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<h1>TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE</h1>
<h2 class="no-break">By Charles And Mary Lamb</h2>
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<h2><SPAN name="chap00"></SPAN>PREFACE</h2>
<p>The following Tales are meant to be submitted to the young reader as an
introduction to the study of Shakespeare, for which purpose his words are
used whenever it seemed possible to bring them in; and in whatever has
been added to give them the regular form of a connected story, diligent
care has been taken to select such words as might least interrupt the
effect of the beautiful English tongue in which he wrote: therefore, words
introduced into our language since his time have been as far as possible
avoided.</p>
<p>In those Tales which have been taken from the Tragedies, the young readers
will perceive, when they come to see the source from which these stories
are derived, that Shakespeare’s own words, with little alteration,
recur very frequently in the narrative as well as in the dialogue; but in
those made from the Comedies the writers found themselves scarcely ever
able to turn his words into the narrative form: therefore it is feared
that, in them, dialogue has been made use of too frequently for young
people not accustomed to the dramatic form of writing. But this fault, if
it be a fault, has been caused by an earnest wish to give as much of
Shakespeare’s own words as possible: and if the “He said”
and “She said,” the question and the reply, should sometimes
seem tedious to their young ears, they must pardon it, because it was the
only way in which could be given to them a few hints and little foretastes
of the great pleasure which awaits them in their elder years, when they
come to the rich treasures from which these small and valueless coins are
extracted; pretending to no other merit than as faint and imperfect stamps
of Shakespeare’s matchless image. Faint and imperfect images they
must be called, because the beauty of his language is too frequently
destroyed by the necessity of changing many of his excellent words into
words far less expressive of his true sense, to make it read something
like prose; and even in some few places, where his blank verse is given
unaltered, as hoping from its simple plainness to cheat the young readers
into the belief that they are reading prose, yet still his language being
transplanted from its own natural soil and wild poetic garden, it must
want much of its native beauty.</p>
<p>It has been wished to make these Tales easy reading for very young
children. To the utmost of their ability the writers have constantly kept
this in mind; but the subjects of most of them made this a very difficult
task. It was no easy matter to give the histories of men and women in
terms familiar to the apprehension of a very young mind. For young ladies,
too, it has been the intention chiefly to write; because boys being
generally permitted the use of their fathers’ libraries at a much
earlier age than girls are, they frequently have the best scenes of
Shakespeare by heart, before their sisters are permitted to look into this
manly book; and, therefore, instead of recommending these Tales to the
perusal, of young gentlemen who can read them so much better in the
originals, their kind assistance is rather requested in explaining to
their sisters such parts as are hardest for them to understand: and when
they have helped them to get over the difficulties, then perhaps they will
read to them (carefully selecting what is proper for a young sister’s
ear) some passage which has pleased them in one of these stories, in the
very words of the scene from which it is taken; and it is hoped they will
find that the beautiful extracts, the select passages, they may choose to
give their sisters in this way will be much better relished and understood
from their having some notion of the general story from one of these
imperfect abridgments;—which if they be fortunately so done as to
prove delight to any of the young readers, it is hoped that no worse
effect will result than to make them wish themselves a little older, that
they may be allowed to read the Plays at full length (such a wish will be
neither peevish nor irrational). When time and leave of judicious friends
shall put them into their hands, they will discover in such of them as are
here abridged (not to mention almost as many more, which are left
untouched) many surprising events and turns of fortune, which for their
infinite variety could not be contained in this little book, besides a
world of sprightly and cheerful characters, both men and women, the humor
of which it was feared would be lost if it were attempted to reduce the
length of them.</p>
<p>What these Tales shall have been to the YOUNG readers, that and much more
it is the writers’ wish that the true Plays of Shakespeare may prove
to them in older years—enrichers of the fancy, strengtheners of
virtue, a withdrawing from all selfish and mercenary thoughts, a lesson of
all sweet and honorable thoughts d actions, to teach courtesy, benignity,
generosity, humanity: for of examples, teaching these virtues, his pages
are full.</p>
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