THE CRITIC by RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN

VY-MU: FEAR OF FLUENCY!

THE CRITIC by RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN

SIR CHRISTOPHER:
. . .
"With graceful confidence exhort to arms!

"When briefly all I hear or see bears stamp

"Of martial vigilance, and stern defence,

"I cannot but surmise.Forgive, my friend,

"If the conjecture's rashI cannot but

"Surmise.The state some danger apprehends!

                    SNEER.

A very cautious conjecture that.

                    PUFF.

Yes, that's his character; not to give an opinion, but on secure groundsnow then.

                    "SIR WALTER.

"O, most accomplished Christopher.

                    PUFF.

He calls him by his christian name, to shew that they are on the most familiar terms.

                    "SIR WALTER.

"O most accomplish'd Christopher, I find

"Thy staunch sagacity still tracks the future,

"In the fresh print of the o'ertaken past.

                    PUFF.

Figurative!

                    "SIR WALTER.

"Thy fears are just.

                    "SIR CHRISTOPHER.

      "But where? whence? when? and what

"The danger is Methinks I fain would learn.

And this where Sir Walter enlightens Sir Christopher about the SPANISH ARMADA. . .

And if this is not what is happening exactly with our own borders tell me what is?

SIR CHRISTOPHER:
. . .
"With graceful confidence exhort to arms!

"When briefly all I hear or see bears stamp

"Of martial vigilance, and stern defence,

"I cannot but surmise.Forgive, my friend,

"If the conjecture's rashI cannot but

"Surmise.The state some danger apprehends!

and then this is what follows:

"SIR WALTER.

"Thy fears are just.

"SIR CHRISTOPHER.

"But where? whence? when? and what

so we don't know who the 'enemy' is and what it is 'that we are fighting' even as we are "fighting fit"

"With graceful confidence exhort to arms!

"When briefly all I hear or see bears stamp

"Of martial vigilance, and stern defence,"

and so on because the theatre is shifty, the actors abstract and the plot podgy. but wait:

getting ahead of what went before. . .

this is not the way it is done!

for we are simply:

following the script and missing the irony:

"O most accomplish'd Christopher, I find

"Thy staunch sagacity still tracks the future,

"In the fresh print of the o'ertaken past.

PUFF.

Figurative!

THE IRONY IS THAT IT IS:

FIGURATIVE

and it is FIGURATIVE TURN OF SPEECH THAT MOST WORRIES THE MAXIMUM WORD PUTTERS ACROSS!




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