The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-16
D. GEORGE e. D. ODELL,
Professor Of English. Columbia Uni.
versity.

the eighteenth century in England
VIII from the FIRST be perplexed by
seeming Inconsistencies in the ac-
ors' dressing Of Shakespeare. Why should
Richard III. and Falstaff, for instance. be
srrayed with something AT least approx
mating historical accuracy, and Macbeth
Ind Hamlet garb themselves like gentle.
non Of the time OF George III? WHY
mould Ccriolanus appear in what the
slayer assumed to he Roman habilinents.
md italian men and women OF the vague
no chronology Of Romeo and Juliet or
Benedick and Beatrice appear as sounC
aides and gentlemen decked out for "a
tout at Hampton Court? And why should
Roealind. In the forest Of Arden. sport q
powdered wig that any fop about town
night have envied? These are difficult
problems.
I believe the clue to the mystery may
20 sound In an examination OF Rowe's
Shakespeare. published In 1909. This. tho
Earliest complete issue Of the poet
After tho folios and possessing immense
salue a. the first attempt at editing
him. has special Significance for our in
quiry In the fact that each play is pre-
eeded by a line engraving representing "A
vttal scene In the action. These pictures
charming in Reconsideration exactly the
anne Inconsistencies Of dressing as do tho
portraits of actors from that time T. the
ind Of the century.
II n perfectly clear from an examina-
lion Of the plates in Rowe that In the
English historical dramas the artist a.
corded something like accurate costume 10
the characters depicted. Henry VIII.
might have stepped from "A Holbein can
vas; Richard III. is dressed exactly as
Garrick dressed him. in the manner Of an
EliZabethan courtier. The Roman and
Greek heroes appear In ancient arInor.
though never in toga or pnllium. The COS.
tunes o. these different historic times were
known TO the Queen Anne artist: on the
other hand and this j. very important for
ou~ Observation-Disclosures in "a ' az ne dark
ass Of the worlds history--Hamlet. Mac
beth and King I.ear--hc dressed exactly
like Londoners of 1903: not knowing pre-.
risefy how to represent them, he took the
FASTEST way and made them win brothers
10 tho man he saw In the street.
"fhe Winters Tale and "a Midsummer
Nights Dream being vaguely Greek IN
locale. occupy a middle ground and are
dressed IN a semi-classical manner: in the
plate to "Cymbeline.' also. Iachiino, step
ping from the chest in lmUgen's room,
might be 4 lanoplled Roman Of the time
ct Augustus Caesar. Finally the come
dies, especially those Of Italian scene. have
drawings showing brave knights and fair
ladies that might he preparing TO 90 to
a reception Of Sarah. the mighty and ter
rible Duchess Of Marlborough.
Whether the Illustrations were founded
on the stage custom-and Rowe was "A
practical playwright and knew the custom
or whether the custom was founded on
these and similar illustrations, the sugrcs-
ton offered is really helpful in solving a
perplexins problem. Probably both are
manifestation of the same careless time
spirit, but In any case the distinctions made
ny the artist IN 1903 prevailed on the stage
throughout the eighteenth century. lIenc,
We have on tho one hand tina, armorcd
cruiser Gums Coriolanus, pseudo Roman.
with the i've kneeling SEMI Elizabethan
women. and, on the other hand, the hoop
skirted Lady Macbeth Of Mrs, Pritchard
or Mrs. Yates, with the George III. attire
Of Garrick a. Macbeth.
Modernization. complete and universal.
At least for d few centuries back, one could
understand; 1t Is the partial thing, the
divide usage, that bewilders | per-
sonally believe that II the actors knew
the style In. which the original characters
Arrayed themselves they tried 10 reproduce
u: u not, they frankly eva,led difficulties
and .made up TO look like their friends
and neighbors In the audience. Yet !
confess that their efforts toward suitable
xarb for T!mon OF Athens and PostAumus
III "Cymbeline' remain ilnpenotrablc mys.
teries.
Similar uncertainty OF practice prevailed
on the French stage during the same
period and In all probability influenced tbs
theatre across the Channel. From the
days OF Baron. the great actor OF the tim,
at Moltere. to the midyears Of the cigh'