Rosalynde | Page 6

impossible to read aloud the best of them, such as,
Like to the clear in highest sphere
Where all imperial glory shines,

Of selfsame color is her hair,
Whether unfolded or in twines:
Heigh
ho, fair Rosalynde!
without setting them unconsciously to a kind of tune, so essentially
musical are the lines. In their wonderful harmony these lyrics remind
one of Burns, but in the radiant and ethereal quality of their phrasing
they inevitably recall Shelley. Furthermore, these songs illustrate the
fact that the Elizabethan lyric had its origin in culture, not among the
people, and that the chief sources of its inspiration were Italian and
French. In a series of lyrics inserted into the text of "A Margarite of
America,"[1] Lodge avowedly imitates the Italian poets Dolce, Pascale,
and Mantelli, while in another passage in the same book[2] he
expresses his unbounded admiration for the French poet Desportes, and
his belief "that few men are able to second the sweet conceits of

Philippe Desportes." His "sweet conceits" are imitated, we are told, in
Montanus's song on page 29, and again in Rosader's Sonnet, on page 62.
In his borrowings Lodge merely followed a prevalent fashion. The
early English Elizabethan lyric was wholly experimental and
imitative--the product of foreign influences, predominantly Italian and
French; and in this respect Lodge's are entirely typical.
[Footnote 1: Hunterian Club reprint, pp. 76 ff.]
[Footnote 2: Hunterian Club reprint, p. 79.]
Historical Significance. Historically the book is interesting as one of
the predecessors of the modern novel. But we need to keep in mind that
it is really a precursor of the novel and not the thing itself. We have no
right, therefore, to demand a well-constructed plot or skill in
characterization, because these did not appear in English fiction till a
much later time. It was two centuries before the novel, in the time of
Richardson, came into being; and it would be manifestly absurd to
expect to find in "Rosalynde" an anticipation either of Scott's dramatic
skill in plot construction or of George Eliot's clairvoyance that divines
the interior play of passion. All that we can reasonably ask is that there
be a coherent story told with imaginative skill. In this we are not
disappointed. The narrative moves rapidly, at least in the earlier part of
the story; and, though in the latter part the setting seems from a modern
point of view over-emphasized, it is so charmingly idyllic as almost, if
not quite, to justify the over-emphasis. But Lodge really gives us more
than we have a right to expect, for, as Mr. Gosse has pointed out,[1] we
may trace in the book "certain qualities which have always been
characteristic of English fiction, a vigorous ideal of conduct, a love of
strength and adventure, an almost quixotic reverence for womanhood."
[Footnote 1: "Seventeenth-Century Studies," p. 18.]
Shakespeare's Dramatization of "Rosalynde." When Shakespeare wrote
"As You Like It" he did precisely what so many dramatists of to-day
are blamed for doing, that is, he dramatized a well-known novel.
Lodge's "Rosalynde" was at this time (about 1598) in its third edition,
and the fact that the story was so familiar to the reading public imposed

upon Shakespeare certain restrictions which he evidently did not feel in
dealing with material that he took from sources less well known. In the
case of material drawn from foreign sources he freely altered, omitted,
or combined different stories as suited the immediate purpose of his art.
In the dramatization of Lodge's "Rosalynde" he changed the plot
comparatively little, altering it only so far as was absolutely necessary
to fit it for stage presentation, contenting himself with shortening the
time of the action, omitting such incidents as were essentially
nondramatic, and adding only such characters as would, while making
the play more interesting, not materially change the already familiar
story.
By condensation and omission Shakespeare shortened the time of the
action, which is several months in the romance, to about ten days in the
play. This he accomplished by omitting all the preliminary narrative of
the death of Sir John of Bordeaux, and the old knight's will; and by
shortening the time that elapses in the romance between the brother's
quarrel and the wrestling, which he makes occur on successive days. A
similar shortening occurs in the matter of Rosader's flight from home.
In the play the hero, being warned by Adam, leaves immediately after
the wrestling, instead of staying to play his part in the rowdyism at
Oliver's (Saladyne's) castle. The effect of this compression is to make
the love plot more prominent. The meeting of the two brothers in
Arden is also managed somewhat differently. Orlando is hurt in
rescuing his brother from wild beasts, instead of being wounded, as in
the romance, by rescuing Aliena from a band of robbers. The