The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-23

In the pages allotted to "IphiRenie' we
arc reminded that Goethe drew the mate
rial for his play from Euripides's drama
OF the same name. What has Goethe made
OF this material? The biographer an
gwers: when we hold up his drama be-
Tide that OF the Greek author 1t seems as
II the result Of two thousand years Of moral
and artistic revolution stood before us in
d synbol.' The words moral and artis-
tic are purposely used, because the artis-
DO superiority of Goethe's @Iphigenie' has.
II is well known, been called in question.
The objection has been raised that COM
pared with Euripides's play it has too
little plot and arouses too little dramatic
interest. The author Of this biography
comedies that the first objection would be
well taken il one were obliged to limit the
meaning Of plot to tangible. visible ac-
ton. This, he thinks, however. would De
a crude and superficial definition Of the
word. He insists that whether or not that
which springs from the souls Of the charac-
ters is expressed in deeds is a matter OF
little consequence in dramatic composition.
the essential requirement being that sou
should influence soul and hat out Of such
influence and counter influence there
should be evolved a series of changes Of
situation and interest. Indeed. it must be
said that that is a higher form. or rather the
highest form, Of dramatic poetry in which
souls influence each other Immediately
and not through the medium OF deeds.
Hphigenie' belongs to this highest form.
and Schiller was justified in using the word
.soul' to designate the dramas peculiar
merit
From this point Of view the biographer
finds in "~Iphigenie" a constantly progressingI
very stirring and complicated plot. which
holds uninterTuptedly the spectators or
readers interest, provided only he brings
to 1t a receptive spirit and not a mind pre-
possessed with superficial foreign stand
ards. With all the depth OF the impress
sion which it makes. however, the real
inward greatness of the piece as a work OF
art escapes most people. For here, as we
shall see in "Tasso" also. Goethe has painted
with such a subtle brush that nothing short
Of prolonged, profound study can every
where discover and duly appreciate thepur-
poses OF the artist. We pass over the
minute analysis Of the play by means of
which the biographer e~ndeavors to get at
and bring out these purposes.
1t is an interesting and suggestive fact
that during the same month in which
Goethe was writing his 'Iphigenie' LEASING
was at work on his Nathan der Weise,"
and the two works seem to have been COM
pleted only a few days apart. There is
no doubt that @Iphigenie' and Nathan"
are prominently the German poems which
depict ideal humanity. The contemporary
conception OF humanity which valued a
man independently Of his religion. ancestry
or nationality and only according to his
intrinsic worth found its classical express
sion in Nathan This conception was
for Goethe. also, the very breath Of life.
Both Goethe in 'I~phigenie" and Leasing
in Nathan" definitely adopted the iambio
pentameter which the English poets had
shown TO be ~oongenial to the Germanic
drama, and which at the same time had
the further recommendation OF being the
nearest approach TO the majestic trimeter
OF the Greeks. "Iphigenies was published
in 1857, q year before the older version of
sEgmont." 1t seems that the applause
which 1t received was limited 10 small
circles. The great majority Of the German
people had expected from Goethe some
thing in the style Of the romantic play
sG6tz Won Berliohingen," and was some
what taken aback to hnd the sometime
r%evolutionist pursuing such a gentle and
orderly course. Furthermore, THE Rob
bers,' together with Sohiller's other earlier
works, had added new fuel to the fame
kndled by "Gotz," 80 that @Iphigenie"
found the general public unsympathetic.
The play was also slow in gaining recogni-
ton on the stage. Even in Weimar, where
the performances Of the earlier prose ver-
sion in the Amateur Theatre had been we'll
rUceived. it was not produced in the new
verse form TIL 1902.