New-York tribune., 1902-02-22
HOMERIC DRAMA.
arp pHuLIPS'S PLAY AT HER MAJESTY'S
rpFATRE- OLYMPUS. CALYPSO'S ISLE.
uADEs ~ BLACK VELVET AND THE
VICTORIOUS BOW OF ULYSSES.
London. February 8.

err1s Of the folklore OF all races into a spec
.crlsr play is the most hazardous experiment
;, the modern stage. In the dramatization of
..r+ions Of the Odyssey both Mr.. stephen
I7nnIips and Mr.. Tree have been forced to be-
corne like Ulysses, men of many resources and
bffrs and their enterprise, like his has REQUIRED
.,oenious arti1ce painstaking prudence. m
Easing self-restraint and supreme faith in ulti
nate success. Each is to be credited with a
noble ambition for the enrichment of the liter
sture and the development of the resources of
,be stage, in easy going, pleasure loving
rsr,od. when playwright and actor-manager are
tempted 10 play TO the gallery. While insuperabIe
ANTIQUITIES have not been overcome and success
Is partial rather than complete. each has earned
,he gratitude Of al who are deeply interested in
+be elevation of the modern stage Mr. Phillips
has brought TO the Homeric shrine an Offering
# blank verse Of singular 1exibility and lyrical
grace. The bow of the most successful stage
manager Of the time has not been unstrung.
The production Of Ulysses" by Mr.. Tree Is a
marvel Of scenic beauty. stage mechanism and
artistic color.
Mr. Phillips has caught with frmness Of grip
The central idea Of the Odyssey as a congenial
theme for the home loving. English speaking
race This is the return of the warrior after
many trials, temptations and labors TO his home
where a loyal wife. harassed by rival suffers,
fas been lallSnIlN awaiting MN. The story IS
in the folklore of all ages, in Chinese and Hin
doc legend and in Scandinavian epic and
medieval Crusaders tales as well as in the
Homeric cycle. II is a storied tradition of
tairyland in the soft twilight Of literature. and
behind Il there is always conflict of the powers
Of darkness and light, resentful gods and benig-
nant goddesses. devils and angels. Mr. Phillips |
retains the Homeric background of Olympus |
with a strenuous struggle between Pallas |
Athene and Poseidon for controlling the destinies
Of Ulysses and Penelope but modifes the Greek /
idea Of absolute preordinance of the gods and |
The inexorabIe DEGREES of the fates. Man pro- |
poses and is allowed free play Of will and the |
gods while they assist or retsrd the action. do |
not altogether dispose. Ulysses" in this re
spect is less Greek than 'Herod." and 1t is
not tragedy, the departure from classical |
precedents is perhaps allowable but the Ho- !
msric spirit is needlessly sacrificed to what Mr..
Phillips has regarded as the eXgencies of a |
modern stage play. Otherwise he follows closely |
the plot and constructive lines of the odyssey. |
with two three minor variations.
The prologue, with the assembly Of the gods
on the summit of Olympus. is taken from the |
first and fifth books Of the epic. with the con-
aict between Pallas Athene and Poseidon more
definitely represented, and with Aphrodite's
playful reference to the frailties of Zeus as
side light upon Ulysses's infatuation with Ca
lypso and the RIGHTEOUSNESS Of the Tevel in
Penelope's court. The second scene, in the pal
ace Of Ulysses, with the descent Of Pallas
Athen6 TO excite Telemachus to revolt against
the importunate suitors, is reproduced faith
fully from the first book. The third scene, in
the sea girt cave Of Calypso. with the vista
tons Of Pallas Athene and Hermes, and the de-
parture of Ulysses after the nymph's passion
ate love making has failed TO detain HIM, is
feea xr-irI h0a md IL
ors from Circe's island substituted for the soli-
tary figure on the raft as related by the hero
10 King Alcinous in the tenth hook The sec
ond act is occupied with the approach to Hades
and the passage through the under world, as
described in the eleventh book Some Of the
details are borrowed from the sixth book of the
.Eneid, but the meetings with Agamemnon,
TeiresIas and Ulysses's mother and the
gumpses Of TantalUs. Prometheus and Sissy
phus are Homeric "reminiscences. The third act
includes as the first scene the meeting between
Pallas and Athene and Ulysses in Ithaca, and
the subsequent encounters with Eum;eus, the
swineherd, and TeIemachus, embodied in the
thirteenth and fourteenth books; and the
final scene the competition Of the beggar in dis
guise with the suitors in the banQueting hall
and the ultimate deliverance Of Penelope as de-
scribed in the twenty-third book. Seven Of the
twenty-four books Of the Odyssey supply the in
cidents Of the play. The visit to Lotos land, the
conflict with the Cyclops, the adventures with
lEoIus and the wind bags, the romantic meet
ing with Nausicaa and the trials OF Telemachus
are passed over; and Circe and Calypso are
5umbled together as the same enchantress. The
motive Of the descent to Hades is also changed.
In the Odyssey il is Circe who suggests the
voyage TO Oceanus in order that the Theban
prophet Teiresas may be interrogated; but in
Mr. Phps's play the journey to the region Of
ebyssmal darkness is decreed by Zeus as one
Of the conditions upon which depends his de-
Hverance from the witchery of Calypso and the
vengeance Of Poseidon.
Mr.. Phillips and Mr.. Tree have keen eyes for
eontras;ed effects. The sombre summit Of
olympus. with the majestic assembly Of the
gods on their rock hewn thrones, is set against
the gaudy. bare court OF Ulysses palace. with
he noisy rout and carousals OF the suitors and
Inc handmaidens. The ''odorous, amOrous vale
Of volets' where Calypso wooes while her
nynphs in shimmering green. dance and sing
from sensuous delight. is contrasted with the
awful blackness Of bottomless Hades. with its
Hitting phantoms and dismal wailing. The
hungry beggar, fed by the swineherd and ad-
mtted for charity's sake to a corner of the
fireplace in the banqueting hail. shakes off his
Disguise and stands in glittering armor the in
Nneible master OF his own house. The analogies
are as striking as the contrasts. Penelope a
ioVely figure in the court where her suitors are
noting, with accents Of despair entreats the
goes TO send back her husband; and Ulysses.
among the dancing nymphs Of Calypso's fra
grant Isle. looks out wistfulIy across the blue
sea and thinks of his home; and again in Cim-
merriam darkness begs each phantom for tidings
q Penelope Mr.. Phillips makes each of the
suitors an effective foil for Ulysses. Antnous
!