The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-01-17

Lanier. Even now. twenty and more
years after these lectures fell from his
lips. they read as fresh as if written
yesterday. He was intensely alive in
the presenJ-none more so-and if ne
yearned toward the rast it was because
he desired the comradeship of all pure
and great souls in any age.
In the first Of the two volumes of this
work we find an immense amount of in
formation about the Elizabethan age
and the writers Of that period and Of
the Anglo-Saxou IRA. There is one whole
chapter devoted to birds as they figure
in early English poetry, and another
devoted TO the supernatural in the lit
erature of the period, in which is quot
ed a very interesting Address Of the
Soul to the Dead Body dating from the
tenth century. and compared by the
writer with a similar passage in Ham
let" The attitude of man toward nature
in the Eiizabethan age, as contUasted
with the antagonistic attitude of an
earlier period. is shown by a sketch OF
the plot Of "BeewuIf' followed by quo
( tations from passages in Midsummer
Nights Dream" The position of wo-
men in early and middle English poetry
is treated in two chapters. and Lanier
points out the wide difference between
the treatment of heroines in the time
of Shakespeare and that in such poems
J as "Grlselda." We then come to the
sonnets. and for four chapters the au-
thor Teyels in comment, analysis. and
:
ment of Shakespeare's Sonnets. The
following two chapters are talsen up with
! explanation Of the pronunciation com
mon IN ShakespeRre's time. and II viii
be good for any student OF Shakespeare
10 read them.
| In the second volume Lanier first takes
Iup a subject especially suited to his
genius-tne music OF shakespeare's time,
/ the knowledge OF music then existing.
the kind of instruments IN use. etc. No
tody VINO has read anything of the
poetry OF the Elizabethan age can have
doubted that in that day even the com
mon people knew how to sing. and that
they probably had much better music
thar Tho same class of people DO now.
of which asG:J.o1aI proof Is furnished
/ by the specimens of old ballads which
have come down 10 US. The reason Of
this may be that the peasant composer,
having ct his command only the sim
pIest of instruments and the human
voice. could instantly detect q discord
and was forced TO make good music in
order to produce an effect at all pleas
ing while with our multiplicity OF in
istrunents and duller ear the unlettered
composer Of our time, or, worse. the
half-traincd one, mistakes mere racket
or monotonous rhythm for music. Ger
taiuly no popular song of today can com
pare with the old ballad music, what
ever may be the reason, and as certain
y. madrigals like those OF Ben Jonson
HerrIck and Shakespeare could never
have been suggested by dfttles on Level
with our rae-time. topical songs. OF
gospel hymns The research of LanieI
confirms the view that the common folb
OF suakespeare's time were singers, and
he brings forward many interesting facts
In proof OF this
There are four chapters on the do
nestle life CT shf&espeare's time. a
by Hamilton Mabie, IN bis work on
Shakespeare, published some two years
ago. There Is IN this work, however, an
ingenious variant of the usual method
which is one Of the most delightful fea-
lures OF the book Lanier constructs
/ d sort Of romance of Shakespeare life
which. while it does not depart from the
facts in recounting anything which did
not or might not happen. nevertheless
gives 1t vivid air OF realism TO these
chapters which IS. considering the sub
ject and the author. no less than be-
wltching The reader will be inclined
10 envy those fortunate students who
heard this charmingIy told fiction fall
from the Hps of the poet himself. Ever
in print # has an air Of the impromptu
and in it's spoken form II must have
seemed like the vIsion OF some seer. A
quotation Of a page or two viii serve
10 show the charm Of the narrative
We are to suppose that the Earl OF
! Leicester, or the occasion Of Queen Eliz-
abeths visit to Keniiworth sent in hot
haste 10 the shop Of John Shakespeare
for pair of hunting gloves; hat when