New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-19
THE DRAMA---MUSIC.
BOOTH AND MoDJEsKA IN MACBETH


sidered for that reason, and 1t was admired as .ne
reputable effort OF an experienced actress Mr.. boo'"
invested Macbeth with the intellectual suo'@'J' va"
tremulous passion, and the weird and haunted iron.y
that appertan to the character, and while MS euio
inent somewhat deficient In physicai force' was
afiuent with imaginative glow and with spii'ua s's
nfcance IL was Furthermore, an eSceed'hsH ooa'"'
full example of technical stage-art and expert execuon
Charlotte Cushman said OF Macbeth that he Is inc
great ancestor of all the Bowery rufians' lhn all
Client view OF the character has had many eApoho'o
and has led TO many deplorable exhibitions out p%-
tlcaIly It is now discledited and cast aside hemDe
rejected IT so did Maceady does Henry Irving and
So in this period OF his career. does Edwin BoOth NJ
thinker perhaps ought to marvel that II has ex-
tensivoly prevailed for the ntrcacy of Macbeth Is
precisely OF kind that was likely 10 cause us az
ccptance. Miss Cushman could only explain u hei
own satisfaction the discrepancies between MS "ofus
and acts by assuming that most OF the tume ne was
drunk and OF Lady Macbeth's haotual state she hau
the same opinion THAT which hath made them
drunk hath made me bold, But this an alterna-
tive as needless as it was extravagan In the pres
ence of Macbeth confront man whose views are
NOBLE whose language Is by turns tender, pitoous.
poetic and sublime but whose deeds are lnierha anu
whose life suddenly supplements long career Oh sPoV
less personal purity and admirable herosm win
elimination of frantic dcprayty and hdeous "iche"'
ness. lie murders the sleeping Duncan. lie muir
ders the sleepIng chamberiains lie the muir
der OF Banquo He the murder of Lady MAC
duff and hor children. He casts the atrocious Stigma
of pariicide upon Malcolm and DOnalbain. There Is
limit TO his inqulty The obvious view Oh suop
man would aDprehend him a. ruffah ue'elopou
from hypocrite; and as such in fact. he has com
monty been presented the stage. But this couia
not have been the intention of Shakespeare, because
this doctrine makes Macbeth merely outcher
in tho shambles, or homicda luhdu0
slashlng right and left In crowd; whereas
Macbeth is shown in the actual commission VI
a crime, but always In a state of suffering upon inc
borders OF It, and always the type Of an experience
that awakens pity. No spectator would be sorry ior
the Bowery rufian Every spectator Is thrilled by
Macbeth and is sorry for him. The crimes that he
commits are premedated, and yet when done they
arc done against his will. lie perceives in advance
both their mOnstrous evil and the appalling cOnse-
auences to himself that must result from them. IL
Is not until he becomes frenzed with desperation that
he yields TO tho mad iCipulse of indiscrimnate and IL
limitable havoc. Up to that time HIS condition ana
conduct present perfectly heartrending example oi
the discontinue and gradual defeat and ultimate ruin
Of a great soul that is conquered by the powers Oh
hell.
All around the tragedy Of Macbeth there is bleak,
sepulchral ghasty atmosphere. The light thckens
The bat wheels and circles. sounds of lamentation
are I'm the air Baleful eyes suddenly gleam out Oh
the dusk and suddenly disappear. The presence OF
evil spirits IS distinctly felt. The angel that MacDeh
serves glides by on evil wings, unseen, but not un-
known Shakespeare meant this By his ultra-naturai
machInery-by the witches and the appartions. Mac
beth and his wife arc great creatures conquered by
fends. They had evil elements In themselves at me
start no doubt. Every human being contains eVli
elements. But they surrendered To the evil Snahe-
speare has painted this surrender ana their a"Iu sur
ferings in consequence of IT, Nowhere else In literature
has tho pahos of utter and hopeless desolaton been
expressed as IL Is in tho Isolated state of these TWO
wrctches lonely on the eminence OF ther gut lha
each Of them is separated not only from all inc rest o
the human race but from the other One OF them dies
an iniuriated brute; the other remorseful suicide
Both had been greatly criminal, but both had SUI
| fered greatly Shakespeare certainly must have had
something more important in view III "riuhe MAJ
10th than the little scrap of morality when teaches
that we must not yield to our evil propensues' lie
was not dealer IN either platttudes or sDstrscuohS
The man and the woman in this play are lnvcspu
with some of the greatest attributes of human nature
and the interest, the weight, the substance, the I'M
| nortance tho meaning Of the piece Is made depend
ah rpon the display of the ruin of these attributes
| bv the powers of evil II is sublime, patheu"' Hos'
affecting picture of Fate, and there IS no precept con-
u,cted with It. and no moral to be deduced from IT,
any more than there is from cyclone or an ear'il-
| quake.
| changed from what it twenty years ago. anu IL
ts changed for the better. He still gives prominence
| and emphasis TO the martial aspect of the part lie
| Is the soldier, and his COMBAT at the oioS'
IS superb In its malignant frenzy. But No ho"
gives greater prominence than ever before TO the to
distracted convused, tempesthauned STATE Vi ''o
helpless human being. Ills utterance Oh .ho 'o"
entIon of good and evil in Macbeths soul Is intensely
| ooI ond nrofoundIv eloouent-so that 1t reveals
sufferer and not simply mlscreant and thus 1t comes
home to the heart with sense Of actuai anu ooio'
agony His personality In the scene Vi '"o MIS-
murder has the grandeur of colossal ""heunos'
grandeur impossible except TO great Ihasl"a'r"
greatly exclted-so that the terrible strain OF suspense
* completely sustained and the requisite hIusion -
nresevad unbroEen He denotes the haunted condi'io
~ N.cbctb,s mind furthermore, with absolute ndeny
| To Sbakespeare especially in his delivery ol 'hoso
uuminatIvs speeches that are 80 rchy ieIehoo WIZ
weird and spectral imagcry-tho seeing hleh'' inc
| roolv wood the shard borne beetle, the yawnIhs peal
the winds that fight against the churches ana all thoSe
other fellctes of language with which the poet mas
| 20 wall revealed the spirit of his cOncepu0n Inc
nournfr music of his voice Is never more touchlhs
Than # IS in his delivery of the wonderful words upon
tho 0tfI fever of life and certainly the power vi '
action 10 manifest the human soul ana 10 portray inc
cvercbanging torrents of emotion mat sweep oNcr '
- never more significant than in the scene with the
| ,a,od chost Of Ranuuo; for now as before, MI
n9h ,oIts the actual figure Of the blood boltercd
,.,ct,r, and aazes only the empty chair but inc
snectator sees spirit I'm IT, from the ehect Oh 'h'
annaIlng vacancy upon that haunted ana Diokcn u"'
IN many ways this Is great performance inc nun
act Of the pece-the cave sccne-was always ,euious
and probably there is more OF Middleton Al IL Una"
there is of shakespeare. Mr. Booth doeS ho' "'' i'
music. -, .,, ,oor tho stape
,., an instinct of art and with trained judgment
nancslrd throughout her performance OF Lady Marpe
kcenIv intelligent study and comprehension VI t inc
cbaracter that Is rightly dreced' 9Io noyan ~
.hai 10, ras indicated and advised, Dut never lO
loved by Sd m no isg Ie ssaesS
Mui"n - crmInal the renioIs e,s murderer ira
in bodily but unGonqGersGio IN w IN ,6e
ncSs VI ' Eannv K,lnbc and In the old stage tadl-
tons and nowhere es But she o ID haT%En8c
uoh" n IFmagnatlve type Of woman-nd0mitablc OF
w wfI royal spirit deep Pc of HI heart es S OF T I1
clheu'ont ,he performance is technical There Is no
merit ,e U there Is no denotement of royalty