Selections from William Hazlitt

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. 1913 Excerpt: ... NOTES The only complete edition of Hazlitt's writings is by Waller and Glover in thirteen volumes, including one volume which contains a full index to subjects and quotations. References in these notes to Works are always to this edition. The instances of my indebtedness to this edition are too numerous to mention. Hazlitt's habit of quoting from memory has baffled every editor who has tried to discover the sources of the quotations. Though scholars have been able to discover most of those used in this volume, a few have eluded the most careful search of many editors. HAMLET The only criticism of Hamlet by Hazlitt is the review of Kean's playing, which appeared in the Morning Chronicle, March 14, 1814. The present issue is printed from the first edition of the Characters of Shakespear (1817), which is a reprint, usually with small changes, of the theatrical reviews appearing immediately after the performance of the plays. In his preface to the published volume, Characters of Shakespear, Hazlitt says: The only work which seemed to supersede the necessity of an attempt like the present was Schlegel's very admirable ' Lectures on the Drama, ' which give by far the best account of the plays of Shakspere that has hitherto appeared. The only circumstances in which it was thought not impossible to improve on the manner in which the German critic has executed this part of his design, were in avoiding an appearance of mysticism in his style, not very attractive to the English reader, and in bringing illustrations from particular passages of the plays themselves, of which Schlegel's work, from the extensiveness of his plan, did not admit. We will at the same time confess, that some little jealousy of the character of the national understanding was not witho...