EPILOGUE ΤΟ MR ROWE'S1 JANE SHORE. Designed for Mrs Oldfield. [ROWE's play of Jane Shore, which is only partly founded on history, was first acted Feb. 2, 1714, at Drury Lane. The character of Gloucester in this play is taken straight out of Shakspere. Great expectations were formed of the tragedy; and it was acted for nineteen nights. See (Geneste's) Account of the English Stage, II. 524. The famous Mrs Oldfield supported the part of the heroine, but Pope's Epilogue was never spoken.] PRODIGIOUS this! the Frail-one of our Play Just as a blockhead rubs his thoughtless skull, The godly dame, who fleshly failings damns, Scolds with her maid, or with her chaplain crams. Would you enjoy soft nights and solid dinners? Faith, gallants, board with saints, and bed with sinners. [Nicholas Rowe born in 1673, died in 1718. He was a friend of Addison's; and did good service to the cause of dramatic literature by his edition of Shakspere, accompanied by a biography. In his own plays he adopted blank verse in lieu of the heroic couplet established by creatures may be living. Dryden; but has nothing else to approach him to the Elisabethan tragedians. He is perhaps happiest in the delineation of female passion and weakness; but his Fair Penitent is a mere adaptation from Massinger.] 1 In days of old, they pardon'd breach of vows, To lend a wife, few here would scruple make, That Edward's Miss thus perks it in your face; Faith, let the modest Matrons of the town Come here in crowds, and stare the strumpet down. 50 40 30 ADVERTISEMENT. THE following Translations were selected from many others done by the Author in his Youth; for the most part indeed but a sort of Exercises, while he was improving himself in the Languages, and carried by his early Bent to Poetry to perform them rather in Verse than Prose. Mr Dryden's Fables came out about that time, which occasioned the Translations from Chaucer. They were first separately printed in Miscellanies by J. Tonson and B. Lintot, and afterwards collected in the Quarto Edition of 1717. The Imitations of English Authors, which are added at the end, were done as early, some of them at fourteen or fifteen years old; but having also got into Miscellanies, we have put them here together to complete this Juvenile Volume. P. [It should be observed that, according to Warburton's statement, it was never Pope's intention to include his Juvenile Translations in the edition of his works which he was preparing at the close of his life.] |