The Ogden standard. [volume], December 27, 1913, 4 o'clock p.m. City Edition, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 17

About The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1913-1920

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c THE STANDARD MAC. ZINE SECTION OG DEN, UTAH, DECEMBER 27, 1913. I
Xtl s 3X1 ki . . Jfl V v Investigators Learn Many of Great j
IX UU iX'aS Xilt dtK Play-Writer's Works Were In-
Woman ShakspeaiT X spired By
j
Who was "the dark woman'
I Shakespi are loved?
' This mystery has puzzled the Ht
I erar sleuths and Shakespearean
authorities only n lltllc less thnn tho
I Identity of Shakespeare himself
I For there h;is long been the aus
i pic . m that Shakespeare's life was
scarred by a passion mnro fierce
I ari'i Inextinguishable thurt that told
k ; In the slory of an of his plas.
' And now conies forward the rival
f !n . 1 1 and penetration of Bernard
I I Shuw. Frank Harris, to announce
I that In the plus themselves ho
, finds conclusive evidence of Shake
., spcaro's tragic In.r storv. It Is not
a tale i.f a young man's fancy llght
I ly turning to a girl that has caught
' his fan' ;-. Shakespeare fell Into the
tolls of a woman of the court who.
I for twelve long years dragged the
heart out of him favored him now.
hut again Ignored lilm. and roused
him to sui h Jealousy as flamed
a forth In hic Othello" by Riving her
$ self to cither lovers In the face of
& her aowals of love for him alone.
; Truly it is a 6to;-y that gives much
color to the few facts about Shako
s' epearc's llfo that can be proved hls-
I torlcally
During this present theatrical
f Mason when more of our stars are
1 to bo seen in Shakespeare's plays
K than ever before, this tragic love
story has still more vivid Interest.
M for in many of tho heroines of his
td plays Shakespeare has pictured tho
be Woman who roused him to such
S cstacy and plunged him to such
depths of despair, even to the point
10 that ho quitted tho court when in
in the very prime of his life at 47 or
48 years of ape and retired to Strat
s tford, the town of his birth. In those
Itft twelve years of his violent passion
HP Bhakespeare pictured his love aRaln
and aaln In his work so that tin
9 ilr Harris now Identifies her she
die gtnds forth as boldly as any lady
ti)N tin history.
0. I Who was the woman that could
Bp (twist the worlds greatest Immortal
jjji around her fingers'
rirst li should be known that
ItjCi ehe was not n woman, only a girl
In her teens, when Shakespearo
'tij Drst met and loved her. Mary Fit
ia ton wa3 her name, and she was a
laughter of tho nobility and was
to endowed with beauty and
charm at 1". years of age she be
came a maid of honor to Queen
Elizabeth. There amid tho gaiety
J,yj sf that none too straight laced
court she fell under Shakespeare's
observation, and e-. en that first
fllmpse of her nndo such an lm
J"? predion that it la recorded In the
plays
tTj Taking a hint from a speculation
lB2J bf the Rev. W A. Harrison It was
Mr Tyler who first claimed that
2 Mnn 'mi on and "tho dark lady."
(rhom the sonnets prove was
Shakespeare's mistress, are Identi
cal. And now Mr. Harris, ecourln
IB- M iho plavs with this idea for his
He, touchstone is able to throw such a
Wilrf light on Shakespeare' life and lovo
KerS" thp world never expected to see
. y0 Before setting down the few hold
cftk Lnd none too lovely facts that are
known about tho "mnld of honor. '
ho was no maid and apparently
Ms knew little or nothing of the
'?t neanlnR of honor, it should bo
' 1 by lornn In the mind that she lived
f , n an ago when men toyed with
"'Jdsjilfe us they tored with death and
9'!55,F0mrn vrcr0 n',t,n naere counters In
l Iho Knme That Mary Fltton could
rffclav tho Rame and held a winning
"TBjjland is written down for all cter
Tp.klty In the great tragedlea her lover
ipullt around her.
U ftP OTIUj TS hfr
'"IWITTN'S F.NTFHS I,rFF.
jH Their story begins in 1 B95 whsn
&0T?Jj(he came to Queen FlUabeth's
kourt a girl of 17. Shakespeare
I"1 lUns then 31 sears old. From tho
.tJjjtorv of "Romeo and Juliet " which
a rihBkespe;ire wrote at this time. It
(Would seem that he fell In lovo at
Bret sight, though Mr. Harris does
mr
not Identify Mary Fltton directly
with Juliet, but with Floallnde. tn
whom Romeo Is Inditing hla lo
poems until Juliet tak-s him In
storm. It Is seldom that Shakes
peare Rives a photographic picture
of a ehuracter. but this Rosalinda
who never comes on the scene. Is
described minutely. She 'tor-m'-nts'
Romeo; she lo "hnrd-hean-ed;"
a '"white wench with blacii
eyes. ' she is mentloni-d twice in
four lines as now "pale." now
"white. " Plainly her complexion
had no red in It save ' her scarlet
Hp" and was in 6tartllnR contrast
to her black eyes and hair "Mani
festly this picture is taken from
life," as Harris declares, ' and It Is
Just as manifestly tho dark lad;,
of the sonnets."
This, then. Is the cl r 1 who
changed Shakespeare's life. But
she was a girl of noldo birth. Al
though Shakespeare had undoubt
edly been recognized at that time
as a man of extraordinary talent,
he was still a play writer and an ac
tor In the eyes of the world and In
deed could never bo anything else
so long as he lled.
And yet Shakespeare had won
friends of great influenco and hlKh
position at court. To one young
lord he was particularly attached,
Iird William Herbert. And when
he wished to win tho attention of
Marv Fltton It was Lord Herbert
whom he asked to Intercede for
him with tho lady. But once Lord
Herbert found himself within tho
range of the battery of those dark
eyes and felt tho lure of her scar
let smile, ho remembered only that
he was a man and forgot the claims
of Shakepseare,
In Herbert's defence tho plea as
old as Adam may be urged- "the
woman tempted him." This Is
plain from the sonnets. for the
story Is reiterated of how he sent
his friend to the lady to plead his
eauso. but she wooed the friend and
gavo herself to him. "Tho more
fool Shakespeare." we would say
today; but It must be remembered
that his position at court did not
warrant him In paying addresses to
the Queen's mnld of honor. There
fore to hae a leading young noble
man of the realm speak In his be
half was argument enough for his
course.
Judged by the strictest modern
standards both Shakespeare and his
fair but false lady love were much
to blame. Ho had a wife and thrco
children back In Stratford.
If "Venus and Adonis" Shake
speare's first poetlcol effort to bo
published, throws any light on the
subject of this early love, his was
also a case of "the woman tempted
nie." At any rato, ho was only IS
and his Ife was nearly eif-ht years
older. Also she was reported to
possess a shrewish tongue. No won
der the young man felt ho was
hustled Into his marriage, and pos
sibly unfairly, for his bitterness
against Anne Hath way grew with
the years. When ?2 ho left Strat
ford for London and returned ten
years later when his little BOD Ham
net died and was burled In the vil
lage churchyard. Even at tho tlmo
of his death ho was relentless to
ward his wlfo and cut her off In
his will with the ironic bequest of
"his second-best bed," though by
the standards of the times ho was
a fairly well-to-do man and left
each of his daughters good dowries.
WAS WOMAN WHO
COCLD BEWITCH MEN.
So It ia plain both Shakespeare
and Mary Fltton confronted each
other In their lovo duel without any
conscientious scruples to handicap
them. In this combat it was Inevit
able that his hlghor naturo was
bound to make him suffer defoat;
but that she should hovo held him
In leash for a dozen years, flaunted
him at times, then begged forgive
ness and always won him back, all
goes to prove that she was a lrl
and woman of 6uch witchery and
force of personality worthy to bo
Immortalized In tho world s great-
est tragedies.
Tbero 1s evidence enough In the
TV
!
I:
MISS DOROTHY GREEN
of the Shakespeare
upon - Avon - Players, as
Mary Pritton, Shakespeare's
sweetheart. Upper left:
Anne Hathaway's cottage.
Upper right: Shakespeare
Memorial Theater at Stratford-upon-Avon.
Below:
Anne Hathaway's cottage,
showing settee where
Shakespeare did his court
ing. i
plays that he wrote from 1306 to
1608 and even afterward that
Shakespeare was struggling all that
tlmo with his infatuation.
"Shakespearo ha9 painted his love
for us In these plajs." says Harris,
"as a most oxtr-r-rdinary woman;
In person she Is tall, with pallid
complexion and black eyes and
black brows, 'a gypsy,' ho calls her;
In naturo Imperious, lawless, witty,
passionate a "wanton"; moreover,
a person of birth and position That
a girl of the tlmo has been discov
ered who united all these qualities
in herself would bring conviction to
almost any mind; but belief passes
into certitude when we roflect that
this portrait of his mistress Is given
with greatest particularity In tho
pjaa, whero in fact It la out of
placo and t fault In art. When
studying the plays WS rind this gyp
sy -wanton again and again; ohe
made the deepest Impression on
Shakespeare; was. Indeed, the ono
lovo of his lift;. It was her false
ness that brought him to self
knowledge and knowledge of life,
and turned him from a light-hearted
writer of comedies and histories
Into the author of tho greatest trag
edies that have ever been conceived
Shakespeare owes the greater part
of his renown to Mary Fltton."
In "Romeo and Juliet" he began
, are made of nothing but the finest
Aifi'ir unseen a wonderful piece Of work;
sfli wSBk V." ' 1 " 1 1 ' 1
would hae discredited your travel.
WjfQi V' Hero Shakespeare gives his true
flwKftfruV opinion Of M iry Fltton. then comes
HSmj so i 1
crjK2. . .j . oGbEi"" J ' i" 's. ihe .--cold-
sSI r in k and mad vanity of his mistress
HSBHI were defects in his eyes as In ours;
ffgP ,;$-. ii$8fe. ityrtf! nevertheless became her. What
iS Shakespeare loved In her was What
WrMfiM gjjjgj ),e himself lacked or possessed In
y
jl
to pay court to her through tho
character of Rosaline, if wo read
tho lines with Mr Harris' Interpre
tation, such as Mercutlo's speech.
"I conjure thee, by Rosaline's
bright eyes
By her high forehead and her scar
let lip "
But In tho nert play comes Rosa
lino again, described so minutely
that she Is Identical with the Rosa
line mentioned, but never seon in
Romeo and Juliet " This Is Loves
Labor's Lost" and by this tlmo
Shakespeare has learned that his
love Is no angel, unless she bo an
angel of another world than heav
en. Now the black eyes that have
stabbed him through . aro become
pitch-balls" and his hero says:
"I am tolling In pitch pitch that
denies!'.' it wa9 Mary Futon's
black eyes that he'd him then Here
are the lines that show tho tor
ment ho Is in lints. It should be
notod. that aro at cross-purposes
with the story of t o play and aro
bound to confuse tho spectator.
Why did h" write them? Because
Mary Fltton would bo present at
tending Queen Elizabeth ut the first
performance of tho play at court,
and she would know for whom they
were Intended. Here Rosaline Is-
"A whitely wanton with a velvet
brow
With two pitch-ball? stuck In her
face for eyes;
Ay. and by heaven, one that will do
tho deed
Though ArgUS were her enuch and
her guard;
And 1 to sigh for hor' to watch for
her!
To pray for her' Go to' It la a
plague"
TELLS OF HER IN
"ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA."
It Is in "Antony and Cleopatra,"
the climax of Shakesp ire's dram
atic labors, that he glvej his fair
est and fullest portrait of his lovo.
it shows how he had studied every
fold and foible of Mary Flttun's
soul. Wo see and know her, her
wile?, her passion, her quick tem
per, her chameleon-like changes,
her subtle charms of person and of
word, and yet we have not reached
the end of the first act. Next to
FalstafT and to Hamlet, Cleopatra
Is the most astonishing piece of
portralturo In all Shakespeare,
lesser degree the demoniac pow
er of personality. He says of
Cleopatra;
"I saw her once
Hop forty paces through tho pub
lic street.
And having lost her breath, she
spoke and panted.
That she did make defect perfec
tion. And. nreuthless. peer breathe
forth."
Ono would be willing to wager
that Shakespeare was here recalling
a performance of his mistress. In
the sonnets he dwells upon her
"strength," she was bold. too. to
unreason, and of unbridled tongue,
for. "twice forsworn herself." she
had yet urged his "amiss." though
guilty of the sme fault- What he
admired most In her was force of
character. Perhaps her confident
strength had abandonments more
fluttering and complete thun thos
of weaker women; perhaps In those
moments her forceful dark face
took on B soulful beauty that en
tranced his exquisite sensibility;
perhaps but the suppositions aro
infinite
BARD OF AVON
DESERTED FOR FRIEND.
It is plain that Mistress Fltton druw
awaj from Shakespearo after sho
had given herself to his friend, and
this fact throw s some douht upon
)),- .. : i'!..rs ..f u'li-r v an'.naness.
It must be reckoned to the credit of
of Mary Fltton, or to her pride, that
she appears to have been faithful to
her lover for the tlmo being, and
able to resist even the soliciting of
Shakespeare. But her desires seem
to have been her sole restraint, and
therefore tic must add an extraor
dinary looseness to that strength,
pride and pas-donate temper w-hlch
(Shakespeare again and again at
tributes to her. Her boldness is so
reckless that she shows her lOVe for
Ms frU-nd even before Shakespeare's
face, she knows no pity In her pas
sion, and always defends herself by
attacking her accuser. But she Is
cunning In love's ways and dulls
Shakespeare's resentment with "I
don't hate you." Unwilling', per- r
haps, to lose her empire over him
and to forego the sweetness of his
honeyed flatteries, she blln-'ed him
to her faults by occasional earesses.
Yet this creature, with the soul of a
strumpet, the tongue of a fishwife
and the "proud heart" of a queen,
was the crown and flower of woman
hood to Shakespeare, his counter
part :md Ideal. Hamlet In love with
Cleopatra, the poet lost In desire of
the wanton that Is the tragedy of
Shakespeare"s life.
And yet Mary Fltton did not be
guile Shakespeare to "the very heart .
,.f .i he cried: but to the In- ,
nermost shrine of the Temple of .
Fame, It was this absolute ahan- j
donment to his passion which made
Shakespeare the supremo poet. If It
had not been for his mad love for
his "gypsy." we should never have
had from his "Hamlet." "Macbeth."
"Othello." "Anthony and Cleopatra,"
or "Lear." He would still have been
a poet and dramatic writer of tho f, j
first rank; but he would not have
stood alone above all others; he 1 I
would not have been Shakespeare. ji J
A Bird Protector.
Benjamin L Dulaney owns a for-
est und bird preserve within the T
limits of Bristol. Tenn.. which is I
said to contain more songbirds '
than any other spare of woodland
of the same size on the American v
continent. There aro 160 acres In
the reservation, and caring for the
feathered songsteiB and studying
them is Mr. Dulaney's hobby.
"I have come to the conclusion.
said Mr. Uulancy. "that the dlsap- rj
pearance of certain of our trees,
notably tho chectnut. Is due to tho
neglect to preserve one species of
bird, the woodpecker. I understand
there are few woodpeckers left in
the northern pan of the coiintrj
and that the chestnut tree Is almost
extinct. Owing to this dearth of
their enemies, the borers, on which (
woodpeckers prey, and other do- j
structlve Insects, have come In
force.
"There are many varieties of the
woodpecker, each of which takes
care of a particular form of tree
pest. As for the harm the bird does
to a tree, that Is nil. FTjB Iply dls j
out a hole for the family nest In
tho spring. When you hear htm
tapping the tree at other times he
has only located a borer, and Is zn-
Ing fter It and he has a vav f :
finding it I am positive that if !
we had protected OUT I Irds !n time j
we would have saved many of our
f,,r, . trees a
"I am kei -plr?" mv fon;,: wild be-
r-.u-e 1 lnv sn-t'b'i It T'ie h:ve I
come to knos that they . ' fc.
The bfiV cf tt- nr'Sl nrh" " e
been taught to bucphie friends of v
the birds WhvMn mv own vnrd I
have seen as m-inv as thlrtv of '
thirty -five nests" at ono time
The nly Way. I
"Is there any way to let these city j
hunters kill a deer without hurting
each other:"' a-ked one guide. L H
Not as I know of." answered tho J
other, "unless you turn m loose WltS 1
M ink cartridges and give the deer a 1
rlmnce to laugh himself to death." 9
Washington Star. H