The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-03-27
KING LEAR.
TIE FOURTH OF THE SHAKESPEAR-
LAN LECTURES By PROF. MILES.

h1NO uCIl1ts
TIE FOURTH OF THE SHAKESPEAR-
LIN LECTURES By PROF MILES.
The Terrible Life.Drame of the Crazed
King OF Britnny-A Masterpiece OF
Delinea tion and Portraiture.
Professor J. W. Mics delivered the fourth
of his series of lectures upon the dramas of
Shakespeare before large and appreclalive
audience at the Confederate Widows Home
last evening, the subject of the lecture being
King Lear. The lecturer said that, without
discussing the vexed question as to which Of
shakespeare's dramas should be pronounced
pre-eminent, II could be safely asserted that In
none of them were the essential elements
of tragedy more skilfully grouped or
the tragic action more perfectly sus-
tanned than In King Lear, and he
quoted Hallam's thoughtful aud appre-
ciative crllique on this characterization In
support of this assertion. He then, referring
to the text of the play, and quoting coplously
from 1t during the remainder OF the lecture,
sketched In bold outline the story of the
drama, accompanying 1t with running COM
ments, criticisms and explanations which
served to lndlvidualizs and present In vivid
colors before the audience the characters OF
each of the actors 10 the sad drama, and
especially that of the generous, impu'siVe,
noble-hearted monarch whose mind was
shattered by the contemplation OF the base
Ingratllude Of those daughters to whom he
had bequeathed a royal dowry upon their
hollow protestaLions of flllal love.
10 the first scene of the drama the lecturer
pointed out the Indications furnished by the
text OF the slight warpIng of the kings intel
lect, even then perceivable, and he deduced
from this a re(utatlon OF the Criticism That
Shakespeare had wrought by chance, and an
argument to show that he had constructed
thIa, like bis other dramas, with consistent
and consummate art. Ia the first scene the
king displays at once his generosity, his I'm.
petuosity, and The impatience OF contradiction
natural TO monarch accustomed to lifelong
obedience, and at the same time he exhibited
an almost mopomanlac II desire. growing out
OF bis lno-dluate self.love, for the 6attery OF
his daughters, ,protestations of affection, an ex-
aggerated mannerism ofexpression and mag
nifying OF trivial Intentions into mighty pro-
jects, which prepared the spectator 10
some extent fer the subsequent un-
settling of his Intellect under crushing in
',ry. As first presented the character OF the
was by no means lovable one, and 1t
WI IN artistic triumph Of the poet when, In
the b 'seqnent unfolding of the tragedy, he
cause. he spectator 10 sympatbize intensely
with thl. ome King, whom in the outset they
could not Iut regard with aversion not un-
mixed with contempt. The characters of the
subordinate actors 10 this frat scene, the hy-
pocritical Goneril and Rsgan, the loving but
frank and modest Cordella, the impeluous,
honest, loyal E irl OF Kent, The selfish suitor oi
Burgundy, aud the noble lover OF France,
were also skelched by the lecturer, each 10
word or phrase, but with such accuracy OF
description as to present them graphically to
the imagination OF the listener.
Folio wing The action of the drama the lee
tnrer came next to the scene In which The
King, after his gift of his kingdom Ia his Two
daughters and his domiclllaLlon with the elder
OF these much.prolesllng vlragos, began 10
make the frat discovery of her lDgralilude
and oil her studied Intention 10 debase and
humiliate him. Striving against the convlc-
ton OF her baseness, he cherished in his heart
the ideal OF the loving daughter which hls
own parental love had fixed In bis mind In
place of her true Image, until the indignlties
which she heaped upon him left him no fur
ther room for possible doubt, and hls great
heart was pierced through and through by
the plngs of the monster Ingratltude. Then he
turned toward his eecond daughter confident
In the expectation OF nndlng In her heart the
proof of the solemn protestatons OF love that
she had made In common with her Sister, and
In her palace the home which bis age and dig
nity required, but there he found an unmask-
Ing of nypocrisy slill more complete and cruel,
and O repulse even more beartless than Con-
erll's In the meantime second plot had
been interviewer with the main thread OF The
drama, in the Mrphl5lophelian machinatione
of Edmund, the illeglLlmate son of the Earl OF
Gloster, against his brother Eigar, which nad
ffected the alienation OF their father from
Edgar, who, In the disgulse OF crazy mendi'
cant, was hiding his unhappy existence in Inc
nelgh5orhood of his fathers house. This
brought the drama up to the opening OF The
third act, and the lecturer remarked that
nowhere In the whole range of English drama
was there anything TO rival the subllmlty OF
the portrayal in this act of the terrible, con.
tending emotions In the breast of Lear re-
sponding 10 the mad raging OF The tempest
which beat upon his defenceless head, and
the deep palhos impaired to the scene by the
presence of The faithful fool, who, With his
dis,oiuled intellect but t,ithful devotion, was
trying to begnile the sad fanclss Of the King.
Then were presented the cruel scene OF Corn
wallis vengeance upon Gloster, enklndled by
the treachery of Edmund, the faithful con-
duct oil the disguised Edgar In conveying bis
sIghless father 10 the camp OF the
Invading French, whom Cordslia's love had
brought 10 The snccor OF her father; The lecher-
ons treachery of the two sisters Gonerll and