The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-07-05

more hateful william. Shakespeare never, like
other dramatsts, paints gratuituus yiilauy, and
in always suggesiiugR strong motive he mixes
mercy with Teprobation. "1ago," II must be OBJ
servtd, is laboriDR under the Impression that the
Moor has been too intimate with lis wife "Emnia,"
- thcthought ,yhereof
AND nothing can or shall couttnt my soul,
TN am svcpcd with him vie ior WIFE,
SO the worst villain gets the benefit Of doubt in
his favor and Is always justly treated Iu Shake
speafes view of hutnun vice aud frailty there Is,
indeed, hardly any satire. Il IL only 10 TroiiuS
and Cyessdd that the scornul view Of life isfully
presented and certainly nothing can be more
scorniul than the view there presented Of love
without purity, Of war without dignity and OF
society ali destitute Of truth.
But such a view az this Is quite exceptional in
Shakespeare, unless we add 10 II the misanthropy
| of "Timon " which, after ALI s not Of kind that
| makes the picture of life hideous. We may go
| through play alter play, and We still IND thlsi
that whereas when Shakespeare rose 70 his height
| he took sad desponding views OF human life, saw
| the earth but a. q football Of the gods, and the
| human race but as the crust on its surface, he
never mixed with this view an unkind judgment
| Of man, he never separated himself from his
fellows he partaker Of their sins aud fOllios,
souOWed in their sorrow and rtjOiced in their Joy.
shakespeares art, too, Of Expressing his idea,
| or of making u felt was beyond that Of any man
| who ever lived. lie puts his idea before us, or
suggests IL with immense ease. II was usual
among the French critics 20 speak of him as a
spenoid batbaTinn and an inspired IDIOT nut in
all French or any other art there is 70 be found
nothing like the power which Shakespeare dis
| plays Of bringing all the rays OF thought into
| focus, and concentrating light In a word in
character, in n scene, or In whole play. Othcr
writers spread out iheir ideas, divide their forces
and are content TO make a single effect In one
Sir John Vanbrugh provides ms with as good
! an example as we need Ia one Of his plays he
has "LoTd Foppington"-one OF the most cele-
! brated representations OF dandy. In another
| comedy he has Lady Fancilal," the feminine
! counterpart OF "LOrd Foppington." The lord is
the central figure of the one and the lady Of the
| other This is precisely as if Shakespeare had
| put "Benedick" in one play and Beatrice" in
| another. It is the very opposite Of his method
| He would not have wasted two plays on one idea,
| but would have worked both "Lord FOppingtOn"
| and Lady FanciiuP' into one drama, where we
should see the DANDY Of every shade and degree.
Thus in the most popular of his tragedies, If be
| undertakes TO show us the mock-madness, OF
| what some think the haf-madness of Hamlet"
be takes care TO let us see II in contrast and com
| parison with the perfect madness of "Ophclia,"
| with the iITationRlity of the grave-diggers, and
| with the over-wisdom of "POlonius." So II
Lear" is to stand forth another madman, his
| mental alteration is put into comparison with
| the assumed madness of "Mad Tom" and with
| the motherwit of the poor fool Not only does
he bring varieties of the same class of character
| thus into close IeiatlOnshp-he loves to present
| the same idea in double lights. The play of King
| John turns upon a question of primOgeniture.
| 1t is question to be seriously determined be-
tween "King John" aud Prince Arthur"
| Shakespeare begins the play by discussing the
| law Of primogeniture from comic point of view
and raisiDg question as to the right of the bas-
| tard FalcOnbridge. This may not he conscious
art; If the French choose 10 cali il nature they
| are free TO do so. We know not what 10 call that
| organic force in nature which produces In the
leaf and in the fruit Of tree the same form
| which we see In flower, in stamen, and in pistil.
The morphology Of plants shows us the same
| type of structure pervading every member of the
| plant; and in the works of great art we may
detect like morphoogy. BY some inherent
force call 1t art call IL nature, the parts repeat
each other, and the whole is repetition of the
parts.
Language is perhaps the most wonderful part
Of ShRketpeare's art, and his dominion over
language is perhaps the greatest miracle in lite
| raiure. AT least 1t is in this region of his art
that his power is most understood. We have
| not all attempted 10 draw characters and to con-
stiuct play SO as 10 understand by experience
how rare is the mastery which Shakespeare has
attained in this way. But we all use words and
know the difficulty of finding forcbe and felic.
| tous expression Tor our ideas. Shakespeare at
all times gave to his thoughts not only the most
fit, but also the most beautiful, the most rich, the
| most rare expression. His phrases have come
| 10 be cur household words.
Whenever we want an expression more than
usually suggestive, we turn 70 his pages ard
bOrI ow from his treasures. Perhaps the most
curious thing about his style is that though il ia
remark ably forid, and though hordity com monty
implies excess of ornament, thGre Is seldom any
stnse Of excess in his language, and we accept
all his luXuIiance of dictlon a. most apt and
necessary. There are some styles, G9thes for
example, which, however fue, burst but seldom
into flower Shakespeare's language is always
in blossom, and like the orange-tree we may fnd
on il ut once the bud, the blossom, and the per.
fecl iTpit, II is quite wonderful TO see how he
can combine intensity Of expression with rich.
ness OF colUring.
The same sort Of phrsses that from a feeblel
hand would read but as masterpieces of literary
agility-amaZing feats of words-come from hii
pen with force and fire that make us forge
their want of simplicity, and think only of theii
ntense meaning. There is no passage more cele
brattd than the one in which Macbeth" having
I committed the murder, excaims in passion o
remorse that all the waters Of the sea canno
wash his hands of blood
"wn al great Neptunes ocean wash this blood
Clean from my handf No, tbs my hand Will rather
The muttuonous seas incarL adiue,
Making the green-Qnc red
NY hoocauSe we aIe used to IT, partly becaus
.4c violence of the passion win which it Is in
stinct, we lose sight OF the extraordinary eabo
" ration OF the oictlon here, and forget hoV
, | sral gtly IL does violence 10 ordinary modes o
speech. The play In 1t is so excessive, that 40.
j one who has much enjoyment of literary form
will be apt TO think OF II rs all play whereas, il
! point Of fact, we ior the most part forget hoy
ornate 1t is, and think only of its weight o
meaning.
: The are the most obvious sources of Shake
' speaTe's influence over us-an Influence whic
rtndeTs Eis the grea est name in literature. Tina
{ the anniversary OF his b.T h should be held Il
|, LOnor l. natural enough. II anniversaries are &
! be held at all, surely he Of all men Is most eu
titled TO the honor. But III the name Of ou
! county, we must protest TO ali th
! world and 10 all IiUe coming, that th
dtmoDsuatiOn which this uay witnesses doe
not properly represent the national feeling w
: have the greatest genius that the world has eve
seen 10 honor, ana we give him the franl1iucens
. Of our stupidities, Of DunglIng committees, A..
ieel le displays.
: We have u hero-one Of the least e. ,,ors ro
peaceful, most 81 mpalheuc OF NJ :, ,i.,nr sol,ste
~ SlakCsptbGe"--tO Iememn" - l,,. 90, I, con
a mntcts pay him tri .,,o S"U S'p'ni'n ielIansia
r Cnrinns in squabOl,s ana of seihshne
Ill .,s ingenuity. II We give little hon
i celebration OF lhis day il is not becau
Vc give hItle honor % HIM who 10 celebrated. {
Ht tie contrary, IL Is b, cause We honoc hun that
li rtiuEe 10 greet him with the ldolaIrOus claptr
~ and the dicuOus Oblauons OF "A false religion.
~ London Tunes,