ABSTRACT
A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious, has magnitude, and is complete in itself. Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery. The difference between William Shakespeare and Fletcher in their plotting seems to be this; Shakespeare generally moves more terror and Fletcher more compassion: for the first had a more masculine, a bolder and more fiery genius; the second, a more soft and womanish. Nature never created a Caliban till Shakespeare introduced the monster, and we now take him to be nature’s composition. Shakespeare’s familiar dialogue is affirmed to be smooth and clear, yet not wholly without ruggedness or difficulty; as a country may be eminently fruitful, though it has spots unfit for cultivation. Shakespeare has generally avoided both extremes; and however faulty in some respects is in this, the most essential part of the drama, considered as a representation, excellent beyond comparison.
