The times., 1898-01-24
HAMLET AN ACTOR And SANE
DR.. Staff0rd's Fine Lecture on the
Melancholy Dane.
Shakespeare's Masterpiece-Re-
veaIs the Authors Life.

That DR.. Stafford's lecture on Hamlet
has been heard before in Washington
| possibly accounted for the great audi
| ence which listened to it last night at
| the Columbia Theater. There were in
| the assemblage great many of the dis
tinguished people of the city in the
official and the social set.
Madame Rhea occupied a box. and
after the address called with many
others 10 congratulate the eloquent
preacher on the force, philosophy and
effect of his arguments. The lecture
was divided into two parts, an analysis
of the personal character and causes of
action of Hamlet, and second, what
Shakespeare intended to typify by the
character.
In his predatory remarks the lecturer
spoke of Hamlet, Notwithstanding the
continuing progress Of the intellectual
and material world,as the greatest book
that has ever come from the hand of
man. That it was the subject of end
less controversy proves that there must
be in 1t that peculiar quality which has
held for three hundred years the at
tention of all civilized persons. The
discover what was this distinguishing
characteristic Of the play, or the work.
Everybody must approach Hamlet with
theory, for there is always the ques-
ton of Interpretation.
DR.. Stafford asserted that the text
was the best and only interpreter of the
man Hamlet and his motives. AS all
Shakespeare's characters are perfect. so
in the mooted question of the sanity
or insanity of Hamlet, his type of in
tellectual disorder was perfect, so per-
feet as to have deceived king and court.
DR.. Stafford takes issue with the Ger
man theory that Hamlet's insanity was
the result of overwrought speculative
ness. According TO the lecturer it was
perfect acting, feigned disorder. This
was necessary to carry out a purpose,
formed after he, the scholar and philo-
sopher, had lost his ideals in man by
the murder of his father and the mar
riage of his mother in indecent haste
DR.. Stafford made the point, supporting
his theory of sanity that, in the scene
after the appearance of the ghost, he
merely wrote the words in his tablet.
Man may smile" etc. to escape the in
trusion by Horatio into the secrets of
his interview with the ghost. Other
critics have held that this irrelevant
writing was a plain index of insanity
He held that Hamlet's turning away
from Ophelia was a natural conse-
quence of failing to find in her the SYM
pathy he desired. She was not the wc-
man for the emergency. In the silent
interview with her. he expected her to
offer some solution of his troubles but
she was silent. He was disappointed.
and withdrew. After this the whole
world went away with Hamlet There
after he worked alone as all geniuses
in all times have done.
DR.. Stafford analyzed the soliloquy,
ito be or not to be- and maintained |
that it contains no suggestion of sui |
eide. The motive, the thought, was
whether, after taking revenge on his |
uncle. there would be a probability or
possibility of peace or rest (Shake-
speare's idea of heayen) in the world |
to come. To him sleeplessness and |
unrest meant hell.
The lessons to be derived from a
study of Hamlet are, said DIR. Stafford, |
first the solitude of genius, second the
of this life. and third, the
fact of another life. The work was
than the material universe, for
it is the meditation of the soul on the
world to come. Hamlet is the type OF
humanity, as well as the reflex of the
and spiritual life of Shake
speare.