The London Theatre Scene in William Hazlitt’s Dramatic Criticism

Abstract

The English drama and literary critic William Hazlitt (1778-1830) made criticism a kind of creative writing. His style is fascinating and completely free from pedantry and didacticism. What he brought to the criticism of Shakespeare was a highly imaginative and poetic mind, a very uncommon power of expression, and an enthusiasm never turning into sentimentality. Hazlitt was always a creative writer, even as a critic. His greatest gift was an ability to convey to the reader his own eagerness for Shakespeare’s mastery. He had uncommon taste and judgment and never suffered from timidity, yet never indulged in sweeping generalizations.