The Denver Jewish news., 1920-10-06

both historically and pyschOlOgically,
single exception of non-Jewish scene
depicting the goat).
In our discussion of Schnitzler we
pointed out the similarity of his de-
velopment with that of Beer-Hof-
mann's. but while Schnitzler has con-
tinued TO be he'authOr of social works
dealing with the sex problem. Beer
Hoffman, has crystalized his produc-
ton into the following principal types:
all-humanitarian Georges Death and
The Count of Charolle). extreme devo
ton and love of family (Lullaby for
Miriam, n thoro love for music ana
its deep Interpretation (Speech in
Commemoration of MOZART and the
Count of Charolle and Jacobs Dream
His Jewish character if Jewish
ii may he denOminated) Is first shown
by the poet in Georges Death" Its
finale concluding that every thing in
this world of cours proceeds naturally
and. ends justly and what the poet
denOminates righteousness. is nothing
hut the old Jewish spirit of divine
justice. And the beautiful Lullaby
for Miriam is ii not the highest tri-
butte of Jewish fatherly love for Won
derful daughter. the poets own daugh-
ter Cat present actively connected with
the Vienna organization of the Joint
Distribution Committed And even in
The Count of Charolle" Beer Hof-
mann sees in the fate of the Jewish
people kind of determinist depend
ence upon II higher power something
we have already seen in the incom-
parable Book of Job and in the i'm
mortal works of Spinoza. 1t does not
require much argument to prove the
'.Iewishness' of such philosophy OF
life. But the crystal spring of poetic
Inspiration, the divine form and rain
low colors spread out in the heavenly
inspired Jacobs Dream requires no
further statement to impress it with
thoroly Jewish conception of the
NpIhi. hlHS II us u jew
sh play in the realm of German litera-
turc. >
In his great work on Beer Hoffman,.
rheodor Rcik has the following to say
ibout Jacobs Dream: THE last i'm
preston we gain after the reading of
he play is that it is creation which
.Ould not be compared in its grandeur
If thought and sentiment with any
hing but Gocthe's Faust We may
70 permitted to add: And it is withal
he greatest dramatic work created by
/ Jew at any time"
No criticism and no reproduction can
,dequatcly present the beauty and
greatness of this dramatic poem which
lepicts essentially such simple fact
rs the flight of Jacob from Esau. and
'et what poetic wealth! 1t will he
enough to state that because BeerHof-
mann had thus far produced so little
II quantity, he was until now unknown
md suddenly, after long wait we per-
GIVE Jacobs Dream" and the entire
;erman field of reviewers praise Beer
iOfmann's genius: the principal the
tires Of Germany. like Vienna's Burg
hatcr and Rcinharts theatre In Ber-
in. claim share of the tribute by
'Ointing out that they were first to
nut it on the stage, The well-knOwn
ierman female dramatic critic. Miss
Nidman, writes: at is possible that
German history will say some day
In that year of German disaster.
when brokcn-up Austria sought to
mite with its German brothers. "A
Vienna poet wrote the most powerful
'Oem of the period. embodying the full
ragedy of religious longing. the Ger
nan mystery-play. Jacobs Dream"
Jacobs Dream appeared in bookform
n 1913. Is it German: Is it Jew
ish?
jacobs Dream is but the first
'art of n historical trilogy. THE His
DRY of King David" In his preface to
he two acts of the drama. the poet
says that he had written it long time
'gO but refused to give it over TO print
The circumstances of the time. he says,
have compelled him to publish it. We
,an readily guess what those circum-
stances wcre-it simply means the
lnti-Jewish excuses. When saw
Beer Hofmann some three months ago.
he had already completed 100 lines of
his new trilogy. And when ! told him
hat we were impatiently waiting for
his great Jewish drama. he was almost
ashamed to answer. ''All / wanted to
say from the purely Jewish point of
view. ! have said in Jacobs Dream