"Of Sheridan, as a dramatist,” says an able, but by no means partial critic, "there can be but one opinion. He stands at the head of all comedy since Shakspeare. Tried on the three questions of plot, character, and dialogue, he is superior to all of France, Spain, and England." "Whatever Sheridan has done, has been, par excellence, always the best of its kind. He has written the best comedy (School for Scandal), the best drama (the Duenna), the best farce (the Critic), and the best address (Monologue on Garrick); and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration (the famous Begum Speech) ever conceived or heard in this country."-BYRON. |