The Hawaiian gazette., 1898-09-30

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II the Globe is to yield large gains II
must procure new and attractive plays.
The time was suspicious. England up-
der Elizabeth, like France under Louis
XIV, was prolific OF mind. But under
the ascetic despotism Of Puritanism
mind could not afford to identify it.
self with the odious playhouses. Many
a mind was teeming with thoughts
which 1t burned TO express, but dared
not. What can be done? The man of
enterprise is equal to the occasion. He
seeks men of genius and says to each
of them: You write me play. will
do the copying with my own hand;
will in the printed copy give myself
as the author, and / pledge myself that
you shall not be known. The bargain
Is at once struck, and soon several OF
the first intellects and a goodly num-
Der second-rate and third-rate INTEL
lects are secretly writing plays which
are successfully published at the Globe
playhouse as written by William
Shakespeare. One can ea>ily see sew
eral motives that Shakespeare had for
keeping the secret. First, he was
bound by honor; secondly, the sup
posed authorship brought him high
credit, and that, too, among the most
gifted minds in England-Milton, Ben
Jonson, Beaumont, Selden, Carew,
Fletcher, Dome and hosts OF such;
thirdly, to break faith would not only
publish his own infamy, but would
stop utterly the labor Of such as were
then engaged in producing plays for
him, and would reduce the gains Of the
playhouse. Acting on this plan, the
willy manager could defy Puritanism,
and enlisted the best minds in Eng
land, best in native vigor and in cul-
ture, in producing those odious things
plays. Notice some OF the conse-
quences of this drawing talent from
every quarter. Shakespeare is called
myrial- minded He is equally great
in tragedy and comedy. No one mort
al can be named who could produce
Macbeth and Midsummer Nights
Dream, King Lear and the first part
Of Henry ". The qualities of mind
that produce Hamlet can not by pos
! sibility produce Twelfth Night, just
as the author OF Rasselas could not
have written the Vicar of Wakefield.
1t is the combination Of incompatible
qualities that evoked from Macaulay
that phrase whose absurdity strikes
every mind that reflects: The SUI
preme and universal excellence of
Shakespeare" Excellence at once su-
preme and universal does not belong
to earth Miracles are still demanded.
Consider the question of learning.
If we Judge by the plays we may prop
erly call the author myriad-minded
and impute to him supreme and uni
yersal excellence" The man Shake
speare did not have universal excel
lence. The writer of some of the plays
was a lawyer. Shakespeare was not.
| The writer OF some was familiar with
the French tongue. Shakespeare was
not. The writer of some was versed in
Italian. Shakespeare was not. The
writer OF some had more than a lay
mans knowledge OF anatomy and
physiology. Shakespeare had no med
| zeal learning. Let us inquire into his
knowledge Of Latin. In the absence OF
information TO the contrary, 1t is safe
to presume that 800 years ago Latin
was not taught in his native village
and that, IL it was, he was too busy
handling wool and the butchers knife
to study IL. As player and especially
as manager his quick mind rapidly
picked up the stock Latin words Of the
playhouse Doubtless it was the fire.
Quency with which he used them that
induced his rival and companion, Ben
Jonson, to say that he had small
Latin and less Greek" the less Greek
being added partly to apologize for the
scant Latin by ascribing little Greek
and partly to give smartness to the
sentence. His knowledge. or, rather
lack OF knowledge, of Latin appears
from the fact that he tacitly approved
such phrases as mot "exeunt," butt
exit omnes;" "Actus mot "tertius,
butt tertia." This shows, not small
Latin, but no Latin.
AS to general learning, 1t is not pos
sible that he could have accumulated
any. Probably there was not library
in Stratford containing five books
While player and manager OF the
Globe, his reading must Of necessity
have been scant and fitful. Yet IL the
author of the Shakespeare plays, HI
must have known history, ancient an(
modern, pretty critically. and that
too, before history had been gathered
from its original sources by the dill
bon and Hume. But England hal
men of learning and genius, each o
whom could furnish his special shar
OF all that the Shakespeare plays con
tain. Only a sailor could have pro
duced the nautical phrases an
thoughts of TiS Tempest and Shake
speare never set foot on board a ship
! He who wrote The Tempest must ais
have been familiar with the 'ancien
classics. But Shakespeare was ignor
ant of the classics. But there was on
man in England chiefly residing II
London, finished scholar sometime
; counting the muses., in intellect secont
TO Lord aBcon only IL Macaulay's es
innate is to be accepted, the most ac
: complished' sailor of that day, an
! withal a personal acquaintance o
Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh. II
} and he alone OF all men then on God
. foctstool had the learning and geniu
requisite TO the production of tina
gorgeous drama, The Tempest.
King Lear is one of the greatest o
dramas. Near its close the steward at
tempts to Stay Gloster and Edgar, tn
!, latter being dressed as a peasant
Finding 1t necessary to disguise hi