This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 Excerpt: ...detect here and there but a short phrase borrowed from the historian, we find in each of the Roman plays whole passages wherein Shakespeare has changed, at times, only the order of the words to convert what was before prose into deathless poetry. We may thus compare Shakespeare with Mendelssohn, some of whose loveliest ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 Excerpt: ...detect here and there but a short phrase borrowed from the historian, we find in each of the Roman plays whole passages wherein Shakespeare has changed, at times, only the order of the words to convert what was before prose into deathless poetry. We may thus compare Shakespeare with Mendelssohn, some of whose loveliest compositions are formed upon the words of a congenial poet; but no less lovely are those songs without words, wherein his only inspiration was his own genius. So Shakespeare, by the music of his verse, has made live the words of North; but lacking these in the Chronicles he likewise had no need of any other inspiration but that which was within. This is so important a point for the understanding of Shakespeare's methods in the use of his authority that it may be illustrated by a short example. The death of Cleopatra is thus described in North's Plutarch: "When they had opened the doors, they found Cleopatra stark dead, laid upon a bed of gold, attired and arrayed in her royal robes, and one of her two women, which was called Iras, dead at her feet, and her other woman, called Charmian, half dead, and trembling, trimming the diadem which Cleopatra wore upon her head. One of the soldiers seeing her, angrily said to her: "Is that well done, Charmian?" "Very well," said she again, "and meet for a princess descended from the race of so many noble kings." And now notice with what art Shakespeare has woven into his verse the words of North, and from a description has produced a moving scene, adding, some of his own words to fill in a few of the outlines. ACT V--Scene 2. (Enter Iras with a robe, crown, etc.) Cleo. Give me my robe, put on my crown, I have Immortal longings in me: now no more The juice of Egypt's grap...
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