The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-23
SOME NEW BOOKS.
Shakespeare n. ri.,wr,.b,.

shakespeare terCcntenary has brought
f"rth 10 ind "A reprint nf "A scholarly
Inquiry such as BRANpER MATruEws's
ShdbcSpeurc as n HdUirriDht ,Scrib-
s-'S. tmt look Is not y oiOsra ohy
out II careful study Of Shakespeare
etagecfaft. The story of his life after
~ might he summed up with some
truth ny ~Steevcns's assertion: AN
that Is Known with any degree of cer-
tainty concerning Shakespeare is that
he was born at Strattord-on-Avon
married and had children there: went
To i.ondon where he commenced actor
n wrote poems and plays; returned
to Stratford. made his will. died and
was buried" Mr.. Matthews amplifies
this terse statement by a few details
as TO S~hakcspcare's father. his prob
a6lc entrance at the school.
the dates of his plays and poems, his
career as an actor. an Of his
real estate holdings in London and in
STAFFORD. and the interesting fact
that he had the gift of friendship.
His education was never that VI the
scholar. He is consistently careless
and inaccurate. lie reveals through
nut his work II compliment Ignorance
of geography. lie Is not interested in
the historical sequence Of vents and
~oransposes episodes to suit his "
convenience. Mr.. Matthews says:
He has been laVishly belaudel for his
delicate observation of nature and for his
precise knowl'tGe Of tho habits of plants.
and II may be acknowledged that when
H. disccurscs OF flowers and trees he l.
standing on solid ground, for he had Aep:
his eyes open during his Warwickshlre
ho>hocd. a. h. kept them open also dur
Ing his London manhood. But even IL he
may he rtne-slly exact In hi refer uccs
{" the plants Of his native country. he l..
often incxact in his reference 80 birds and
beasts. lie makes the singing nightingale
n female, and he implies hat The swan
svtm~ IN salt water. He sugEests that
the cuckoo can bite ON tho head Of tho
hedge sparrow. he asserts tina, the adder
l. deaf. that the mole is blind and that
tho toad j. COMMUNICATIONS due to the
acceptance Of traditional beliefs. H. has
no hesitation in s~yailInG himself Of the
sc-callol unnatural natural history. which
was II medieval inheritance. and which
had be,n popularized more recently 10y
LILY. lie does not shrink from c-.diting
tho toad wish a precious jewel I'm hts head
or from bestowing upon the crocodile she
faculty ~ hypocrltIc tcdrs.
Very likely he havw better aud thcs"
inaccuracies "a, botany aui In Zoology
were due to- his utilization II folk belief.
c-vstdl!i2cl in earlier literature. Liz" the
Inaccuracies IN geology AMI la chronology.
they may be admitted erlukl, and tE.y
nc.I not Ice apn.oei2cd FOR. since they
ar mast ~ them OF li;;le Importance
The dramatlc poe; g. no. called upon 10
possess the sc.,ut."r accurtcy Of the col
leEc professor.
Mr.. Matthews falls foul Of Charles
Lambs statement that the plays W
Shakespeare are less calculated for
performance on the stage han those
OF any other dramatist. Mr.. Matthews
contends that Shakespeare cannot he
duly estimated from the printed page.
He believes the plays We're written To-
be acted. and still have their best
chance on the stage. Mr.. Matthews
gives Il chapter on The theatre as
Shakespeare knows II. He then turns
To the plays themselves and analy2cs
them. beginning with the early come
die and the early chronicle plays.
Romeo and juliet as the first in
dubi,ahle masterpiece. has a chapter
TO itself and the Falsiaff plays re-
ouire two chapters. The romantic
comedies. The Merchant Of Venice"
much ADO AS You Like II" and
Twelfth Night all four of them APP
o~arently composed in the final half
decade of the sixteenth century. and
curiously alike in structure. have an
other chapter. These four comedies
Mr.. Matthews says are frankly
medieval in device and rcnascence
only N the characters wh6 are SUBJ
ject to the devices.
The chapter on Shakespeare as an
actor. with it's comparison Of Shake
speare and Moliere as actors, is par
ticularly vital. The roles that Mr..
Matthews attributes To Shakespeare,
starting from the tradition that he
PLAYED the Ghost n Adam. are
.F0eon in the COMEDY Of Errors"
Leondto in Much Ado" Bdptistn in
'"The Tanning of the Shrew." Fridr
Laurence in Romeo and Juliet the
King Of France in ".All's We'll that
Ends Well" the Duke in "othello." the
Duke again in the Merchant OF
Venice and possibly also in Measure
for Measure" All these characters
will be found to have certain similar
general characteristics. Mr.. Matthews
makes n point OF the fact that the
playwrights of that time wrote not
only with all the technical limitations
OF their theatres in mind, but that
they wrote for n definite and well
known company of actors II sup
piled parts for all the company. He
Th. vice ~ the narrowly philosophic
crItici1n ~ Shakespeare, which was 81"
prevalent in the nineteenth century. lies
in It's consideration OF his characters
solely and exclusively as characters. They
are characters. Of course. hi, they are also
parts prepare far particular actors. They
FORM n succession OF magnificent parts,
making tho most varied demand upon
these actors. They are parts, first ~ all.
Conceded ia oonsonance with their au-
thor's intimate knowledge Of the his
trionic abilities OF his feilow players even
~ eyeSy one OF them Is also a character,
yubtle- and broader and deeper than any
mere part needs to be. In devising these
lart. Shakespeare was fitting the per
formers Of the company 20 which he be-
longed even II he was also availing him
self Of the opportunity TO body forth his
own viton OF life.
Blrrase, the foremost actor of his
day, VIZ undoubtedly cast for all the
great tragic hero parts, HdniIct. Lear.
Oihoho- Eichard HT.. Romeo. Macbeth
ard B,I'us. while Kemp doubtless
LIayei the leading comic characters,
lie is L-lown to have been the original