New-York tribune., 1906-10-23

ways productive of the best results T, ,s 70 poo
.Aocios How iii merchauntes met all togyther
y" way "hcn were OF iii DIVERSE landes'' that
the play owes It's absurd Frenchman. putchman
and spanisrd. in Phiiario's house in Rorns: two of
them being dummies. and all OF them being need
less.
shakespeare's method dramatic and literary
Tf'.st Is always an interesting subject of study
IN Boccaccios Decameron novel II is tbe husband
Bernabo. who proposes the wagar. ,r s1Iys.+u.rd
ior smelts' II is the lively ibertine In Roccaocto
.e @ rascal mas no interview with the wife: In the
ie4's he introduces himself to her, saying that
sr husoano mas asked him to do In the italian
eale the willy adventurer. Ambroguo bribes a fe-
male servant Of the wife Zineyra to Induc. her mis-
uess 10 receive and temporarily guard large chest;
and having concealed himself in that receptaols
ne Is conveyed into the wife's chamber where in
the night he observes her, asleep perceiyes g.
mole on her breast and steals a ring end otha-
tr1nkets belonging to her-to used as proof that
ne mas won the wager. In the English tale the
knaVe hldes under her bed. Shakespeare has taken
materials from those narratives and oarelessly
oiohueu lhern His inner instinct caused him to fol-
40" the example Of the "Snelts" in making the
i"eiIile propose the wager. and, with his unerr-
ne perception OF dramatic effect. he has in the
scene OF Imosen's slumber and Iachirno's emerg-
ence from the chest,-in the sanctity Of her cham
Der In the lonelest deadliest hour of the night
devised fabric Of action and written a poetic pas
sage Of sef-communion. at once terrible and beau
utul uansoending all praise. 1T is the perfection
cepton Of The opportunity of doing this that
prompted him to choose the painful Decameron
theme as fit subject FOR play The poets man
asenaent OF his narrative In general, however, ig
nores consideration OF place and time; shifts the
scene without heed of probability confuses the
ages Of persons ENTHUSIASTICALLY the King
the Queen and Cloten; blurs the motives OF some
OF the principal characters; and creates such
gle OF incidents that It is only by studious and
scrupulous circumspecton that the play can be set
and acted IN TO make its OF
rences rational and clear. In the version OF Gym
beline' presented by Miss Allen it apparent
that an attempt had been made modify the orig
inal play to make 1t tell it's story briefly and
In ineligible but the jointure has been
impaired by injudicous cuts and by still in
judicious stage direction. that the drama lacks
clarity and cohesion and is about symmetrical
as scattered handful Of jack-straws. The specta-
tor who happens TO have read Shakespeare's play
supply the missing links in this performance
OF II. and thus follow its movement: the
stranger to the original will sometimes find him
self bewildered.
Having two performances OF "Cynbeline"
by Miss Allen and her company Qast Friday at
Trenton and last night here), the present COM
nentator feels privileged to write with some par
ucularity as to the details OF the production The
first lire of the play is: You do not meet man
but trowns The ninth line states that all is out
ward sorrow" The tenth line expresses the speak
er's conviction that the king. Cymbelne, is
touched at very heart" The opening is at Court
the first Ecene being q garden OF Cymbeline's s
palace II is made known. in colloquy between
two gentlemen, that Irnogen. the Kings daughter,
and Leonatus Posthurnus, his ward, have made q
private marriage; that this has been discoveredI
that the monarch is both furious and greved about
IT. that Posthumus las been condemned to ban
ishment; that Imogen has been imprisoned. under
custody Of her secret enemy. the hypocritical
Queen; and that. although the people of the Court
are secretly pleased Qmogen and Posthumus being
generally loved and admired), the time is one Of
great anxiety and trouble. Such being the situn-
ton, the action should begin, Shakespeare be-
gins II, gravely and simply. In Miss Aliens pro-
duction It begins with a game of bowis,-intro-
duced. apparently, because C1oten and his at
tendants speak of such a game. at the beginning
OF the second act of the original ptsy. 1t was a
popular game in Sha5espeare's time. but 1t was
unknown in that of CyInbeline: 1t has not been
traced back beyond the twelfth century As an
exredient to begin this play it is about appro-
pirate, under the distressing circumstances known
TO exist. 5-o'clock afternoon English tea"
would be, London garden party. When that
ridiculous pastime is over land Il seems to end
only because q mschievous hoy somewhere in
the neighborhood. has blown a toy trumpsO. the
Joyful assemhiage disperses and the dialogue is
allowed TO proceed-though not without impedi-
ment; for two pedestrians presently stroll across
the scene for obvious reason except that they
NAV disturb the cofioQuy and distract attention
from It, The treacherous Queen has brought Imo-
gen and Posthumus together in order to incense
the angry monarch stlu further against Posthu-
mus; and, by plurmuring, aside. TN move him
to walk this way" she plainly intimates that the
King IS in another part of the garden: yet after
she has departed, move him, that exasperated
potentate suddenly projects himself upon the scene
armed with a tremendous spear,-as II he were
going TO prod for eeis,-and attended by retaners,
also bearing spears; in fact. sporting party. Elk
pede Hercuem. Throughout the representation
that method of treatment prevails-the common
place method, which strives TO familiarize a po-
etic drama by investing 1t with something that
is called atmosphere" and making IL natural"
The wonder is that Cymbeline did not enter in an
automobile and Posthumus drive away in han
som cab Things of this kind Il should be rernen-
bered are not devised by actors but by stage d.
rectors. Later in the perfol nance Iachimo picks
up letter that Posthumus has dropped, and reads
it. and sneers over II: Cloten plays tag with wet
pocket handkerchief: Imogen is employed IN weav-
ing a Navajo blanket; Posthumus and Philario
have TO toss hagon; "the scriptures OF the loyal
I.eonatus' appear in the form Of wad of scrolls.
having the size and appearance or pound OF
candlesi and Posthumus is made TO SO into oal'ie
dressed in something that resembles ladys
waterproof rain cloak No practice could be more
intudicious than that which overloads poetcai
play with prosaic trappings; encumperlns us
scenes with fabrics initiative OF the furniture OF
1.-THE period" impeding with litter the movements
OF the actors: saddling them with domestic I'M
nIeuents: and obscuring movement and meaning
with rubbish, whether archaeological or 'natura.
The right way is TO those things-anc those
things only-which help TO create and sustain
fJusion Other adjuncts needless. If half the
attention were given to Acting that is wasted on
historical giIncracks the stage would better serve
its legitimate purpose and the public mind wouio
be better instructed. In this production, Tor ex-
ample at a vitally important moment Wheh
Pisanie is declaring steadfast loyalty TO Posthumus'
a vaune woman arrayed in huttering drapery'
fits over the scene. and accosts the queen IN
dumb show causing the audience to look away