160 Whitford Another satirist surpassed Chatterton in the thoroughness of his rejection of the classical laws for dramatic composition. The author of Shakespeare: an Epistle to D. Garrick, Esq. glorifies Shakespeare and natural genius in the following lines: When Shakespeare leads the Mind a Dance, From France to England, hence to France, Talk not to me of Time and Place; I own I'm happy in the Chace. Whether the Drama's here or there, 'Tis Nature, Shakespeare every where . . . True Genius, like Armida's Wand, Can raise the Spring from barren Land. While all the Art of Imitation, Is pilfering from the first Creation. 11 Incidentally demonstrating that the rules of dramatic composi- tion which came to England from France were still adhered to by critics if not by dramatists, he proceeds to remark upon the absurdities of opinions opposed to his own : Yet those who breathe the Classic Vein, Enlisted in the mimic Train, . . . Not run away with by their Wit, Delighted with the Pomp of Rules, The Specious Pedantry of Schools; (Which Rules, like Crutches, ne'er became Of any Use but to the Lame) Pursue the Method set before 'em, Talk much of Order and Decorum, Of Probability of Fiction, Of Manners, Ornament, and Diction, And with a Jargon of hard Names, (A Privilege which Dulness claims) And merely us'd by way of Fence, To keep out plain and common Sense, Extol the Wit of ancient Days, The simple Fabric of their Plays; 11 Miscellaneous and Fugitive Pieces, 2d ed. (London, 1774), II, 344. I do not mean to say that rejection of the unities was unusual, but it represents a kindness of attitude toward romanticism that disappeared from satire as the romantic movement gained strength. The allusion to Tasso in this passage is
indicative of another phase of romantic interest.
