The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-12-21
DIR. GRIGGS GIVES
FIJI VAL LECTURE
Talks ON Maeterlinck and
His Work After the
World War.
READS THE BLUE BIRD


linck and his work, was the subject of
the fifth and last lecture by DR.. E.
| Howard GrEggs at the Elks' club last
evening. pr. Griggs, who has made
an extensive study of the wars in
fuence on the worlds art, gave lucid
criticism, of the Flemish poet in view
lof his form work Maeterlinck's
! first volume after theawar; HThe
/ Wrack of the Storm" is series of
essays on benefcient influences toward
permanent peace. He is most modest
as to his own part, which was no small
one, and continually gives praise to
! his, countrymen. The author made
speeches throughout Italy and England
in an attempt to arouse the people to
realization of their responsibilities
and these addresses also appear in
"The Wrack of the Storm" ,sa4
| a@sz Contain Too Much Hate. esq
"Maeterlinck," said DR., Griggs, "was
| too much in the storm, to be able to
see over and across it. His writing
contains too much hate to be great,
and he mirrors the thoughts of his peo-
| pie in the heat of the struggle. He
| says German soldiers are human be-
| ings only when they are disarmed, and
that this is also true of the German
nation and he makes. of this his out
/ standing philosophical pofnt.. In The
Wrack Of the Storm Maeterlinck makes
three outstanding references, the first
to heroism, the second to the dead,
and the third to the meaning of the
struggle. He idealizes the heroism of
the World War as greater than any
the world has ever before known, and
in this he is right. He inserts some
of his strangely beautiful theories in
to the thought that the dead are with
us always, forming by their presence,
a new challenge up to which we must
| live. He even pities the neutral ma
tions which have no dead to be with
them. 1t os significant of the tenden-
cy of Maeterlinck to find consolation
even in dead loss
GAS to the meaning of the struggle,
Maeterlinck says that it's greatest sig
nifcance and accomplishment is the
victory of the higher spirit of man
over the earth will, the first instance
of anything of this sort. But this is
not the first time the higher spirit of
man has overcome destiny" said DR..
Griggs, "and, far from being the first
victory of the sort, the World War
was supreme struggle uniting these
previous victories of the past.
''The Burgomaster of StiIemonde."
"Maeterlincks The Burgomaster of
Stilemonde' is his only dramatization
of the war. In it is the conflict of
ideals which the world struggle in
volved. It's excellence lies in the fact
that it has not been overdrawn,. but
is painted with beautiful artistic re-
straint, and no exaggeration. 1t por-
trays the terrible German psychology.
The German nation itself marched in
tellectually in goose step. This play
is little bit of lava twisted from the
great volcano of war.
"In Mountain Paths Maeterlinck
turns away from the war with peace
full essays asan aftermath to the
storm. In this he comes nearer to
accepting the spiritualistic hypothesis
than in any other work. He turns to
the mothers of the war, and the last
half of the book deals with Oriental
mysticism, which is a most interest
ing excursion into this type of philoso-
ply. This Oriental fantasm is only
an opiate drug to the intellect, and is
probably to the breaking effect which
the war had on Maeterlinck's soul.
~""The readjustment 6f his personal
life might also have changed his out
look upon life. In this he put forth
his belief that the future as we'll as
the past existed both as tendency and
as an event within US. That the present,
existing in the individual, was but
link in chain reaching in both d.
rections, past and future to eternity"
"The Betrothal'' Charming.
"The Betrothal,' as q sequel to the
''Blue Bird" is good, but not So good
as the first book. 1t is a charming
bit of art with no connection to the
war. In it Maeterlinck takes the op-
portunity to burlesque the idea of the
omnipotence of destiny, which he had
advocated so strongly in his earlier
dramas. This cheapens his play" Dr.
Griggs read in part this beautiful
drama of fairy lore, and made of it
a conclusion to his lecture. evil
Maeterlinck recover and produce his
masterpiece YETI" he asked. evil he
combine his lovely outlook in his static
dramas with the broad spiritual ideals
of his later dramas 2"