The sun., 1910-01-09
The Latest French View OF shak kespeare
and His Times.

Very timely is the appearance OF the
third volume OF A Literary History of
the English People. by J. J. JUssERAND,
the accomplished French critic and diplo-
mstist New York, q. p. Putnam's Sons,
1900. There has recently been a pro-
nounced revival OF interest here and
abroad in the dramatic work Of Shake
speare's immediate predecessors and
contemporaries, and the greater part
OF the present volume is devoted to an
estimate Of these writers and the great
dramatist himself. The authors init
mate knowledge of his subject is mani
tested on every page and could have
been acquired only by a vast range of
reading and the most untiring industry
and application.
NJ. Jusserand devotes one chapter to
the personal and literary biography Of
Shakespeare and another 10 the character
OF his dramatic work In these early
years Of the twentieth century after hun
dreds and thousands Of estimates OF
Shakespeare's genius have been written
by various hands and published to the
critical world, il is difficult IL not impos-
sible to say or suggest anything new;
yet our author emphasizes one idea which
appeals to every student OF the poet and
which once realized can never be for
gotten. More than any other poet, says
NJ. Jusserand. OF any other time. Shake
speare is a life giver. AT his creating
breath the dead leave their graves, heroes
win their victories. lovers whisper in
tones 80 soft that the beloved one must
lend her ear to receive them. in accents
hat
moved by them" Conoeding. or rather
asserting that Shakespeare is unsur-
passed in dramatic power. which he de-
fines as the art Of constructing a play
and conducting II without a flaw to it's
inevitable termination, N. Jusserand
nevertheless insists that the poets life
giving faculty is his dominant and dis
tinguishing virtue. This is manifest even
in his most hastily constructed plays. in
regard TO which he says; Just as we
are about 70 revolt, to protest against a
puppet show, behold the ma gician emerges
from his tOrpQr, life circulates and the
wooden doll Of a moment ago now utters
words that no ages can ever forget
To illustrate, he quotes from -Troilus and
Cressida" the famous line given to
Ulysses, otherwise a mere puppet in the
play;
One touch OF nature makes the whole world
kin.
Like many other modern Shakespea rian
critics. notably Professor Lounsbury in
this country, NJ. Jusserand calls attention
to the apparent indifference Of the dram
atists Of that day 10 any possible perpetu-
alton OF their memory in the form OF liter
airy fame. They were simply playwright,
and that was all. They wrote plays to he
performed. not TO be printed and preserved
as literary monuments. There is no man.
ner OF doubt that hundreds Of plays were
written in the time Of Shakespeare and
his predecessors the texts OF which have
persisted utterly. Shakespeare himself
seems TO have been utterly Indifferent 10
posthumous fame, or rather he appears
10 have given the subject no thought what
ever He printed none OF his plays: -he
did not even show the slightest desire TO
secure public Of readers besides his pub
lie Of spectators Even Moliere, who did
not print his plays at first. was stirre d 10
publish the true text Of les Precieuses
Ridicules" TO protect the public a sgainst a
spurious edition: but so far as Shake
spsare's own efforts are concerned every
line be wrote might have been utterly lost