SHAKESPEARE'S YOUNG MEN

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1645, 11 January 1913, Page 11

SHAKESPEARE'S YOUNG MEN

.it a meeting of the Sydneyjßhake»peare Memoriil Committee (says tho Sydney Herald"), by Inviting some of our more prominently intellectual women citizens to join in tho work of, helping tn the good cause, 1» said .to have , definitely asked tho women of Sydney to step 1 for-: ward and give. an opinion on tho great William from a woman's point of view. It characteristic of our century that tho "woman's point of view" should altrays be sought .on important matters. Where-it is not, sought,', woman herself effera it unasked, and makes trouble if euoh bo not required, or if it bo violently hrfused (as in the case of tho \ English Suffragettes).. But women's help and women's opinion (with that shining exception} are now considered to be really essential ,to the success of an undertaking of a publio nature, especially when ; any money has to be'collected. No . sensible woman could feel anything but '.' gratified that this should be so, but the reasons given for seeking that aid which women's voice and flnanoial; support can give a causo are sometimes rather amusing when pushed to their logical conclusion. Persons of the feminine gender are invariably assumed to bC women first and .human beings afterwards. So much is this believed'that it quite startles some good folk, to bo told that in a vast multitude of. oases the woman's point of view will'bo just; identical with the man's point of .view.■•■■•''":..': - •'.-' '.' ■■■:'■■':

/'See how much Shakespeare done for women" is the attractive plea put forward, aa a reason that women should hot forget that the memorial year will soon be upon us, and we do hot know yet how much money the country will have by 1916, nor to what use that money will be puL' The bard, did' just as .much for women as he.did for men, just so much ; and no more. ;Ho did,not support ,a "woman's movement," or give his countenance to Elizabethan Suffragettes (if such are imaginable),' or indeed, take' any stand of suoh a dull modern cast. \Yes, but what about Portia i and Beatrice and' all tho .rest of tho glorious gallery of brilliant girls who.perform the feat, absolutely impossible to the real life woman, of being beautiful, brilliant, and fascinating all at'tho same tamejlearned amTyet lovable, intellectual and yet .alluring?'', ask -the enthusiasts. In their" masterly, portraits alone,"our great poet has founded a claim to special gratitude on the part of Not at all; ; Quite the contrary,' the scene of '.hopeless: inferiority to suoh iraposiblo ideal examples,of her sex ought to; react upon the' modern woman,, 'her "point ,'of ' view." in quite'an opposite direction.: .;' ■•;

, Women's Gratitude to Shakespeare. :' A:rmich more lasting claim to women's gratitude to, Shakespeare could be based . bnhis young men. It'is Very hard—almost impossible—to approach Shakespeare with an open mind. He is a classic, which meaas that he is, for, the great, majority, an "outsider." .Once a classic .always a classic-Worse, he has been turned into a school book. < That is fatal to nfter lore, tittle did the author .of/TBTamlet" think that the Prince of' Denmark' wonld ' be ■ i)OTrtered-into columns and analysed in the exercise books of countless millions of school childrrtn.' '■> What a fnte!,. r *lf we had not seen '-/Hamlet"so! often' parsed, we should wish more often to see him played,": exclaim the victims'; of a too' small and.early oulture. Even worse Is the , fate- of those who read iiD the plays later in, lifjv arid offect fa > culture when they. hovo it riot.; more honest is the.po.»o of some of onr citizens, who have roundly stated that ;for • them and for ; the ( groat generality ;of folk,.' Shakespeare'-.. 'is ■''»' negligible quantity, 'i But' if with n: -past effort,' one could throw, away, every, • outsidejnfluence and outside opinion one had come in contact with about our ..greatest, character creator, then it is easy.'to see how much women owo him on-account of hJs ( "Bweetyouths."- ;■ *'' '-';.'..; 5: ; : : ?- ' Girig adore Uheir matinee - idols, but they'ido not know who invented those ideal beings, with:-their manly, .dashing ,Ftyle and their exquisite tailoring. - Think.how much affection gushes forth towards Andrew parts. .Well. Sha.kespeafe j .w^6te;th'ose) ! parts. "\ftth a 'little, stretch-of lmairinatioh you "can" see 'Mm»; sitting.-in New Place and 'nerihing the ."book'' of;" Our Miss- Gibbs,".'with special-pleasure in, the-part.of ; TTughie Pierpont. . j Every' light comedian that fever' ■ the days of;the ■ Banfeide. Globe owes his/success" tofhis' ability to kn'ow whpt Shakespeare thought ayonng Englishman should be like. ': ;■"

■.Fascinating Typei,; >- ; . ■■ V ;'■ ■?!''■: From :01l accounts Shakespeare would aot'in his youth have ldowia the kind ;o£ young one he loves :to draw, yet he knew , the, typo-intimately, and-'he evidently, likedtheir society; more than any. other. Brilliant,-brainy, fashionable young , men 'who were what we now call "worldly," who rather scoffed at love arid senti- ' mentality, and all were much fonder of sport under its many guises than of books and.study, men of the world, these foscin- ,, 'ating 'personalities will always remain to -'.- show-'uswhat a splendid' World' was that .in .which the. real prototypes."of; ■ thesn immortals lived 'arid ;moved. .They—t mean Benedick, . Mercutio, '■■ Hal (the prince). Pions, Claudio,; .Petruchio, and Co.—all had a keen sense of humour, a ''profound sense of/the value of'money, a brilliant wit, arid a gay ■ audacity that y carried them through.all their adventures ■to;their,; endirigj'sad'or merry. Incidently they/were all, by implication,. prwts, but that'their'author "could not helji. The -poetry' in all,the plays is given in ■/gratis, - : ; ;:- ;;.':."■;•'"•'' -'..'' , v-'"''-.:i;'-/-'' ' J/loney. and "■[. Match-making, ■'■:■ '■'■• -■%■] ',(, :; When Mr; Oscar ■■ Apche--.' 1 - as -Petruchio, A roundly declared he was after Katherine's .money, did.it give. Us ashock? .'No; for it' ; was only comedy, and we reflected that all theypung men in.the'.compdies of ' 'William ■ Shakespeare ■are. : ' tarred' -with':. ;iho, . same brush. Bassariio"was mercenary to v a degree, and as for Lorenzo ho was a Money and matchmaking/are to Shakospearo. uuite, derfr- ■■; ableVthings. Prospero (literally) .'moved heaven and earth, to get Miranda off his .; .-.■. hands, and Katherine s dowry, was a confiideration.. with Henry.;-Vj. 7it takes : a clever, actor;to.play, one of these'yoring men with justice. It is wonderful •' how without modernising them the actor ofbrains can .make them credible, .'actual, .and fascinating.;,. It is mv good' fortune to remember Sir Henry Irving as Benedick, and hejwnsJust like that. Another i youfig-man^charmingly, played .was the Orlando of Mr. Kyrle Bellew. One ceased to wonder what Rosalind "saw" in Orso tnanly and appealing did he become m. those capable, hands,- .;".

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