The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-22 00:00:00

HERR BANDMANN ON SHAKSPERE.

Herr Bandmanu, the German actor at the Lyceum
Theatre, on the occasion of the late Theatrical Fund
Dinner, was the happy means of varying the
speeches of the evening with the expression of an
opinion which, whether wrong or right, is at least
something that one can talk about, and not simply
an affair of gewgaw and spangles.
To this gentleman was assigned the task cf re-
sponding to the toast of "The Drama," and of
course he did not go very far before he came to the
inevitable Shakspere. What he said with respect
to our first of poets must be given in his own words,
as we find them reported in the morning papers ;
for it would be a pity to run any risk of either
heightening or diminishing so noteworthy a decla-
ration. "It was a fact," said Herr Bandmann,
" that Shakspere was much more acted in Germany
than Schiller or Goethe. The Germans, in fact,
claimed Shakspere quite as much as did the British
nation, and one of the German lyric poets asserted
that by right Shakspere belonged to Germany alone,
because, when Shakspere's genius was sent from
heaven to earth, its destination was Germany, but
the wind blowing westwardly it rested in England.
For' himself, be cared little where Shakspere was
born ; he belonged to the world, and his plays were,
acted and appreciated. in every civilised nation."
Considering that Herr Bandmann was speaking in
England to an audience of Englishmen, it must
have required some audacity to assure his hearers
that after all the credit of having produced
Shakspere belongs not to England, but to Ger-
mrny. Conceive a parallel case happening in
any other country. Fancy an Englishman
getting up in Paris, and telling a company of
Frenchmen--and that without apology, or even ex-
planation—that Aloliere really belonged to Eng-
land, and was not, properly speaking, a Frenchman
at all. Fancy a Frenchman - assuring a German
audience that they have no claim to Goethe, who,
in a metaphysical sense, could have been produced
by no country but France. Fancy a Spaniard pooh-
poohing before a meeting of Florentines the idea of
Italy having any title to the glory of Dante, and
declaring that, in the nature of things, he could only
be a Spaniard ; or, per contra, imagine an Italian
telling a number of Spaniards that Cervantes be-
longed wholly and absolutely to the literature of
Italy. No doubt it is difficult to conceive any oue
of the cases supposed ; but, granting them to
happen, we may be very sure that the assumption
would in each instance be repudiated with a vehe-
mence not unallied to indignation. We do not find
that Herr Bandmann's remarks were received with
so much as an ejaculatory " Oh !" such as mem-
bers of Parliament occasionally throw at one an-
other. The Lyceum "star," however, probably
knew well enough that in such matters
we English are the most good-natured people
in the world. We are always ready to let any
one get up, and depreciate us to any extent he likes.
We have taken no end of snubbing from all sorts
of quarters, and it was therefore, perhaps, not
assuming very much to suppose that we should be
quite willing to hear a gentleman from Germany
hint that we are too dull a people to have fathered
such a genius as Shakspere's, which could only have
arisen among the pure Teutonic race. It is true
that Herr Bandmann, feeling his way with unne-
cessary caution, considering that he was only ad-
dressing a set of English varlets, stated at first that
his countrymen only claimed Shakspere " quite as
much as the British nation ;" but he immediately
proceeded to quote from some anonymous writer
that higkly transcendental bit asserting the innate
impossibility of Shakspere being anything but a
German. Had a parallel speech been made in any
country but England, the speaker could hardly
have escaped the charge of impertinence, unless by
accepting that of stupidity. But doubtless Herr
Bandmann was well aware of what he was about,
and the event showed he did not miscalculate. We
have been German ridden for generations, and seem
rather to like it. Let any one from the " Vater-
land" who wishes to show his skill mount boldly,
and apply whip and spur at discretion. He shall
find us very quiet jades indeed.