, the style is often rude and unpolished; but when he paints the national character, as it existed in his days, his language is more studied and refined. All his plays abound with the most comic adventures, and are replete with humorous remarks; and there are perhaps very few which would not produce a considerable effect upon the stage, if dressed in more modern apparel. Their defects too are in general of the same description, an exuberance of imagination, which led him to attend to striking situations, more than to the regular conduct of the plot. At length the sublimest of the Spanish poets appeared like a meteor on the literary horizon. Calderon was richly endowed with every requisite to succeed in a theatrical career. Fertility of genius and indefatigable exertion, a creative fancy and brilliant wit, joined to the inestimable talent of modulating the feelings of the spectators exactly as suited his purpose, combined in forming one of the most extraordinary writers that ever attracted the admiration of the world. We are told by his biographer, that he composed upwards of one hundred and twenty plays, more than one hundred allegorical dramas founded upon scriptural or legendary subjects, and at least as many interludes, besides an abundance of fugitive poems. As his first attempt at theatrical fame was made at the early age of fourteen, and he continued to write till he was eighty-one, not notwithstanding the variety of his dramatic productions, he may be supposed to have composed with less precipitation than Lopez. Amid this prodigious abundance of literary works, nothing was left in an unfinished state: on the contrary, every incident appears the necessary consequence of a pre-existing cause, and is determined by regular principles. No poet was ever more fortunate in depicting the ancient character of the nation, when animated with those romantic virtues which once distinguished the inhabitants of the Peninsula. During the middle ages, the Spaniards supported a memorable part upon the great theatre of manly exertion, which the ingratitude of posterity has forgotten. From the mountains of Asturia they struggled heroically against the numerous hosts of Mahomedans who threateued to annihilate the religion and liberties of Europe. This extraordinary period may be justly termed the romance, and, in some respects, the miracle of history; because, without the assistance of an arm more potent than that of man, the deliverance of Christendom could hardly have been achieved. A people, long accustomed to fight in defence of their faith, could not fail to behold it with enthusiastic respect. The consolations of piety were the only rewards to which these venerable warriors aspired. Every church that was rescued from the pollution of infidels, was regarded as the noblest of trophies; for there the sacred symbols of their religious belief had been insulted, and there reposed the bones of their ancestors. Equally devoted to his God and his king, possessing the most elevated notions of honour, proud, serious, temperate, and devout, such was the ancient champion of Christianity, whether occupied in cultivating his patrimonial domain, or in opposing the enemies of his faith. Such characters presented abundant materials to the original genius of Calderon, and he availed himself of them with consummate ability but his success is more doubtful when he borrows from the records of antiquity, or the allegorical mysteries of paganism; for he seems to have regarded the mythology of the Greeks in the light of an agreeable fiction, and always treated the history of the Romans as a majestic hyperbole. Even when he descends to the walks of ordinary life, he captivates by an inexpressible charm. His pieces usually terminate in a marriage, but what variety is to be found in the adventures which precede it! The ancients did not hesitate to employ means the most indecorous and immoral, for the gratification of the sensual appetites, or the attainment of some selfish purpose; but Calderon's comedies are distinguished by a delicacy of feeling, that ennobles those passions which, when left to the guidance of inordinate appetite, degrade the moral dignity of man. Honour, love, and jealousy, ingeniously diversified, furnish ample materials for his muse. He calls into action every elevated sentiment, and never suffers the snares of vulgar intrigue to pollute the purity of his pages. About half a century has elapsed since the Germans first aspired to the reputation of taste, during which they have advanced with rapid steps; and if the dramatic art has been cultivated with less zeal and success than various other branches of science, it is owing entirely to unfavourable circumstances, and not to defi ciency of genius. Perhaps one of the greatest disadvantages under which the German dramatists labour, is the want of a capital. Taste and genius are confined to the northern circles, and flourish at Berlin and Weimar, but literary merit finds little encouragement at Vienna, and till lately was a stranger at Munich. We have no time to advert to the early essays of the Germans in scenical composition; but must content ourselves with remarking that even so late as the beginning of the last century they had produced nothing deserving attention. Half-starved strollers and puppets were the only performers they were acquainted with. To give the reader some idea of the deplorable state of German literature at the period alluded to, it will be sufficient to add, that Gottsched was regarded as the restorer of letters. Desirous of introducing a classical style, this insipid pedant inundated the empire with tame and tasteless translations from the French. At length Lessing appeared, and gave a different bias to public opinion. Failing in his translations of Corneille and Racine, he had the sense to discover that he had mistaken the road, and the candour to acknowledge it. Instead of attempting to conceal, or even to palliate his error, he boldly attacked, in various publications, the bad taste of his countrymen in degrading their talents by servile imitation. The effect produced by his censure was rapid and decisive; and the pride of the nation being roused into action, the German poets gave an unbridled scope to their bold and fantastic imaginations. Lessing has the merit, and no trifling one it is, of having first recommended the study of Shakspeare to all who engaged in a dramatic career. According to his own confession he was not born with a poetical genius; it was by indefatigable perseverance that he acquired a facility in composing, and he was far advanced in life before he attained to celebrity as a dramatic writer. Mina de Barnhelm, Emilia Gallatti, and Nathan de Weire, particularly the latter, display an understanding profound and capacious, and more remarkable for solidity than for invention. Goëthe is a poet of a much higher order. Werther is too well known to require any comment. It was published at an age when the empire of the passions is most despotic, and this is perhaps the best best excuse that can be offered for the dangerous lessons it conveys. The genius of Goethe is of too bold and original a cast to be shackled by the trammels of prescription. In his first dramatic production, Goëtz Von Berlichinghen, he bade defiance to criticism, and attempted to introduce the style and manner of Shakspeare. Rejecting the aid of poetical ornament, he made his characters speak the language of peasants and banditti. The honour of the nation is admirably painted, and the calamities arising from feudal contentions presented in colours the most striking; and he frequently produces a powerful effect by incidents apparently so trivial, that it required a genius of no common capacity to seize them. The principal object of this extraordinary man is to extend the sphere of intellectual enjoyment, and he has attempted it in almost every form of composition, most likely to captivate attention. his efforts to cleanse the Augean stable, he often injures the fabric, and, like the generality of modern philosophers, attacks opinions which constitute the happiness of life, while he pretends to be combating prejudices. There is scarcely any species of dramatic composition which he has not attempted; but though it is impossible that such talents should fail, it would be difficult to mention a single piece that deserves to be classed with the Andromaque or Phèdre of Racine, in felicity of execution; though his Egmont be more spirited, and his Iphigenia more antique. The merits of Faust, one of the most extravagant productions of ill-directed though boundless genius, cannot however be estimated by any established principles, because it sets them all at defiance. This piece, which, in spite of various alterations, is no better than a fragment, is founded upon the old and popular story of the Devil and Dr. Faustus. Many scenes are allotted to develop the distracted state of Faustus's mind, when he discovers the uncertainty of all human possessions, and even the vanity of scientific pursuits. These are blended with others, in which the dregs of the people converse in terms appropriate to their station; and which appear to be inserted for no other purpose than to shew that the author is as well acquainted with the disgusting language of a night-cellar, as with the elegant manners of a court. Others, in which the ideas are truly dramatic, but which have neither object nor end, display a depth of thought, which leads us to expect some decisive result, but when the expectation is raised to the highest pitch, they conclude as abruptly as they begun. Goethe is unquestionably a consummate master of scenical effect, but he has sacrificed it intentionally to more weighty considerations, which he perhaps was too prudent to avow. That Faustus is a work of extraordinary merit, and displays the strongest intellect, it would be a want of candour to deny-but we neither envy nor admire the talents that produced |