New-York tribune., 1905-11-16
THE DRAMA.
MR.. MANTELL AS MACBETH.
Garden Theatre.

Inc first requisite for good performance OF
Macbeth" is the imaginative perception Of spir-
ltuaI things.-the nature feel and the power to
convey the of being haunted and of being led
or 1mpelled by evil incarnations of the spiritual
world These incarnations typiied in the three
Weird Sisters. and Macbeth and his wife are,-in
the obvious intention of the poet,-governed by
those unseen powers. They have, indeed the seeds
Of evil in themselves,-as all persons have, whom
the agencies of sin endeavor to capture and de-
stroy. The next requisite s the capacity to under
stand that this tragedy is poetical fabric, reared
upon the basis of preternatural truth: dealing with
spirits; treating of the relation between the world
of fact, as understood by human beings, and the
greater unknown world Of spiritual life with which
it is environed. Macbeth" is not vulgar melo-
drama, made to depict the atrocious deeds and sub
sequent punishment of mere prosaic murders. The
third requisite is that of professional equipment
which comprehends the ability to impersonate, TO
speak blank correctly, and in all ways TO
create the effect of perfect illusion Macbeth Is
the most imaginative and essentially the most po-
etic character in Shakespeare. Judged by his deeds
he is Internal villain. Judged with reference TO
the controlling that his deeds he is the
most wofui and ptable of human beings.
Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer horri-
bly, and each In different way Is driven
TO ruin and death by the inexorable power OF re-
morse. The iuminative moment for observers OF
the acting of these two great parts is the moment
when Macbeth and his wife are left alone together
after the banquet No situation more ptiful can
be- found In all SHAKESPEARE because ITOil tIie
agony of that situation there is relief, even in
death The crime against the soul cannot be
plated. and in the nature of things, the retribu-
ton must be eternal Most of the players VINO
undertake to act Macbeth have not even re-
mote idea that 1t possesses any other sig
nifcance than that of a common blood and
thunder play. Macbeth halts at no crime for
the accomplishment of his purpose, but, he is
continually avenged upon himself through the
excess of his poetic sensibiity. Another
man would suffer through conscience. Macbeth
suffers through Imagination That was Henry
Irving's position. Macbeth at the outset is an
heroic soldier, "Bellona's bridegroom" worthy
Macbeth" But the forces of evil that be5ege the
world enabled to obtain possession or him.
Both Macbeth and his wife dominated by evil
Both are wicked, but the is weaker In his
wickedness than the woman, because president
imaginative and even tender, and therefore ne Is
the more ruthless and bloody. Remorse and tear,
reactfng on a courageous nature, drive 1t into an
insane fury and that is mostly the condition OF
Macbeth. The pathos of the tragedy arises from
the utter inability of those doomed creatures to
escape their terrible destiny of evil Their lonen'
ness upon the barren eminence or Sin TO which
they have mounted almost breaks the heart TO
witness When Macbeth and his Queen are acted
in the spirit indicated the tragedy is made no
less significant to the heart than Impressive 10
the Imagination. That great actress. Charlotte
Cushman, declared that Macbeth is the great
grandfather of all the Bowery r''fans; but that is
a. mistake He loses all grandeur and all interest
when he is presented in that guise
Mr. Mantell apprehends the play as melodrana,
and in even the terrible of the murder, which
should diffuse silent horror and oppress an au-
dience with awe he plays it with musici And at the
end of that he makes a silly tableau Of ap-
parent preparation for a sword dance In his de-
livery of the text there many errors, many
words misplaced and still more of words that are
marred by wrong emphasis There not par
ticle of poetry in the representation, and there
seems not to be a particle of it in the man. Not
one of the poetic speeches ('Had L but died.;
"Now DER the one-half world; Come. seelng
night; Stones have been known" etc) was
spoken SO as to thrill any hearer. The tremendous
effects that are In the Banquet were never once
liberated. There burst of notes.-the usual
resort Of the old stageg-at '"Take thy face hence
1t would be pleasant to praise Mr.. ManteH: II
Is pleasant to praise anybody but there is no oppor
tuuity of doing so in presence OF such a Macbeth
as this It touches the high-water mark of re-
spectabe mediocrity and that Is all In Macbeth
as also In Hamlet the language is so perfect
that you cannot change even the slightest Woro III
many messages without destroying the dramatic |
meaning and effect An old actor ought TO |
he letter perfect. The play itself.-the situa- |
+ione the Language, the preternatural clement |
moves the audience interests them and holds them
q, s,,snense The actors do nothing for 1t that Is :
worth doing The Lady Macbeth said she was |
hod vet she could not stand restraint, and never
loft off bleatng In thin, high, querluous voice, TILL
In the sleep scene, she began to whine: the words
+bera are TO be spoken in clear, thrilling, horrid,
aeonized whisper. Strange, when players nave the |
onnortunity TO deal with these great subjects that
thew will not take the trouble to think to feel to
,dsrstand and TO rise to the height of such splen-
sis ssJbTi+iesr W. W. |