New-York tribune., 1910-10-30

ties Of his formative years to the comedy %
manners and the comedy Of character. All tbs
time he was shaving like n day IabOrer re-
hearsing his company acting incessantIy deal
ing as best ne could with the tricks Of his
rivals. and with breakneck rapidity writing
PLAYS to order for the King But steadily in
the fermentation of his being he was bringing
to perfection masterpieces like "Tartuffe.~ the
| "Misanthrope" and the -F'emmes Savantes~
masterpieces in which the public entertainer
rises indeed to the plane Of the philosopher.
and. beguiling the audience Of his time. be-
speaks also the good will of posterity.
He had been thinking from the start but as
ne felt his way ne liberated. with that wonder
full light touch Of his ideas playfuIy suggestive
rather than weighty. With maturing powers
his satire gained not only in bOldness but in
depth. and he took his place among the com
mandinS inteIIects whose thoughts have a uni
versal scope. In his hour of fruition and OF
supreme triumph he is. as a man. the same
winning figure that we first meet traveIin,
about the country with Madeleine Beja-t and
their fellow players. the same generous and
anusine, comrade the same unquenchabIe hu-
morist We see him. too. with curious and
most ingratiating evaporation Of those Ofym-
pfan mists which so often veil the lords %
thought" a practical man. il ever there was
one and an artist so saturated in life and truth
that an almost prosaic reality pervades our in
preston of his genius and his work. SPEAKING
of his dialogue Mr. Matthews notes that II wa
not written for the eye Of the modern reader
but was composed for the Of the contenl
porary audience. and he continues follows.
1T has the rhythm of the spoken word and not
the balance of the sentence intended 10 be
read His is an oral style. the style Of every
dramatist must be: and no oral style was ever
better fitted for it's purpose. IL lends itself 10
delivery by the voice: it falls fttingy from the
tongue: it is varied in it's cadence and in its
color" 1t might have been added that in spite
of these viyifying qualities MolieTe's style like
his substance. inevitably directs attention to
the great contrast between him and Shake
speare Mr. Matthews, with perhaps uneon-
scious fidelity to that prcdiIection Of his for
the acted drama which have already in
ferred dyreIIs too narrowly. in his pages com
pairing the two masters. upon their respective
conceptiofls of dramatic structure and prinCt-
pie In a book 50 good that it is tolerably Ger
tain 10 pass into a second edition before very
long it is To be wished that h might repair
serious omission and supply chapter travers-
ing MoIiere's diction and looking peculiarly to
the question of his imaginative quality.
His style is not charged, like Shakcspeare's.
with poetic fire. There is no magcaIly enyeIop-
ing atmosphere in his Work, as there are no re-
verberatiOns of a strange indefnable power
making for sheer beauty We do not ask that he
be tried by the Shakespearian standard and
found wanting for that would be 10 ask that
MoIiere should be somebody else. Il is Of
course. quite possible. too that after his many
years of intimacy with the dramatist Mr.. Mat
thews might have some persuasive things to
say about his style. revealing fervid or charming
traits that are hidden from the less devoted stu
dent. A few words scattered here and there in
dicate the views that he would bring to the
subject. He speaks of MoIiere's "raCy YER
nacuIar, rich in energetic expression and in fun
cOlOred phrases and further aIudes to his al
ways swift certainty In the same para
graph he says that the seemingly careless vfgor
of Molieres style has often exposed him 10 the
cavillings of those critics who insist on apply
ing to the drama tests that are exclusively liter
ary,' whereat surnise that possibly Mr.
Matthews could not endure TO make the analy-
sis suggested above. Let him castigate the
cayilling critics to his hearts content The point
is not that MOliere's style should be exalted
disparaged. but that il should be for its own
sake, more fully described and characterized
with enough illustrations 10 make the subject
clear If this book has a fault it is that il
gives the reader all that he needs about MoIiere
save taste of his quality as a writer A bibIi-
ography. though not Indispensable. would also