New-York tribune., 1908-03-25
Books fer Students of Shakespeare
Some Nerc Fiction.

my he roughly described forming a kind of
s..-ehause Of documents. the purpose of which
a.e carry the reader into Shakespeare's work
ssop and make him shareT in Shakespeare s
,ur atmosphere What books did he use as he
,-sereE the construction OF one OF his dramas
What was The form Of that drama as il actually
,sr his hand? These and kindred questions are
-Swe-ed by the series in which some twelve
- sfteeu volumes have already appeared Incl
s.-tailv the student is afforded light on
shakespeare's time, and the manners and moods
r. his contemporaries. Il would be difficult to
sxscrerace the value Of these books. They are
~. of course unfamiliar TO scholars but on
.he other hand, they have not hitherto been COL
lecred in such convenient and inexpensive form
snd thereby made so easily accessible TO a large
ci-cie O readers
This series Is divided into sections following
: 5adicicus system OF classification Thus We
have in one group certain miscellaneous
sources 10 which the poet went for the scatrold-
ing as il were. upon which he erected the fab
-cs Of his genius. Conspicuous among them is
Hofnsle6. whose name is well known to thou
sands but whose actual significance in the his
to-y of Shakespeare is only vaguely surmised
h the general reader. In ''Shakespeare's Holm
shed. The Chronicle and the Historical Plays
Conpa7ed, YOU have Just the excerpts from the
Old compiler that are necessary 10 show you
vhzI Shakespeare found in hin-and used after
ts ozr fashion The first example given is one
q the most interesting in the illustration Of the
poets free treatment Of his material When he
wrote Lear he had no idea OF sIavishly fol-
losing Holinshed any Of the other sources
sTzilSble 70 him In the narrative here re-
rrinted The old King. disdained by "Gonorilla"
snd Regan and their husbands TO whom he had
hxnded over the government Of his realm en-
rTs every possible good fortune when he turns
fa- consolation 10 his third daughter comfort
sb,y established by the side Of Aganippus who
was one Of the twelve kings that ruled Gallia
IL those daies." His cause was promptly
espoUsed as HoIinshed relates in these words:
Nov when he had Informed his some in law
and ms aa1stte- in Whist sort he had beene used
tv Es other daughters Aganippus caused a
Etsatie arT-Ie 10 be put in readinesse and like
V1se great DaEie Cf ships 10 be rigEed- o passe
rer INTO Britaine with Leir his father in .aw
-H restored to kirlc-fJOr7e L
vas accorded. that CorGenIa should also 20 with
- - 5 - -.Stssloo % me land the which he
promise ~ IeaNe unto h1r. as the rightful in
e--.--i l--r hle oecesse. Notwithstanding any
nzz1z Y a7le ma1er Of wise
wee rea-5e- Leir and his daughter COrdeilla with
~ --sl-ae to.ke the sea and arriving in Brit
-Le- ID haTJeli. in the which Naglanus and
1e-1l1-s were saine- and then was Letr restored
space ~ i've -eeres, and then died foTtie yeeres
s--e- bee first began 70 reigne.
L IS III the popularization Of documents like
the foregoing that Professor Israel GoIlancz the
general editor Of this series. is rendering solid
service 10 the study CT Shakespeare. He has
been able 70 enlist the aid OF number of COM
Ie-ent scholars The Hoinshed was admirably
I1r together by the late " @. Boswell Stone
n lose --lotations greatly assist comparison of
the TEX with the plays. The Rogues and vaga-
bonds II Shakespeare's Youth in which Awde-
leE-s -Fra1ernjtye Of Vacabondes" and Harman's !
-zFeat' are reprinted appears with the edito- |
ri=l machinery provided by Dr.. Furnivau and /
AZ Edward Tiles- For the series DR.. Furni- /
"a mas also brought up 10 date the edition he
-lace in ISL for the Ballad Society. of Robert
Lareaara's Letter" thar quaint narrative which
describes part Of the entertainment got up for
1Lza7e[h when she visited Kenilworth in 1873 |
TBS is one q the volumes which are so help
II IL Introducing the student 10 the social life
u he time IN the section devoted to purely
Hie-s-T rather than historical sources Professor
GoLe1cz assemblies what ne calls The Shake
srea14 Classics" That is TO say he reprints
-oGSe.s "E,osaiynde." the original Of "As You |
Like Il" with new. introduction and notes by
Il II Greg G-eene's 'Pandosto' the original |
= The Winters Tale" edited by P. G. Thomas:
aad H-9ale's "Romeus and Juliet" the original
q Romeo and Juliet" edited by J J. Munro.
II THIS section there are 70 be eight or nine
otfe- Ta.--1es- Finally we have The OId-Spell-
NJ Shakespeare" Z series of thin volumes, of
Which SIX are now 10 hand. reproducing the
s7e--1E rf the best qua-to and folio texts, and
-ae Lamb Shakespeare fer the Young" re-
Printed -l attractive little volumes with Illus |
i'1-a-s and with music for the songs All the
ga--les making part Of this Library are well
l---.ied and bound. They are 10 be had sep
aaleiy tus-a fact which many student VIII :
sI7-eaiate- L Is a fine undertaking TO which $
We WISH al prosperity.
When Miss May Sinclair wrote THE Divine
fre she achieved reputation simply by dint
y iellsg good story and Iumining II with the {
sprit Of romance. II she had lesson" 10 con-
'sy s5e let- il 70 take care Of itself. When she
sTote hey next novel, The Helpmate," she put :
iae lesson in the foreground with results which d
ae could scarcely applaud But apparently Miss 5
-2lla-- has made her choice and has resolved to
l'2c1ce seton with a purpose" Her latest =
'9E- short story called The Judgment OF y
-'e lEa-per & Bros-), begins romantically I
s-e2gl- The heroine is hesitating between two =
~sers One of them, q staIwart and prosperous Z
.sl-g sheep farmer IS so unwise as 10 confess Y
~ ne has. II his time slain pig That fin / /
AAss MN wiki Aggie. she saw him steeped in :
'---aeries n the blood Of little lambs. and her h
7i'ler heart ~evolred against him. She tried TO g
PERSUADE herself that ii was the lambs she =
-hoed most; hut IL was the pig she minded N
-aers Was something 50 low about killing a pig. a
4 see-2ed r1 mark him" WhereUpon she mar q, a
-@o Ar- Gatty who read Browning and was r
~-a---sy III every way qualified TO keep her In re
-S atmosphere Of culture for which her sim OF
y Li-e saal vas ever Pinins- She ought 10 - -
<'s been happy. bus how Is q passion for cult T
= s4o The poets II be sustained when life gets fo
~cer and za-Ger. when children III the house a.
81 tte ri--s fer cIothing and feeding them are =.
accounted Tor by corresponding Increase h;
Is