The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 08 (of 12)Hazlitt, William
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The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 08 (of 12)
Hazlitt, William
English essays -- 19th century
Mrs. Faucit played the part of Titania very well, but for one
circumstance—that she is a woman. The only glimpse which we caught of
the possibility of acting the imaginary scenes properly, was from the
little girl who dances before the fairies (we do not know her name),
which seemed to shew that the whole might be carried off in the same
manner—by a miracle.
_Drury-Lane._
The admirable comedy of a New Way to Pay Old Debts, continues to be
acted with increased effect. Mr. Kean is received with shouts of
applause in Sir Giles Overreach. We have heard two objections to his
manner of doing this part, one of which we think right and the other
not. When he is asked, ‘Is he not moved by the orphan’s tears, the
widow’s curse?’ he answers—‘Yes—as rocks by waves, or the moon by
howling wolves.’ Mr. Kean, in speaking the latter sentence, dashes his
voice about with the greatest violence, and howls out his indignation
and rage. Now we conceive this is wrong: for he has to express not
violence, but firm, inflexible resistance to it,—not motion, but rest.
The very pause after the word _yes_, points out the cool deliberate way
in which it should be spoken. The other objection is to his manner of
pronouncing the word ‘Lord,—Right Honourable Lord,’ which Mr. Kean
uniformly does in a drawling tone, with a mixture of fawning servility
and sarcastic contempt. This has been thought inconsistent with the
part, and with the desire which Sir Giles has to ennoble his family by
alliance with a ‘Lord, a Right Honourable Lord.’ We think Mr. Kean never
shewed more genius than in pronouncing this single word, _Lord_. It is a
complete exposure (produced by the violence of the character), of the
elementary feelings which make up the common respect excited by mere
rank. This is nothing but a cringing to power and opinion, with a view
to turn them to our own advantage with the world. Sir Giles is one of
those knaves, who ‘do themselves homage.’ He makes use of Lord Lovell
merely as the stalking-horse of his ambition. In other respects, he has
the greatest contempt for him, and the necessity he is under of paying
court to him for his own purposes, infuses a double portion of gall and
bitterness into the expression of his self-conscious superiority. No;
Mr. Kean was perfectly right in this, he spoke the word ‘Lord’ _con
amore_. His praise of the kiss, ‘It came twanging off—I like it,’ was
one of his happiest passages. It would perhaps be as well, if in the
concluding scene he would contrive not to frighten the ladies into
hysterics. But the whole together is admirable.
LOVE FOR LOVE
_The Examiner._
_January 28, 1816._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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