Defence of Poesie (61-65)

Chawcer vndoubtedly did excellently in his Troilus and Creseid: of whome trulie I knowe not whether to meruaile more, either that hee in that mistie time could see so clearly, or that wee in this cleare age, goe so stumblingly after him. Yet had hee great wants, fit to be forgiuen in so reuerent an Antiquitie. I account the Mirrour of Magistrates, meetly furnished of bewtiful partes. And in the Earle of Surreis Lirickes, manie thinges tasting of a Noble birth, and worthie of a Noble minde. The Sheepheards Kallender, hath much Poetrie in his Egloges, indeed woorthie the reading, if I be not deceiued. That same framing of his style to an olde rusticke language, I dare not allow: since neither Theocritus in Greeke, Virgill in Latine, nor Sanazara in Italian, did affect it. Besides these, I doo not remember to haue seene but fewe (to speake boldly) printed, that haue poeticall sinnewes in them. For proofe whereof, let but moste of the Verses bee put in profe, and then aske the meaning, and it will bee founde, that one Verse did but beget an other, without ordering at the first, what should bee at the last, which becomes a confused masse of words, with a tingling sound of ryme, barely accompanied with reasons.

Our Tragidies and Commedies, not without cause cryed out against, obseruing rules neither of honest ciuilitie, not skilfull Poetrie. Excepting Gorboducke, (againe I say of those that I haue seen) which notwithstanding as it is full of stately speeches, and wel sounding phrases, clyming to the height of Seneca his style, and as full of notable morallitie, which it dooth most delightfully teach, and so obtaine the verie ende of Poesie. Yet in truth, it is verie defectious in the circumstaunces, which greeues mee, because it might not remaine as an exact moddell of all Tragidies. For it is faultie both in place and time, the two necessarie Companions of all corporall actions. For where the Stage should alway represent but one place, and the vttermoste time presupposed in it, should bee both by Aristotles precept, and common reason, but one day; there is both manie dayes and places, inartificially imagined. But if it bee so in Gorboducke, howe much more in all the rest, where you shall haue Asia of the one side, and Affricke of the other, and so manie other vnder Kingdomes, that the Player when he comes in, must euer begin with telling where he is, or else the tale will not be conceiued. Now you shall haue three Ladies walke to gather flowers, and then we must beleeue the stage to be a garden. By and by we heare newes of shipwrack in the same place, then we are too blame if we accept it not for a Rock. Vpon the back of that, comes out a hidious monster with fire and smoke, and then the miserable beholders are bound to take it for a Caue: while in the meane time two Armies flie in, represented with foure swords & bucklers, and then what hard hart wil not receiue it for a pitched field.

Now of time, they are much more liberall. For ordinarie it is, that two yoong Princes fall in loue, after many trauerses she is got with childe, deliuered of a faire boy: he is lost, groweth a man, falleth in loue, and is readie to get an other childe, and all this in two houres space: which howe absurd it is in sence, euen sence may imagine: and Arte hath taught, and all auncient examples iustified, and at this day the ordinarie players in Italie will not erre in. Yet will some bring in an example of Eunuche in Terence, that conteineth matter of two dayes, yet far short of twentie yeares. True it is, and so was it to be played in two dayes, and so fitted to the time it set foorth. And though Plautus haue in one place done amisse, let vs hit it with him, & not misse with him. But they will say, how then shall we set foorth a storie, which contains both many places, and many times ? And do they not know that a Tragidie is tied to the lawes of Poesie and not of Historie: not bounde to follow the storie, but hauing libertie either to faine a quite new matter, or to frame the Historie to the most Tragicall conueniencie. Againe, many things may be told which cannot be shewed: if they know the difference betwixt reporting and representing. As for example, I may speake though I am here, of Peru, and in speech digresse from that, to the description of Calecut: But in action, I cannot represent it without Pacolets Horse. And so was the manner the Auncients tooke, by some Nuntius, to recount things done in former time or other place.

Lastly, if they will represent an Historie, they must not (as Horace saith) beginne ab ouo, but they must come to the principall poynte of that one action which they will represent. By example this will be best expressed. I haue a storie of yoong Polidorus, deliuered for safeties sake with great riches, by his Father Priamus, to Polminester King of Thrace, in the Troyan warre time. He after some yeares, hearing the ouerthrowe of Priamus, for to make the treasure his owne, murthereth the Childe, the bodie of the Childe is taken vp, Hecuba, shee the same day, findeth a sleight to bee reuenged moste cruelly of the Tyrant . Where nowe would one of our Tragedie writers begin, but with the deliuerie of the Childe ? Then should hee saile ouer into Thrace, and so spende I know not howe many yeares, and trauaile numbers of places. But where dooth Euripides ? euen with the finding of the bodie, the rest leauing to be told by the spirite of Polidorus . This needes no further to bee enlarged, the dullest witte may conceiue it .

But besides these grosse absurdities, howe all their Playes bee neither right Tragedies, nor right Comedies, mingling Kinges and Clownes, not because the matter so carrieth it, but thrust in the Clowne by head and shoulders to play a part in maiesticall matters, with neither decencie not discretion: so as neither the admiration and Commiseration, not the right sportfulnesse is by their mongrell Tragicomedie obtained. I know Apuleius, did somewhat so, but that is a thing recounted with space of time, not represented in one moment: and I knowe the Auncients haue one or two examples of Tragicomedies, as Plautus hath Amphitrio. But if we marke them well, wee shall finde that they neuer or verie daintily matche horne Pipes and Funeralls. So falleth it out, that hauing indeed no right Comedie in that Comicall part of our Tragidie, wee haue nothing but scurrillitie vnwoorthie of anie chaste eares, or some extreame shewe of doltishnesse, indeede fit lift vp a loude laughter and nothing else: where the whole tract of a Comedie should be full of delight, as the Tragidie should bee still maintained in a well raised admiration. But our Comedients thinke there is no delight without laughter, which is verie wrong, for though laughter may come with delight, yet commeth it not of delight, as though delight should be the cause of laughter. But well may one thing breed both togither. Nay rather in themselues, they haue as it were a kinde of contrarietie: For delight wee scarcely doo, but in thinges that haue a conueniencie to our selues, or to the generall nature: Laughter almost euer commeth of thinges moste disproportioned to our selues, and nature.