Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-13
About Plays, Players and PIayhouses,

clearly defined course along which its flow
is inexorably directed7 II will scarcely be
denied that much Of the beauty has been
driven from literature by the demand for
realism. Romance is PROSTATE at the feet
Of Realty. and the wings OF Imagination
have been clipped at least by the shears OF
Fact, 50 that flights are limited and their
widest gyration do not go beyond the
bounds set by daily experience. Fiction to-
day is almost merged with history and bi-
oKraphy, and the writer Of a novel thinly
wells the identity OF some well known indi-
vidual under the guise Of his hero, sur
rounds him with a group Of men and
women taken bodily from history, envelop-
ing the whole in a medium of incidents
that are accepted as accurate. lamely pro-
posed as prophetic on the part Of the hero;
thus demonstrating the advantage OF hind
sight over foresight. The course Of the
drama has been prescribed as narrowly as
that Of the novel. and the result has been
a few serious dramas, dealing with certain
phases Of sociological phenomena, some
comedies touching similar manifestations OF
life with the lighter colors Of irony and sar-
casm, and a multitude Of plays that are
neither one thing or another and which
merely recite a series Of incidents cluster
ing around central episode, without be-
ginning or conclusion
Some Of the fainthearted have devoted
their time to deploring this state of af-
fairs, and to bewailing the decadence Of
the drama and literature in general. These
folks should cheer up We are not any
worse on now than were the people who
have gone before us in the years Of the
worlds existence; our chief difficulty today
is that we realize, perhaps, more keenly
than did our forebears the limitations that
hamper us when we wish to take an ex-
cursion into the realms Of the unreal.
Mans capacity for imagining things has
always been bounded by his experience
and his efforts at creation are invariably
merely human concepts projected over
little broader range In the words Of old
Mokanna, the heaven OF each is but what
each DESIRES" and the creations Of each
are certain to be the embodiment Of his
desires. Dreams are merely subconscious
ratioclnation. and genius is hard work If
a man be persistent enough to catch the
vagrant fancies that fit from time to time
through his brain, and Industrious enough
TO weave them together into a substan-
tial fabric, he produces a poem, play,
novel or an opera, and maybe he is hailed
as a genius. If he has worked hard enough
he may have achieved something that will
entitle him momentarily TO the head Of the
column. But when his achievement is re-
duced to the final analysis, It will be found
TO be based entirely on what Is known.
Mans Imagination is "cribbed cabined and
confined" by his daily contact with life,
apparently, and is incapable Of forming
any really great conception Of what is
beyond the narrow beaten path Of expert
ence. It may be that sometime more at
tention will be given to this, and new
turn will be given to thought Until then.
literature will continue to reflect the ex-
perience Of the race, whether IT be real
istic or romantic in its tendency.
.
II WILL be admitted that the paucity OF
Imagination is responsible for loss OF
much that is delightful. Untutored man
is in a measure to be envied because OF
his lack of understanding Of the things
around him. The capacity OF seeing God
in the clouds and hearing Him in the
winds is a distinct advantage in a great
many ways. It permits of fanciful Gre
atlons that are frequently imbued with
poetic beauty and occasionally with the
grandeur OF sublimity The child Of tender
years has this faculty, and often the fond
mother is much concerned over the fear
that her baby is destined to become mon
umental liar. so free from facts are the
wonderful tales with which he regales her.
And that mistaken mother thereupon be-
gins the work Of undoing all that nature
has done for the child by striving to in
cucate a proper regard for absolute
truth. A good story is told of Rudyard
Kipling in this connection. He discovered
the wife of one OF his friends Furnishing
her little daughter, and inquired the rea-
son. "She told a lie" answered the
mother, ahre with righteous indignation.
why, that's nothing" said Kipling, II
told 'em when I was at her age, and
now I make my living telling them" In
stead Of REFRESHING the child's natural
bent in this direction. it really ought TO
be encouraged along rational lines. so
that the faculty for imagination will have
the same expansive growth that is sought
in the other functions OF the mind.
Coming Events.
For four nights and two matinees, start
ing with matinee today. TOO Proud to
Beg" will be the attraction at the Krug