The Man Shakespeare by Frank Harris
page 62 of 447 (13%)
page 62 of 447 (13%)
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Then this "unstable opposite," Posthumus, demands his ring back again,
but as soon as Iachimo swears that he had the bracelet from her arm, Posthumus swings round again to belief from sheer rapidity of thought. Again Philario will not be convinced. He says: "Sir, be patient, This is not strong enough to be believed Of one persuaded well of--" But Posthumus will not await the proof for which he has asked. He is convinced upon suspicion, as Othello was, and the very nimbleness of his Hamlet-intellect, seeing that probabilities are against him, entangles him in the snare. Even his servant Pisanio will not believe in Imogen's guilt though his master assures him of it. Shakespeare does not notice this peculiar imprudent haste of his hero, as he notices, for example, the hasty speech of Hotspur by letting Harry of England imitate it, simply because the quick-thinking was his own; while the hurried stuttering speech was foreign to him. Posthumus goes on to rave against women as Hamlet did; as all men do who do not understand them: "For even to vice They are not constant, but are changing still." And Posthumus betrays as clearly as ever Hamlet did that he is merely Shakespeare masquerading: "I'll write against them, Detest them, curse them--yet 'tis greater skill In a true hate, to pray they have their will: The very devils cannot plague them better." |
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