One thing, I deny, first of all, the one point upon which all the rest depends, and
with which it all stands or falls, this one point, namely, that it is possible for Hamlet
to dare to do what all the critics, notwithstanding their nuances, almosi unanimously
require of him. Whether or not he were naturally capable of doing it is a question
altogether impertinent. For it simply was not possible^ and this for reasons entirely
objtctive. The situation of things, the force of circumstances, the nature of his task,
directly foibid it, and so imperatively, that he was compelled to respect the prohibi-



WERDER 355

don, if he were to keep his reason ; above all, his poetic and dramatic, aye, and hk
human, reason. The critics have been so absorbed in the study of his character,
that the task imposed upon him has been lost sight of. ' Here is the fundamental
mistake.
