Characters of Shakespeare's Plays

Characters of shakespeare's plays is an 1817 book of criticism of shakespeare's plays, written by early nineteenth century english essayist and literary critic william hazlitt. composed in reaction to the neoclassical approach to shakespeare's plays typified by dr. johnson, it was among the first english-language studies of shakespeare's plays to follow the manner of german critic a. w. schlegelit is observed by mr. pope, that 'if ever any author deserved the name of an original, it was shakespeare. homer himself drew not his art so immediately from the fountains of nature; it proceeded through aegyptian strainers and channels, and came to him not without some tincture of the learning, or some cast of the models, of those before him. the poetry of shakespeare was inspiration: indeed, he is not so much an imitator, as an instrument of nature; and it is not so just to say that he speaks from her, as that she speaks through him. his characters are so much nature herself, that it is a sort of injury to call them by so distant a name as copies of her. those of other poets have a constant resemblance, which shows that they received them from one another, and were but multipliers of the same image: each picture, like a mock-rainbow, is but the reflection of a reflection. but every single character in shakespeare, is as much an individual, as those in life itself; it is as impossible to find any two alike; and such, as from their relation or affinity in any respect appear most to be twins, will, upon comparison, be found remarkably distinct. to this life and variety of character, we must add the wonderful preservation of it; which is such throughout his plays, that had all the speeches been printed without the very names of the persons, i believe one might have applied them with certainty to every speaker.'william hazlitt (10 april 1778 18 september 1830) was an english essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. he is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the english language, [1][2] placed in the company of samuel johnson and george orwell.[3][4] he is also acknowledged as the finest art critic of his age.[5] despite his high standing among historians of literature and art, his work is currently little read and mostly out of print.[6][7] during his lifetime he befriended many people who are now part of the 19th-century literary canon, including charles and mary lamb, stendhal, samuel taylor coleridge, william wordsworth, and john keats. the family of hazlitt's father were irish protestants who moved from the county of antrim to tipperary in the early 18th century. also named william hazlitt, hazlitt's father attended the university of glasgow (where he was taught by adam smith), [9] receiving a master's degree in 1760. not entirely satisfied with his presbyterian faith, he became a unitarian minister in england. in 1764 he became pastor at wisbech in cambridgeshire, where in 1766 he married grace loftus, daughter of a recently deceased ironmonger. of their many children, only three survived infancy. the first of these, john (later known as a portrait painter), was born in 1767 at marshfield in gloucestershire, where the reverend william hazlitt had accepted a new pastorate after his marriage. in 1770, the elder hazlitt accepted yet another position and moved with his family to maidstone, kent, where his first and only surviving daughter, margaret (usually known as peggy), was born that same yea