The comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere . mouthed and closed-mouthed—strange fellows,—as different asthe Janus looking to the east, and the Januslooking to the west. ?* Scene I.— Let me i^lay the Fool. The part of the Fool running over with mirth and laughter, was opposed to the sad part which Antonio played. The Fool whichShakspere found in possession of the stagewas a rude copy of the domestic fool—licentious,if not witty. Our great poet, in clothing himwith wit, hid half his grossness. In the timeof Middleton (Charles I.), when the domesticFool was extinct, and th
The comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere . mouthed and closed-mouthed—strange fellows,—as different asthe Janus looking to the east, and the Januslooking to the west. ?* Scene I.— Let me i^lay the Fool. The part of the Fool running over with mirth and laughter, was opposed to the sad part which Antonio played. The Fool whichShakspere found in possession of the stagewas a rude copy of the domestic fool—licentious,if not witty. Our great poet, in clothing himwith wit, hid half his grossness. In the timeof Middleton (Charles I.), when the domesticFool was extinct, and the Fool of the stagenearly so, he is thus described retrospectively :— oh, the clowns that I have seen in my time !The very passing out of one of them would haveMadea young heir laugh though his father lay a-dying;A man undone in law the day before(The saddest case that can be) might for his secondHave burst himself with laughing, and ended allHis miseries. Here was a merry world, my masters. Mayor nf Quinborovgh. SCENE III.] THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. 573. * Scene - He hath neither Latin, French,nor Italian. A satire, says Warburton, on the igno-rance of the young English travellers in ourauthors time. Authors are not much in thehabit of satirising themselves; and yet accord-ing to Farmer and his school, Shakspere knew neither Latin, French, nor Italian. * Scene III.— Venice. A public Place. Though there are three hundred and sixcanals in Venice, serving for thoroughfares,there is no lack also of streets and publicplaces. The streets are probably the narrowestin Europe, from the value of ground in thisCity of the Sea. The public places (exceptingthe great squares before St. Marks and theDucal Palace) are small open spaces in front ofthe churches, or formed by the intersection ofstreets, or by four ways meeting, or a resound with a hubbub of voices, from themultitude of conferences perpetually going on;thus forming a remarkable contrast with theneighbo
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