New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-18
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
ONE MORE INTERPRETATION OF HAM
LET.

.ro ont an orderly series Of Shakespeare's plays
=, u,o,a.s,or of dates real or approximate III
a. .,,. ~ publication in the case Of every play
were even reasonably we'll ascertalneu' 'ie''
,,or,d eth remain the difficulty of knowing now
LONG the Man Of given play had been IN the
Thought OF the poet before he attempted 10 pu' "
IN naper With many pieces this does ho' e'e
nifv: but with one at least. the Tragedy VI
.,r.r,,ot 4" q - oll important. Mr. Boas is ap-
warranty an adherent of the tradition when con-
nac+e the character Of Hamlet closely win 'he
character Of Shakespeare himself Inc .ee"
r.ve,ation Of the sonnets is matched by expires
.,o To- tho n,a1, as for instance when the Ills
80 rta T., tho so,iloouy on suicide are founo 10
-os,o,d with those recited IN the Sonnets MT
vo.s thinks that the Danish Prince never hau
INV occasion TO complain OF the proud man
oor.u,ncIv the pangs Of despised love OF ''c
laws DELAY As royal parsonage ne was ao'.
such miseries But they were appareh'iS '"'"'
lar TO Shakespeare. whose father Is hiio"" ~
have been an nterminahle litigan'' WHO "'D
.,.r.oa IN ne for himself on humble plane
and on the evidence of the Sonnets. WAS h'' "
WAYS happy either IN his loves or MS i''e""
ships. In general the monoogues OF ha'"ie'
have little or nothing g. 10 with the c"'"'
stances in which he is li"ced There Is 'o'"'
lack OF uniformity In his conduct The pay I'M
the time to which II refers. is out OF JOINT. on-
doubtedly Shakespeare meant 1t to be SO hu' "
stretches credulity 30 believe that even SNAKES
neare could have made such puzzle LOT PoS'oi
fy at any single period of his life.
Mr. Boas. taking up the history of the various
,,,ovs On the legend of Hamlet. and the different
earIv editions of Shakespeare's own work. oe
c,dss that II was written in 1901 and expanded
.. ,,s nreeent form in 1603-0i Thus 1t repre-
SAINTS directly the mood OF given period ana
or,v Indirectly the experience of d lifetime. IN
,be light OF this theory the dispute over Hamlet
CAVITY is portinent. Mr.. Boas does not can 'he
Prince insane but he writes suggestNey "i HIS
"rnaladv" 1t ic curious that neither ne nor any
one Of the critics holding the theory OF SELL
revelation has observed the fact that thls maj
adv must have been Shakespeare's own 1his
conclusion cannot he escaped without denying
that any Of Shakespeare's personal experience
Is in the drama. 1t is possible to believe 'ha'
Shakespeare took the theme and treated IL In d
purely technical fashion. reasoning OUT the re-
Nations Of the characters and setting the whole
down without q thought of himself But those
who believe thus have no share in the contro-
versv over Hamlet" They well off, but II
al, had been Of the same mind, many a fancifnl
hook and essay would never have been written
For those who accept the tradition there Is no
escape from the. conviction that Shakespeare
Thought himself mentally unsound at one time
In his career.
Then the question is whether Hamlet took
shape under the immediate influence of this
feeling. or embodied "reminiscences Of 1t years
after IT had passed away. Mr. Boas apparently
holds to the former opinion. for he groups the
drama with "Alps Well that Ends Well, Meas
ure for Measure" and "Troilus and Cressda
under tn. rath,: sensational chapter-headins'
THE Probl N, Plays and describes 1t as tine
cardinal expression Of a mood WHICH mas let us
trace on the other works treated in this chapter
Now. compared with Angelo or Helena or Cres-
sida Hamlet is the complicated expression OF
single mood Experts agree that the Prince has
at least a mental ailment. If he is not positively
insane Old Polonius is certain that the insanity
Is real and that It has definite cause. Claudlus
Is equally convinced that there is no madness in
the case. Hamlet wishes his enemies to think
him insane. while at the same time his frlenus
are 10 believe him sane and yet to be as ndr-
ferent to his antc disposition as II they thought
him demented In this ENHANCEMENT Hamlet
becomes the very symbol Of indecision. The more
clearly he is able to think, the more hopeless De-
comes the paralysis of his will But according
TO theory all this must be transferred 10 SNAKES
peare's own experience about the year 16ol-
1t will be a wonder If somebody does not add
sno+her loon or two to this tangle There is no
imperative necessity for limiting the conception
of Hamlet to a late date in Shakespeares ca
reer Why not mix up the origin of the play
with the period when Shakespeare's son Hamnet
the name is suggestive-was born, when MS
father John Shakespeare, was disgraced by
bankruptcy, when the whole family seemed 10
be on the verge of ruin, and when Shakespeare
himself. according to tradition, was unhappy in
ic oh N
circumstances to give any mind wrench
Shakespeare's efforts to restore the fortunes OF
his family and his persistency in buying prop
erty at Stratford might very we'll be used as an
argument to show that he kept the miseres OF
his early life wildly in mind. In fact. any one
with the ordinary imagination Of Shakespear-
ian essayist might easily picture the young
poet going I'D to London with play "Hamnet
the Dane In his pocket, full Of hopes that were
at first TO be rudely dashed, and only grained
when the youth had submitted to all the hack
work of the stage, like his contemporaries. Inc
description would not be complete unless II told
how "Hannet' was laid away for years ana
emerged at last only in fragments here ana
there TO add to the confusion. to the mystery
and 70 the perennial attractiveness Of the
most irregular and at the same time most COM
plete work Of genius ever penned or spoken
Another matter which has not gone far as yet,
but which may grow in time by the efforts OF the
German critics and the kindly approval OF Mr..
Boas and others. is the theory that Shakespeare
some time or other early in his dramatic career
spent season on the Continent. German
critic must have two things 10 start WITH the
Iehrjahre and Wanderjahre of his hero. Shake
speare's Wanderjahre have been. inscrutable al
these centuries But now that difficulty Is over
come Like everything about Shakespeare the
new theory is plausible. In the earlier and IN
fertor plays with an Italian scene, Shakespeare
betrayed the most extraordinary ignorance OF
the simplest facts in Italian geography. But In
.por,ao and Juuet" and 1.-THE Merchant Of