A Sketch of the History of Flemish Literature and Its Celebrated Authors; From the 12th Century Down to the Present Time (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1860 edition. Excerpt: ...events of the day. It is true that we meet with this variety in Bredero; but with him, as later with Calderon, the characters have nothing foreign but the name; and therefore there is less medley of the serious and the comic. This confusion may, however, exceed all bounds, as in the Rosalinde of Gerard van den Erande, in which the comic scenes are drawn out to such an extent that they form of themselves a separate piece. In the comedies of De Conincq, intrigue predominates to the detriment of sentiment, but the contrary is the case in the dramas of his compatriots, Van den Brande, Strype, and Van Engclen: unfortunately these three writers are only known by one piece each. At this epoch a dramatic author met with more difficulties than encouragement; the unanimous complaints against the "zoyles," and the usual relinquishment of all effort after a first, or at most a second trial, render it very probable that a spirit of indolence impeded the progress of a civilising literature. The religious dramas, since then so multiplied, bear the visible impress of the intolerance of that epoch. This spirit manifested itself most forcibly in Holland, where all mental excitement was especially carried to extreme: we may convince ourselves of this, by reading the tragedies of Oudaen. This influence contributed rather to brutalise the morals than to ennoble them. But people then were not so scrupulous; coarse manners were not yet confined to the lower classes, nor were delicate ears closed to discourse which would now offend every man having any pretension to the quality of refinement. Ogier went still farther; he introduced upon the stage the coarsest language, and he made the entire action to consist of that which with Bredero was only a passing scene...