Norwich bulletin., 1916-03-28
PUBLIC LECTURE ON SHAKESPEARE
President Sykes of Connecticut College Addressed Large
Audience in Town Hall Under Auspices of Norwich
Chamber of Comnerce-Seections by Double Quartette
From Bass Cleft

A large number attended the lecture
on Shakespeare given by President
Frederick n. Sykes Of the Connecticut
College for Women Monday evening In
the town hall. The lecture was given
under the auspices Of the civic bureau
of the Chamber of Commerce.
A double quartette from the Bass
the lecture. and following the lecture
stereopticon views were shown
President William A. Somers OF the
Norwich Chamber Of Commerce well
coined the audience and introduced
Charles V. James, chairman Of the
civic bureau, who in turn introduced
the speaker OF the evening.
President Somers said: Ladies' and
Gentlemen: 1t Is pleasing to the officers
Of the Norwich Chamber of Commerce
to see so many here tonight. The mis-
sion of the Chamber of Commerce is TO
arouse the business men to a realiza-
ton Of the necessity for cooperation
for the protection and promotion OF
their interests. To find how 1t is prac-
ticable to obtain this cooperation in
manner that appeal to the highest
ideal founded upon the best principles
of American citizenship. To enter the
service of the chamber Is to expand
ones vision and exalt ones ideals. Its
work has hardly begun, yet its growth
in members and the confidence IL has
won throughout InS state Is InaTNel-
Gus. Our five bureaus are working for
a better Norwich. Arrangements for
this evenings entertainment were
made through our civic bureau, and
take pleasure in introducing to you
the chairman, Charles V. James.
Chairman James introduced DIR.
| Sykes to the large audience. In his
opening words DR.. Sykes said: The
real things of the universe, said John
Keats in one of his letters, are the
sun, moon and stars, and the passages
of Shakespeare. 1t puts Shakespeare
great, permanent, beneficient influence
| by reason Of which we live and live
| in light, beauty and far reaching
thought.
Ny words tonight on Shakespeare
might serve as a prologue for the
| Shakespearean pageant which the peo-
| pie of Norwich are planning to give
Our newspapers thrive upon details
| of private life. Actions are we'll ad-
| vertised. Biography is now a great
| department of letters. The Elizabeth
ans had no newspapers, no biograph-
| ers.
The details on the biography OF
Shakespeare are scanty and as fol
the life of Shakespeare there was MOI
a single semblance of one until 3;
years after his death.
First, the legal records we get il
the register of his parish church a
Stratford, the courts of justice, tn,
| royal accounts, stationers' register
Thus we recover the outer life, hi!
baptism and burial, his appearance a:
actor and author and his business af'
fairs.
The second we get in his literar!
records-the printed testimony of hi
contemporaries who knew him and
his plays, fellow authors and fellow
actors like Greene, Ben Johnson, Hem
ing and others. This we recover tn
impression af Shakspeare's natur
and genius upon the men of his time
The third source is tradition, tn
finally got jotted down on notebooks
In the parish register of Trinit,
church, Stratford, recording the hap
tism of Shakespeare, the date is Apri
26, 1864. Thus, the national poet wa
born in Warwickshire. the very hear
, of England. Warwickshire then wa
not quite the Warwickshire of toda
forest-the forest of Arden. Scat
tered over the shire were manors @
the gentry and castles of the nobility
The population was small but tn
town had its organized municipal lif,
its organized religious life, it's educa
ton was organized. OF that village
ShakSpeace's father, four years afte
the poets birth, was the high baili
Cor mayor.
, Old Stratford gave Shakespeare hi
! education of nature as in many of hi
I old classics he clearly gives the es
:, sentials OF English country lif
l Shakespeare mastered Latin at an ear
" age and people wonder at time
how Shakespeare could have known s
! much without a college education
$ For my part 1 wonder what colles
could have taught Shakespeare.