A Short Note on the Dramatic Language of Shakespeare from Preface to Shakespeare

 Shakespeare's comic dialogue, according to Johnson, upheld the language of 'the common intercourse of life' (Johnson 7). 'A conversation above grossness and below refinement, where propriety resides' (Johnson 7). This, Johnson opines, comes out of 'a certain mode of phraseology so consonant and congenial to the analogy and principles' that it is 'to remain settled and unaltered' (Johnson 7). His comic dialogues are 'smooth and clear, yet not wholly without ruggedness or difficulty' just 'as a country may be eminently fruitful, though it has spots unfit for cultivation.' But, Shakespear's tragic dialogue is 'a disproportionate pomp of diction and a wearisome train of circumlocution' to Johnson that, he believes, 'tells the incident imperfectly in many words, which might have been more plainly delivered in few' (Johnson 9). He does not support the way Shakespeare deals with the narrative parts as he believes they are showing 'dignity and splendor', and, yet, are long and 'tedious' (Johnson 9). Johnson also thinks that Shakespeare's 'set speeches are commonly cold and weak' in tragic dialogues as his 'natural' flow is obstructed by traditional 'amplification' practice (Johnson 9). Moreover, Johnson finds that Shakespeare 'very often neglected' 'the equality of words to things' 'and trivial sentiments and vulgar ideas disappoint the attention' as they are 'bulky' in tragic dialogues (Johnson 10). In other words, Johnson finds Shakespeare's comic dialogues more appealing and appropriate than tragic ones.