Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-03-10
LECTURE BY PROF. EGAN.

In Hamlet and Ophelia" Dr. Maurice
+. Egan q closing lecture, given last even
ing before the Catholic Reading Circle
In the New-Century Club drawingroom,
many interesting statements were made
Hamlet, he said, is a wonderful tragedy
an epic of failure, not a mere literary
invention, but a human drama appealing
TO all hearts so long as men shall live
IL is the very apex of literature
Ophelia is not the dominant character,
neither is she so inspired as some actresses
interpret her. She was a product of her
time, when parents exacted unquestioned
obedience. The influence Of a corrupt
court surrounded an innocent, sensitive
girl, who. unfortunately, did as she was
bid by her father and brothers. AZ their
suggestion she deceived Hamlet, where
her woman s intuition should have made
her sympathize with him. Like many
of Shakespeare s heroines, she was mother
less and never was brought into high and
strong ethical ideas by her. expedient,
clever, worldly father. Ophelia's love
for Hamlet was made negative with doubt.
In her obedience TO her father she was
logical. which no woman can naturally
be- The strain of Hamlets killing her
father and the belief that he had ceased
to love her caused this timid, sensitive
maid to go singing to her death
Hamlet s was an exquisite, gentle soul
living in that real kingdom, which is OF
the mind, living subiectively. His tenn
poml loss, the kingdom usurped by his
uncle, troubled him not at all; he alludes
to il but once. The great tragedy of his
life was caused by his loss of faith in
woman, duo to his mother 8 iniquity
him. The canker of corruption had eaten
into the minds of all in the court. Ham
let 5 soul was hopeless and cast adrift.
He could decide on no course of action.
A perfect friendship existed between him
/ and Hoatio, but friendship alone would
not suffice Hamlet. his was nature 20
cling 10 love and respect for a woman.
| Ophelia 5 lack of understanding was the
the soul OF his tragedy.
Tremendously concentrated thought,
every doubt and fear commingling was
Hamlet s state. The subtlest of men. he
/ easily discovered Ophelia's s deception
His love continued but his faith was gone.
/ His despair was deep and life mattered
not 20 him. Hence resulted the greatest
of all tragedies, which attracts the at-
tention OF all civilization and will always
be talked about as it always has been. "
DR.. Egan spoke Of the genius of Shake
speare, including many capacities. Had
he not been a poet, man Of letters, actor,
stage manager, dramatist and psycholo-
gist, his PLAYS would not have been
effective for both reading and playing.
In the plays of our modern writers, all
is visuaized, everything is Cuisines, %
the spoken words do not appeal to the
imagination and the plays seldom make
! good reading. Dr. Egan said he was not
condemning the modern plays; they are
| probably a new form Of art. But he did
deplore the modern system Of starring,
| which bars out the "tout ensemble" of the
persona.
st. Paul's quartet sang two Of Pin
sutti's songs. "Ihe Parting Kiss and
Good Night Beloved
In conclusion, Dr. Temple thanked Or.
Egan for his scholarly addresses, Knights
of Columbus for their assistance and the
quartet and other musicians who fur
nished music which proved a delightful
feature OF this Shakespearean course.