The Washington times., 1914-01-25
SEEKS EXACT WORDS
OF BARD OF AVON"
educator Studies EIizabethan
Age Writing as Key to OBJ
SCure Passages.

LONDON. Jan. 25.-Prof. Kellner. who
dds the chair of English language and
,erature at the University OF Czerno-
itz and has done more than any
.hoIar to sperad the knowledge OF
,nglish history and literature in his
alive country, Austria. is engaged on
"a interesting work in London.
For three months or more he will be
cupied either at the public record of
e or at the British Museum study
0E Elizabethan photography, and thus
Hepsring the way for a prolegomena
'u new edition of Shakespeare's plays
It would be my pride" he said
.rcaking of the possible results of his
searches. Ito be one of the very
..Jmerous scholars who. during the past
% years, have tried TO puzzle out the
tbscure passages of Shakesepare's
olays. Although English scholars and
rites have done a great deal to cor
ect the text of the first folio, yet there
are about 100 passages that are riddles.
For example, in the second part OF
King Henry " Scroop. archbishop
of York, explaining his part in the
-ebellion against the King, says, ac-
Ording 10 the first folio. the bad
Iolicy Of the King, his crimes. have
rTrned him from his most quiet there
You cannot make anything out of
hat, and SO the editors have substi-
tUted sphere for there. That seems
0 me absolutely impossible, for the two
W ords are so entirely different in Eliza
ethan handwriting that no compositor
Juld possibly have misread sphere
'1T there
He Studies Writing.
TT has been part of my work of re-
arch in the photography of the period
20 see what sphere was like in the old
riting. Unfortunately there is not
y ord preserved to us of Shakespeare S
u.n writing in his plays. There Is
, rly his signature. But all the writing
at was contemporary with him shows
nat the first two letters in the word
phere' made it quite different in ap-
: ,.trance from there"
Therefore, to the question that II
ave asked myself is it possible that
opie could have misread it for
phere? NV answer in enphaticaily no.
I'M not, however, yet prepared to sus-
st what would be the right reading.
Ut the simple negative, saying that
:tis word sphere is wrong, is some |
Q ing. and certainly carries US 2 step
.ryond the change that has been hltt- |
, TO accepted.
Another instance occurs in the first |
lilo of Macbeth. The soldier, report |
irg to the King his knowledge OF the
t"OiI with the merciless MacdoEWaId,
-ays the brave Macbeth
u -nseamed him from the nave to the |
, aaps."
" hat can you make of that? Moth |
i4g. People have said that nave means |
The same as navel If that suggestion |
were accepted it would make Macbeth |
rip UP Macdownald from the navel TO |
the mouth. and that would be nonsense.
Some editors have altered the nave
TO 'nape,' which makes the passage
'~ean that he ripped him up from his
neck. There is something in that.
Letters Are Alike.
Here again my question has been, is
possible that Shakespeare wrote
ape?' Are the letters p and v SINH
in Elizabethan handwriting? I have
r. scertained that they are. In this case,
uerefore, the compositor may have mis-
cad the word, and I am quite ready to
.rcept that emendation.
IN other words then, if we know
hat the EIizabethan handwriting vas
u. every case, We have in every case a
II for these cancellations " hiCh other
'sc we should not have. BY studying
r state papers Of the period, the man
cripts Of old plays that exist and
Jhcr contemporary documents, am
viug TO find out how Shakespeare
vuld have written every word Of which
ucre is still any doubt and in this !
~ ascertain whether the Coml .Ositor ,
.uld have misread Il or whether he
uuId not"
The story has been recalled since ;
of. KelIner arrived Ill London that {
!. Cow. the headmaster of Westmin-
t'r School. when introducing him on ,
., occasion 20 his classes told the boys
al they nlusl be careful for the Aus
an professor knew more about syn
u than most living Erclishmen. And
is perfectly true. Prof. Kellner is in
ct the author of the Historical Out
es Of English Sy-taX," and no one
&c written any book like il.
IS a boy at school there was no
thor that influenced him so pro-
uundy as the poet whose writings
~e now the subject of his researches.