Life Without and Life Within; or, Reviews, Narratives, Essays, and Poems.Fuller, Margaret
History
Life Without and Life Within; or, Reviews, Narratives, Essays, and Poems.
Fuller, Margaret
Essays; Literature -- History and criticism; Poetry
Schiller's Wallenstein does not strictly belong to this class, yet we
are disposed to claim it as observing the unities of time and interest;
the latter especially is entire, notwithstanding the many actors and
side-scenes which are introduced. Numberless touches of nature arrest
our attention, bright lights are flashed across many characters, but our
interest, momently increasing, is for Wallenstein--for the perversion,
the danger, the ruin of that monarch soul, that falling son of the
morning. Even that we feel in Max, with his celestial bloom of heart, in
Thekla's sweet trustfulness, is subsidiary. This work, generally known
to the reader through Mr. Coleridge's translation, affords an imperfect
illustration of our meaning. Miss Baillie's plays on the passions hold a
middle place. Unity of purpose there is--no unity of plan or conduct.
Bold, fine outline--very bad coloring. Profound, beautifully-expressed
reflections on the passions--utter want of skill in showing them out; a
thorough feeling, indeed, of the elements of tragedy,--had but the
vitalizing energy been added. Her plays are failures; but since she has
given us nothing else, we cannot but rejoice in having these. 'Tis great
pity that the authoress of De Montfort and Basil should not have
attempted a narrative poem.
Coleridge and Byron are signal instances how peculiar is the kind of
talent required for the drama; one a philosopher, both men of great
genius and uncommon mastery over language, both conversant with each
side of human nature, both considering the drama in its true light as
one of the highest departments of literature, both utterly wanting in
simplicity, pathos, truth of passion and liveliness of action--in that
thrilling utterance of heart to heart, whose absence _here_, no other
excellence can atone for. Of Maturin and Knowles we do not speak,
because theirs, though very good acting plays, are not, like Mr.
Taylor's, written for the closet; of Milman, because not sufficiently
acquainted with his plays. We would here pay a tribute to our countryman
Hillhouse, whose Hadad, read at a very early age, we remember with much
delight. Probably our judgment now might be different; but a work which
could make so deep an impression on any age, must have genius. We are
sorry we have never since met it in any library or parlor, and are not
competent to speak of it more particularly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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