AND JULIET. By SHAKESPEAR. With ALTERATIONS, and an additional SCENE: By D. GARRICK. As it is Performed at the Theatre-Royal 00000000000000 LONDON Printed for J. and R. TONSON and S. DRAPER. M DCC LIII. THE chief Design of the Alterations in the following Play, was to clear the Original as much as possible from the Fingle and Quibble which were always the Objections to the reviving it. The sudden Change of Romeo's Love from Rosaline to Juliet, was thought by many, at the first Revival of the Play, to be a blemish in his Character; an Alteration in that particular has been made more in Compliance to that Opinion, than from a Conviction that Shakespeare, the best Judge of human Nature, was faulty. Bandello, the Italian Novellist, from whom Shake. speare has borrow'd the Subject of this Play, has made Juliet to wake in the Tomb before Romeo dies: This Circumstance Shakespeare has omitted, not perhaps from Judgment, but from reading the Story in the French or English Translation, both which have injudiciously left out this Addition to the Catastrophe. Mr. Otway in his Caius Marius, a Tragedy taken from Romeo and Juliet, has made use of this affecting Circumstance, but it is matter of Wonder that so great a dramatic Genius did not work up a Scene from it of more Nature, Terror and Distress - Such a Scene was attempted at the Revival of this Play, and it is hop'd, that an Endeavour to supply the failure of so great a Master will not be deem'd arrogant, or the making use of two or three of his Introductory Lines, be accounted a Plagiarifm. The Persons who from their great Good-nature and Love of Justice have endeavour'd to take away from the present Editor the little Merit of this Scene by afcribing it to Otway, have unwittingly, from the Nature of the Accusation, paid him a Compliment which be believes they never intended him. |