The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1901-01-24
Prof. MOuItOn, of Chicago, Speaks at
Kemper Hall on Shakes
peare's Tempest"
FAIRY LORE IS NOW DECADENT
Scientific Teachings Fave Robbed Men OF
Imaginative Conceptions and the Age
is Now a Material One.

Shakespeare tempest is an CA-
otto, and as'we place some rare Hover
in the center and group around it other
flowers that harmonic with its beauty
and bring out more clearly its magn11-
cence, so shall in these lectures place
that most beautiful play of the great
est poet the world has ever seen, and
around it / shall group beautiful works
of other great writer's to develop the
elegance and daintiness of the central
ornament"
This was Professor r. G. Mou1ton's
introduction Wednesday evening at
Kemper Hall to the first lecture of
series of six that he will give to the
pupils of the institution. Mr.. Moul-
ton is well known in Kenosha and
needs no recommendation to an audi
ence in this city. The hall at the
school is so small that very few per
sons can be accommodated in 1T, and
consequently not many of the towns
people had an opportunity to hear the
delightful lecture with which DIR.
Mou1ton began the series.
The lecturer showed the influence
that magic" fplayed in the compost
ton of the productions that he had
chosen to group with the "Tempest'
into perfect bouquet of literature.
Some of his thoughts are here repro
duced:
"Fairy lore is omitted from the mod
ern system of education, and yet we, to
understand and appreciate the beauty
of many creation of the worlds
greatest minds, need to have our inn
aginations trained a S much as we need
scientific training to grasp theories OF
physics. To those who lived in the
Elizabethan age Shakespeare was far
more comprehensive than he is to us
of today. We are too scientific. too
material. What we call laws of ma
ture. they interpreted as acts of beings
with superhuman power. 10 the
E1izabethans there were four elements
air as typifed by sprites, fire by sala-
manders, earth by gnomes, and water
by naiads. These four elements were
reduced by Shakespeare to two in the
Tempest-Arie1 IMPLYING fire and air,
and the uplifting impulses of the HUI
man soul, Caliban earth and water,
representing the lower part of nature.
The scene of the play was laid in a
distant island, far away from the daily
life of the city as fitting background
for the poets magic fancy.
"There are many undercurrents in
the play, all treating of some special
form of magic. We are translated into
the land of fancy through sleep and
music. The introduction of the masque
into the fourth act is peculiar to all the
plays of that period. In this masque,
under NEUROLOGICAL forms, were repre-
scented characters familiar to the audi
ences of the day, and by them easily
interpreted"
Mr.. Mou1ton quoted several extracts
from the play showing how nature is
typifed through these representations
of magic, and in what a world of de-
light the people of former ages lived,
and how easily they interpreted the
thought of the writer. Commentators
supply the explanation for the readers
of the day, and what was formerly in
te11igib1e is now cause of wonderment
to the ordinary reader or listener.
The other works that Mr.. Mou1ton
has grouped around the Tempest, and
that he will treat in his subsequent
lectures are SCOTS Monastery; Du-
mas Monte Cristo; Browning's, Cali
ban upon Setebos. These with the
Tempest form the brilliant bunch of
exotics.