Omaha daily bee., 1916-04-15
Shakespeare'S Views
On Immortality
Literary Digest.

N------------- Literary Digest,
t. SPITE of Brownings doubts the point, Dr.
Frederick Lynch takes the sonnetg o. Shakespeare
~ tho "keysi by which the poet unlocked his
heart" Browning comedies the point only BY admit
ting that II he did then the less shakespeare he"
Dr. Lynch, however, believes that IN these poems,
over which The world has long wranned, one can
catch glimpsos ~ ahakespcaros philosophy of life,
his faith. hls thought 0f God and man. OF immortal"
ity" Upon the latter point Or. Lynch, In the Chris
tlan Work expends most or his observations basing
them upon Prof George Herbert Pamers ''1ntima~
lions Of Immortality In tho sonnets Of Shakespeare
lecture delivered before Harvard university In
these works ~ the drnmAtist the professor finds AN
orderly development of faith through three concop-
lions Of the immortal life" Tho first group of the
sonuets reveals his faith IN a kind Of natural Inn
mortality
Tho first two-tjrds Of the sonnets are written to
q beautiful youth ~ tho poet thinks Of this beauu.
fl boy be- bear the thought thar this boy 10
beautiful, 10 noble pure, shall bo taken by death
from the world which needs him. This thought fur
nlahes tho theme again and again in the first seven.
teen sopnots The loved objects are always changing
While 70 this lovely boy shakespeares whole soul
goes forth he knows that time must raYage HE
extraordinary charm
Ruin hnth taught me thus 10 rtrninats
That time VIII come ana take my love away
Hegenty-elght times Shakespeare thus refer 70 Tins
IN the gonnets.
"Wil 4rne death, be victorous7 No says the
poet This beauty grace worth OF this youth will llye
Ia his children and their children will still perpetuate
him through The ages Thus Time II conquered, death
overcome. 10 this thought OF natural immortality
the poet n constantly recurring In the first group "
the n very directly and strikingly
IN the twelfth where he c0nnscs the lovely youth 70
perpetuate himself IN his children and In the seven.
tenth. which Closes with these lines;
But we're some child Of yours alive that time,
You should I've twice, In II and IN my rfne
This doa N natural Immortality" having galned
full e2preAFion fhare comes o sudden change The
idea Is "too vague and the eventu0y too uncertain
to satisfy the poet Personality IL lost though
beautiful traits both Of feature and OF character
be handed down, The youth does not survive
only his copy" With the seventeenth sonnet tho
theme gives place to what Prof Palmer calls Ideal
Immortality"
Shakespeare will ensbrino the boy in his verse
and 10 he VIII live forever, Well tho poet has done
this from theeghteentb sonnet on and the whole
world will forever know OF this youth. 30 long
think, read love follow beauty. this exquisite
hoy shall be their companion. apparently said the
poet 70 himself Indeed, this becomes the chief rea
son for hts writing these one hundred middle Honnes
he tell us IN the verse itsolf-to keep this beautiful
youth alive forever There are many sonnoA which
might be chosen but this beautiful one Is good
any.
Since brass nor stone nor earth nor boundiess sea
But sad mortality 9eW1yays their power
o how shall summers honey breath hold out
When rocks inpfeRnabie are not 10 stout,
Nor gates o. steel 70 strong but Time deeays2
=. fss 81 pesdliatIgn where. slack ..,.,
Or what strong hand can hold his awlft foot back
of VINO nv sPoil q beauty cap Forbid
That IN black Ink my love may still shine bright
But doubt rupervenes a. this IDEA or ideal i'm
mortality IL placed over against the real There IA
painful difference
The poet, seeing this begins 10 grow suspicious Of
oven the IDEAL Immortality pcrsistlng The verse may
not be read. Thus the memory OF him, which 10
not he even though II lived may perish Suddenly
In the third group OF the sonnets we find emerging
belief IN real Immortality, spiritual Immortality tho
survival " personality after death. Moreover n
grows out 81 the poets own dissatisfaction with these
other phases Of n and added 70 this. tbs experience
Of u IN his own heart. While dedicated the praise
Of This lofty youth the poet himself Yields to low
temptation The last group Of the sonnets tell the
story of his sin IN considerable detail and reflect in
wonderful verse the struggle between his devotion to
the noble youth and the fascination OF the woman
who has enthralled him II IA In the midst on his ain
that tho revelation And precisely here says
Prof Palmer In the intensity and bewlderment OF
sin, the possibility OF spiritual immortality Is ro
yealed. within himself he discovers immortal ma
ufe At Issue with the forces OF mortality true self
Ia set in contrast with the changing conflicting en-
shaving pnssons' In the hundred and foryslSth
sonnet he sings this spendidy
Poor soul, the center Of my sinful earth
Fonid hv these rebel powers that thee array |
WHY doHi thou pine within and suffer dearth.
Painting thy outward walls costly gaY2
Why 20 large cost, having short u lease
Doat thou upon thy fading mansion spend?
shall worms tnheritora OF this excess
Eat up thy charger IL this thy hody's end
Then, soul, live thou upon thy servants loss
And lei that pine, 10 agsravata thy store
Huy terms divine IN selling hours ~ droas,
Within ho fed without $50 rich no more
SO AhHlt thou feed on Death that feeds on men.
Anh' Death once dead, there's no more dying then |
Here We have real immortality. Here the parson |
the soul tho man himself survives and rises above |
death. victorious over IT, Natural Immortality and
IDEAL Immortality are hat shadows fiRmentsi not ini-
mortality AZ all Man is a spirit now with power over
things even over dealhh