The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1894-01-27
SHAKESPEARE IN HISTORY.
Now He Was Regarded After the
Restoration.

Restoration.
Prof. Lounsbury's lecture ut Hosmer
hall Last night was the fourth in the
series on Shakespeare. With the COM
ing Of Charles III. to the throne there
came new fashions in literature, and the
drama responded to the change. The
thing most noticeable in the drama Of
the forty years following the restora-
ton was, but the s~elfishness Of the peo-
pie. With the people of this time there
was little in Shakespeare to interest.
His personality was forgotten, for the
generation that knew him had passed
away.
During the fifty years that followed
Shakespeare had Il lower place than
he had at any other time, but even
then he was well esteemed. There are
two ways of judging the popularity Of
q play--at a given time-the frequency
with which his plays We're acted and
the attention with which they are stud
led. When Charles II. assembled the
throne a generation had grown up
which never had had an opportunity
to see play performed. Stringent
laws were enacted during the m
wealth against plays and players. and
even against people who should wit
ness a theatrical performance. During
that time, therefore, the making Of
plays had ceased. The pieces brought
out Immediately after the Restoration
We're necessarily plays written before
the cavil. war. Only two companies
WRrertfen licensed to produce, plays
the Kings company and the Duke Of
York's company. For that reason fire.
quent changes Of bill; were demanded
by the people.
knowledge of the plays produced. in
this period rests on four authorities,
All Of them unsatisfactory, but Pepys
the most valuable, According to his
diary Pepys say in 1860 tw%enty-nine
performances Of twenty-three plays.
Sixteen: of these performances were
OF F~letcher's' plays and six plays Of
Shakespeare. In 1861 he saw seventy
four plays and lightweight perform
ances, twenty-three Of them being
Fletcher's, five Shakespeare's and nine
Ben Jonson'a He saw two plays OF
Shakespeare's in 1862, ten of Fletcher's
and n Of Jonson's, and of the sixteen
PSAAVA AANAASCo AC SuW III 4OOOs IAcIS
were three plays Of Fletcher and two
Of Shakespeare. It vas about this
time that Pepys adhered to his resolu-
ton, frequently made and broken, to
60 to the theater less and attend more
strictly to his affairs. The speaker
faeetiously remarked that thus might be
seen the evil Of too close attention to
ones own business, : for while. Pepys
undoubtedly improved his private at
fairs he not only deprived future gen.
erations OF knowledge they might have
had bui also permanently injured his
eyesight. . ~
During this period twelve or fifteen
Of the plays of Shakespeare were pro-
duced. Fletcher was evidently n great
er acting favorite than any other Ellis
abethan dsamatist. But the time cams
when neither Shakespeare, Fletcher nor
Jonson satisfied the critical Il they did
the popular. taste. The speaker. read
many extracts from Peplys, showing
his opinion. Of various plays o.. Shakes
peare, and these criticisms were not
always favorable Prot. Lounsbnry
closed with an interesting review Of the
various .."restorations'' Of the !lays. Of
Shakespeare by the, literary men of
this period, referring at length:to Dry
den's chapter IN The Tempest, ,C0lly
Cibber's Richard III. and. Lord Lans.
downe's The Merchant Of Venice. He
showed how much Of the original maj
esty and beauty Of these plays wns
destroyed by the changes made to suit
g personal and changed taste.-Hart-
ford Courant