The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-03-20
SHAKESPEARE.

SHAKESPEARE.
THE FANCY AND IMAGINATION OF
THE GREAT POET.
The Third Lecture by Professor Miles
Shakespeare and Aristophanes.
The third OF the series of shakespearian lee
lures, BY Prof. J. W. Miles, was delivered last
larger audience than has been in attendance
on either Of the previous occasions. The sub
ject of the lecture was "The Imagisstion and
Fa1Sy of Shakespeare" and the lecturer car
ried his audience at once 10 fairy land by the
relation of an anecdote OF the late W. Gilmore
Slmms. BE said that just after the publication
of"Atalanta," Smms was complimenled upon
the work by well-known English critic, who
observed, however, at the end of his commen-
dalion, I" But, really, you know, nobody nova
days believes In gnomes and sprites and fair
ies" Simmshsd.replled that he had not sup
posed any one would understand him as insist
Ing upon the prosaic, physical existence OF fair-
iSbt tdS tffO fCCtutCk Iu0uShe Gos y SSseSA 49,
swer to such criticism would have been, ,"Si-, l
am aware that, like Coleridge, there are those
who have seen too many ghosts to believe In
them; but II you have never been admitted to
fairy land, or have never seen fairy, It Will,
of course, be difficult to convince you OF their
existence, and useless to argue with you" To
discuss the existence of the fairies with such
a critic would be to attempt to get an express
sion OF opinion from native OF Central Africa,
who had never seen white mans face, as to
the relative coldness of different kinds OF snow,
the phenomena Of Ice formations, or the
comparative merits of the high and low pres
sure eteam engine. The sagaclous and prac-
tlcal.mlnded native of the torrid zone would
treat the Idea Of the existence of such things
with lofty scorn-would tell you and prove to
you, by weighty arguments, that there was no
use for those thlngs, melody needed them,
nobody had ever heard Of them, and there
fore, they could not be. But for all that, steam
engines and even broadcloth do exist, and
guomes and sprites and fairies, despite the
objections of the senslble Engllshman, will
only be extinct when Shakespeare's magic
realm shall be drowned In oblivion. The lee
turer well remembered one weird, romantic
spot, near Slmms's home, where he was wont
10 say he had caught fairy once, and, wan
deripg there with the author, he had
himself heard fairy whispers and seen
the leaves and flowers shaken with their
merry antics, although their coyness In this
u:illiarian, cynical age is such that nowadays
they render themselves at all times invisible.
Even In the Eliza5ethau age, as Bishop Cor
belt had related, they were becoming tmid,
and it was Shakespeare who first Induced
them in the Midsummer Nights Dream 10 take
leading part In the movement oil drama.
The plot and machinery OF this play were
wholly original, for though 1t has been used
since, In Lilly's "Maid's MetamorpAosis," and
other pieces, it had never been known before.
Written probably in 1892. and In the earlier
period of Shakespeare's genius, 1t impresses
us more as poeiical than dramatic com.
position. The language Is sparkling, irlde-
scent, vet not overcharged, and tbs authors
personal idiom, first manifested In the TWO
Gentlemen of Verona. Is more frequent mere.
The play Of the Midsummer Nights Dream
exhibited three compositions blended and
interviewer into one. There was genteel
comedy, fairy romance, and comic inter-
lude. The late OF the lovers, Helena and De-
metrius, Hernia end Lysander, was compara-
lively unimportsnt except as 1t served to carry
along the plot of the comedy which revolVed
sboht the nuptials of Theseus and HSppolita.
The metamorphoues of the lovers by the mis-
chlevous pranks of Puck, were graphically des-
scrlbed by the lecturer, who showed with what
consummate art nazy, dream-like effect was
cast over the whole play by this episode. IL
was in the troop oifairies under King Ooeron
and Qneen Titsnia that the rich fancy Oh tne
poet was exhibited, and these shadoWy and
tiny creatures, with Puck, the merry mischief
maker, were elevated to Importance In the
construction Of the play BY the Influence they
exerted over the fortunes of the mortals OF the
drama.
The Tempest was written at later period
ofthe poets life, probably not earlier than'l6o3.
The Midsummer Nights Dream was like
mask; the Tempest contained more of the ele-
ments of melo-drama. Schlegel gave - he
latter the superiority in profound and origl'
nal Characterization. The issues Involved In
the latter were of more serious nature;
they included welghty affairs of state,
and exhibited mighty magician using
his art for the accomplishment of grand
and benefcent purposes. Ariel was more
important sprite than Puck. The lecturer
sketched the story OF the play, showed tile
bond of gratitude which gave Prospero his
power over Ariel; described In word the
characters of Gonzalo, ALFONSO and Calioan,
related the loves OF Miranda and Ferdinand,
and mentioned che masque of Ceres, isis and
Juno, which, he remarked, was In no way
connected with the plot. He mentioned the
tradition that the Island OF Prospero was
among the Bermudas, which he remarked
was a settled article Of faith among the Ber
mudese, but he showed by the text that
wherever it were 1t could not be one of the
Bermudas. A patient critic had once
attempted, with map and compass and
an Ingenious study OF the text, to
locate the Island OF Prospero and
had succeeded to his own satisfaction, but the
idea OF tracing the course of Alonso's storm.
tossed ship With pair of compasses was
about as sensible as would be the attempt to
locate the fairy court In the Midsummer
Nights Dream by the aid Of map OF Athens,
ID r oot rpIth hoi of