An Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakespear: Compared with the Greek and French Dramatic Poets: With Some Remarks upon the Misrepresentations of [Paperback]

This 1769 work is a spirited defence of Shakespeare against criticism claiming that he was inferior to modern French dramatists.This 1769 work is a spirited defence of Shakespeare against the criticism of Voltaire, who claimed that his work was inferior to that of modern French dramatists. Voltaire is especially condemned for his efforts to measure Shakespeare against Corneille using an inadequate French translation of the English dramatist's work.This 1769 work is a spirited defence of Shakespeare against the criticism of Voltaire, who claimed that his work was inferior to that of modern French dramatists. Voltaire is especially condemned for his efforts to measure Shakespeare against Corneille using an inadequate French translation of the English dramatist's work.The daughter of wealthy parents, and well educated in history and languages, at the age of twenty-one Elizabeth Robinson (17181800) married Edward Montagu, a grandson of the earl of Sandwich whose income derived from northern estates and coal-mines, and began to establish a London salon attended by the intellectual cream of British society, including Johnson, Burke, Garrick, and Hester Chapone. This 1769 work, written at the urging of her bluestocking friend Elizabeth Carter, is a spirited defence of Shakespeare against the criticism of Voltaire, comparing Shakespeare's genius to that of the ancient Greek and modern French poet-dramatists, and finding it superior. Voltaire is especially condemned in this lively and elegant piece for his efforts to measure Shakespeare against Corneille using an inadequate and mechanistic French translation of the English dramatist's work. Mrs Montagu's collected letters, and works by others of her circle, are also reissued in this series.Introduction; On dramatic poetry; On the historical drama; The first part of Henry IV; The second part of Henry IV; On the praeternatural beings; The tragedy of Macbeth; Upon the Cinna of Corneille; Upon the death of Julius Caesar.