The times., 1899-04-10
MACBETH DISCUSSED
BY FATHER STAFFORD
Shakespeare's Inspiration for
the Great Tragedy.
The Duncan Murder Scene Appro-
priated From Scottish History.
4 Modern View of the Characters
Portrayed and the Motives
That Moved Them.


Church, delivered his admirable and for
chile lecture on Shakespeares Macbeth"
at the Columbia Theatre last night. Long
before the eloquent pulpit orator and
lecturer stepped upon the stage the theatre
was filled and many persons stood
throughout the delivery. The speaker held
the attention of his audience we'll and
though many of the auditors had heard
him speak upon the same topic several
times before, there was increased rather
than diminished interest in the lecture
Father Stafford was heard at his best AMI
his rendition of many of the leading
passages and principal scenes were fire.
quentiy applauded.
The lecturer spoke first upon the beau
ties Of the tragedy and said it was the
most sublime and impressive work of the
worlds greatest dramatist. 1t did NOT COM
pare with Hamlet in philosophical insight,
with Lear in the depth of passion nor
with Julius Caesar with the professional
pomp and glory. In splendor of pathetic
| diction it surpassed them all. 1t moved
on the verge of an abyss. 1t paused on
the limit OF tragedy, yet never oyers topped
the mark. Its action horror. terror, pity,
carried one moving on, painting nearer to
the brink of the precipee, yet it did not
4
| the play stood out boldly, accurately and
minutely drawn, notwithstanding the fury
of the tempest. Matters of detaii were not
swallowed up in the rushing torrent. MAJ
beth was as great as the instrument Of his
destruction.
Father Stafford referred briefly to the
historical connections of the tragedy and
said that the whole story was probab v
taken from "Hollingsworth" Just as
Hamlet was got out OF an o,d Danish
story, and Julius Caesar "Coriolanus
and Antony and Cleopatra" out OF
Piutarch. The historical features were
taken by Shakespeare, as he found them,
but the circumstances surrounding the
murder of Duncan were undoubtedly taken
from another page of Scottish history In
working up the story OF the tragedy the
poet seemed to have concentrated in it
all that was wicked in man and nature,
sleep with its strange haunting, the sir
drawn dagger. death In some of its strange
variations. the ebbing strength of the spent
swimmer. the assassins waiting for their
royal victim.
He went OFT of man and into nature and
drew upon the fury of the storm, and even
| into the realm of metaphysics. still higher.
/ to the thought that blood should have
blood, to the weird sisters, to the thought
in sleep that murder would out All had
been taken advantage of in such a way as
to make Macbeth" 'the most terrible of
modern tragedies. The nearest approach to
1t were the ancient stories of ''Prometheus
and the Furies,' which were enough to
make the blood of one run cold
Tne tragedy opened with the incident of
( the weird sisters, which served to dispose
I the mind for something more terrible to
| come. Shakespeare did the same thing in
/ Hamlet when he made one of the charac-
/ ters say that he was sick of it ALL The
| speaker alluded to the German esthetic
critics and their followers in the English
/ and French schools, who in their zeal for
the hero of the tragedy misconstrued the
/ meaning of the poet and blamed the fall
| OF Macbeth on the sisters. 1t was a false
| philosophy of life to take such a view
/ said Father Stafford, for a man would all
/ ways be superior TO his circumstances.
circumstances might diminish the crime,
but could not altogether remove it,
Macbeth was naturally a good man and
the reason why he was led into the crime
was the crucial question of the play. The
! good in the hero persevered to the end.
Inere was pathos in his pathetic strug-
! gle between good and evil with temptation
/ and virtue. 1t was the struggle of the
| soul and heart. This struggle gave so
! great an interest that the sympathy was
with Macbeth, notwithstanding his crime.
The speaker thought the crime of Lady
Macbeth greater than that of Macbeth
| because she, with her powerful will, pushed
the hero to commit murder. Macbeth was
not a cut-throat nor a cold -blooded mur-
derer. To make him such would be to
make Hamlet raving fool. which would
be ridiculous.
Reference was then made to the sadness
OF the way in which the temptation of
Macbeth gradually developed and how con-
sequent remorse followed. In endeavoring
| 10 ascertain the causes of the crime the
! speaker said that the crown of Scotland
was in a certain sense elective. Macbeth
and Duncan were cousins, and likewise
| grandchildren of Malcolm. They stood in
| the line OF succession, and each had as fair
a title 10 the throne. Macbeth, the speaker
| claimed. had better right because he was
| the more capable. In the beginning this
idea was lawful in Macbeth, it became as
sociated with every thought of his that he
would some day rule Scotland Il remained
with him until Duncan was elected and
| then he tried to prove his loyalty Duncan
| was weak and unfit to rule and disorder
! constantly arose. Macbeth was able to do
| what Duncan was MOTTO put them down
| and then Macbeth began 10 think of the
| throne again. From that time there was a
constant fiuctuatiOn of his thoughts until
Malcolm was appointed Prince of Cum
| berland. This was an obstacle in the way
| of Macbeth and he determined to step
over II or fall on it. Almost simulta-
neously the news came that Duncan would
visit Macbeth's castle, and then it was
! that Macbeth thought of numbering him
| Circumstances seemed to cOnspire against
| Macbeth in leading him on TO the crime
! First, his loyal assertion of his title to the
throne, his days of temptation. his ability
| to straighten out disorders that Malcolm
could not his efforts at loyalty, the ap-
pointment OF Malcolm. the visit of Duncan
TO his castle. From these there was only
| step TO the crown through crime
The lecturer said one could not think of
Macbeth without plying him. 1t was the
pity of the ruin of a man. First there
| was the crime, then-his remorse, and his
punishment Lady Macbeth was u woman
of will Macbeth was a man Of lmagina-
ton. Had Macbeth the will of his wife he
would have been a perfect man, but as it
was things were reversed.
Banquo was characterized as a con-
temptible sneak. He was styled "a rela-
tive man. one who never took the ini-
| tiative. but who was always comparing
what he did with what others did.
Macduff was the best character of the
play. He was always loyal, and had 10th
action and feeling. He was a well-rounded
man. having had the pity and feeling OF
I