"I shall, having now crack'd the Shell of my Spleen against the Town, come to the Kernel of Reason, and present 'em this little sweet Nut of theirs, worm-eaten to the Sight, imbitter'd to their Taste, and abhorr'd to their Imaginations, as Shakespear terms it."

— Garrick, David (1717-1779)


Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for W. Bickerton
Date
1744
Metaphor
"I shall, having now crack'd the Shell of my Spleen against the Town, come to the Kernel of Reason, and present 'em this little sweet Nut of theirs, worm-eaten to the Sight, imbitter'd to their Taste, and abhorr'd to their Imaginations, as Shakespear terms it."
Metaphor in Context
HOW are we degenerated in Taste! Oh how chang'd! how fallen! That our Theatre shall be crowded with Nobility, Ladies and Gentry, to see Macbeth Burlesqu'd, or Be--g--k'd, which are synonimous, when they might read Mr. Theobald's Edition of him, without throwing away their Money, mispending their Time, ruining their Taste, or running the Hazard of catching a violent Cold, for a mere Non-entity: However, that I may not seem to be prejudic'd against Mr. G--k, as I really am not, for I admire him, for thus boldly daring to deceive and cheat three Parts of the Nation; I shall, having now crack'd the Shell of my Spleen against the Town, come to the Kernel of Reason, and present 'em this little sweet Nut of theirs, worm-eaten to the Sight, imbitter'd to their Taste, and abhorr'd to their Imaginations, as Shakespear terms it.
(pp. 2-3)
Provenance
Reading
Citation
1 entry in ESTC (1744).

An Essay on Acting: In Which Will Be Consider'd the Mimical Behaviour of a Certain Fashionable Faulty Actor, ... to Which Will Be Added, a Short Criticism on His Acting Macbeth. (London: Printed for W. Bickerton, 1744). <Link to ESTC> <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
07/03/2014

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.