The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-04-18
NOW
Diplomat Writes
Of The1ter
IT'S PURPOSE
BY HELEN ESSARY

OA4 GA1C VI 0AA40 Va O1s AAAOAAoSo 40
Healey, dean of the Georgetown
Foreign Service School.
DR.. Healey said in this column
that the purpose of the stage i
uniquely for the amusement o
mankind" My diplomatic frien'
states his contrary thoughts abou
the theater in a delightful ram
bling sketch. He says:
81 have always believed the
object of the theater to be diff
ferent from any mere entertain
ment. As far as my reading
goes, down through the ages,
from the time of AeSchyluS to
Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw,
the theater has helped to mold
the conscience of peoples and
to some extent has been re-
garded as the melting pot OF
civilization. 1t teaches us to
emulate men of character and
genius and to deSpiSe the vulgar
and obscene; it holds intOler-
ance and hypocrisy up to scOrn
and accIaims the sober virtues
Of those kindly folk Of which
the bulk Of humanity is COM
posed.
''VictOr Hugo relates in one Of
his books how Michael Angelo,
after reading Homer, exclaimed:
Il must look at myself to see IL
/ am not 20 feet tall Do we
not feel in q similar frame Of
mind after having assisted at
the production Of a good play?
at is a far cry from Shake
speare's Hamlet to MOhere'S
'Tartuffe' and Shaw's st. JOAN,
but is there not something in
each of these characters that
lifts us from common clay and
places us on q pedestal among
the gods? -
'When I speak o. the theater
I mean, Of course, the living
theater - the stage with the
actors upon it-fOr plays them.
selves, Notwithstanding their
genuine value as reading mat
ter, very often leave us unmOved.
Between the play acted and the
play written there is a very wide
gulf.
I'm reading the text we rather
zee where beauty was intended
than feel the charm Of it our
selves. The action dies, quick re-
tort grows pOintleSS. A printed
direction is all that remains Of
rippling laughter or Of burning
tears. Our feelings are dulled,
our judgment distorted. From
such defective appraisement
action saves us, for the real
actor fills each word with life
and, like PygmaliOn, makes Of
marble man.
Between the dra m Of
Shakespeare and the drama Of
today there is admittedly a
vast difference in point of ex-
ceIIence. In consequence some
may be inclined to conclude, q
not unreasonable deduction,
that where there has been
such recognized deterioration all
educational value must have
departed. This reasoning, how
ever, leaves out of sight the
fact that the dramatists of to-
day speak our own language
and employ illustrations from
the time and circumstances in
which we live. Every point
tells home.
"Aeneas steers his trireme
thrOugh dignified oblivion.
Dante guides us through the
Inferno of life and death. st.
joan prOcIaims the supremacy
of things spiritual. Shakespeare
and MOIiere and CervanteS
hold their mirror to our faces.
IbSen and Shaw explore for us
the ups and downs of life and
Eugene O'Neill lights up for
us the wilderness through
which we are passing.
7i"AlmOst every age has pro-
duced some man who spoke a
few simple sentences that still
live because his life gave them
power and m eaning. For
example, Dean Swift wrote this
immortal Latin epitaph for
himself: He has gone where
fierce indignation will lacerate
his heart no more.
life, my dear Helen EsSary,
may be all a comedy for some.
A farce for others. But it is
tragedy for many more. 1t can
not ever be all amusement that
your friend DIR. Kealey hopes to
get from the theater.
However, one dare not draw
conclusions. So many of us often
wonder like Omar Khayyam
the why and the wherefore
But we keep on our beaten path,
WilIy-nilly.
"My thoughts seem to have
wandered far from where they
began. They are like imagina-
ton on a holiday. 1t occurs to
me that writer's are not unlike
dipIOmatists. Sometimes 1 sym.
pathize with the diplOmatiSt
who has not at one time or other
had the privilege of being a
press reporter.
soften, however, a reporter
turned diplOmatist-and / know
several of them-findS that his
now chastened pen once accus-
toned to writing in vitriOl finds
the rose water of diplomatic