Newspaper Page Text
IfetiSvliw I hp HoriOTirii fit nnrRir?BT r7rWMiSI Ml-W Ports", orpne fMlt As Wm ' sorss?M?fffros?r bteS!:'"- -zw nnnn 1 iia-"ma.2l lor an I 1 -jVt-wv?v,'0e ...- How the Memory of the Great Poet arid Dramatist Will Be Honored By AH' Nations On April 23rd the Ter- Centenary oi His .Death. : M'l I '!'!.. SyipMt-ati-. luli'i niitlutial nnim ,W6 ii.'r 1 soti'i .iftrr Sli.iU(''i)'.'ir('.-i death, ul iiccopuil ly i ho ciiiMroii of tlio '.i :cr an i n i:: cllpiit- pui-tvaii. Ncar 1 : l-j 'i wimlov rrprt'spntlnts iho Scvrn Ao. . will' h w.'im urcctcd ultli 1 lie con. Inlnilioim or Ainrrlran vHttrs. Tho SliaUcxpp.'U ci Atoniorlitl liuildinn rnn taln.s a theatre In which the annual memorial performance Is hclil, a li brary of i arc volumes of KIkiUch penre's worksi ami a plrturn sallcry eontaliiln th" famoti'J I irocslimit por trait of the poof. 'K CX?s?.e py&j"irt7 ruder 7Yie G&smsrs? faye& c SViesces'pesssG -si ' fy(5SS7)&sr!Grarsr?&??jr from Ie.crlpt!oiiH furnished by hi? friends. The .oust portrait catnc to illKht 111 lTSi", and xeveral others, such I'he man who made as lMt' J ,nfin P""-ait and the Feltr.n will also send a wreath to his grava 1 at Stratford-on-Avon. In Japan. kven in far away Japan there will an outdoor performance of "As You Like It" fdvon In Japanese. AU of the Shakespeare plays have been translated Into tlio Japanese lansuaga and have become the basl3 of tha drama course In the schools. At Toklo, Vokahoma and Kioto n. Shakespeare play will bo Riven by native actors. (Jrentest Celebrations Here. Tor more than ten years tho Shakcs pcaro foclctles of our country have been preparing for tho tcr-ccntenary. Tlu lr crlct.retion will not end on April What need-, mv MnUe-.peare lioiioiirM hiinc.-.. The lalmr of iiii tie in pll"(l .stones? Or (hat his hallowed reliipies should be bill T'nder a .s(nr- polntliiir iiyraniid? Dear .son id' inev.ior.v, Ki'eat lielr of fame. What need's! (limi such weak witness of th;. name? Tlioit in ot:r wonder and nstonislmient 'IiM built thyself ;t lle-lons monu ment. I'm1 vtlillst to (ir shame of slow eu- dcavnriiijLv art l'by i'as iiiiniher.s flow, and thai each li'-ait llntli from tlio lenes of thy unvalued buoK l'liose Delphic lines with deep im pression dink, Vhon (hull our fancy of itself bcreav l"K. lost inale us niarMc willi loo much conceivinic: nd so septilclierM in such pomp dost lie That Klnss for such :i tomb would wish (o die. .Milton's KpitapH on Sliakcspeavi-. Insist- ttKrjs-Vcs C J Ptfertey and his Kcn'us more widely and mrro j more levrrently than tho theatres in Kcuuinely appreciated. As tho three . ihmland or in America, and the Ocr liuiidrcillh anniversary of his death j man people have ten times more op approached It was pl.mned to nceen- porlunlty to sec tho masterpieces of tuate his place In tho ureal histrionic ! hakesprare than have the people of art by hav-nfT a special celebrnt.ou of J J'"11'1,"" " v'ls- 1 '" , . ,. . , ... ,.lin Alunk'h there is a Si.ukcfpcare S1IAKKSPKARK. perhaps the Kiealcsl dramatist of all time, has been honored every theat rical season In every larKO com mercial center of tho Knsllsh spenk- ins: races for a century or more. Tlio J works finite as well interest In his preat works has rrrown Gorman stiso 1 ns his srnt plays in every Important nart of the world. This war. not sur prising, for he wrote, as nil reat men do, net for his use and ran; but for all time and for nil people. He belonss to the world of literature and , his portrayal of human character N more or less an interpretation of tho, I human lnMincts of all civilized na-, lions, and a recognition of this wns to bo fXcmplillcd by a union of all , I these nations in doiiiK homa;;o to the. memory of this truly illustrious man. ; Hut the war of the 1'iiropenn power.? i has interfered with this plan and in i consequence tho crlebration vlll be. i restricted In its extent, ami it is feared I much less elaborate and enthusiastic In the manner In which it will be done. ' Shakespeare hi Cerinanj . ' Ci lebratlons of his .supposed birth-, day have been held in both Knuland and Germany lor the past (iia ti r of a ' ccnttiiy, for Gi rmany knotvs his' 's I-lnidnnd. Tho treated him far s'e'ison each year where one may see p'nit.st all h'.s v. oils', lucliullns "Meas- C'elehriidon nl ."itratfotd. The nationiil ri'lebratlon v. Ill be hehl at Stratfonl-on-Avon, the poet's birthplace, where young Kills dressed to represent Shakespeare's heroine.! will dance around the (lower monu ment that splendid memorial set up In honor of tho bard. Stratford-on-Avon has for years been the mecea of the Intellectual of till lands who come to wander about the birthplace of the rnnn whoso writings have been translated into every known lansiunne. It is a well known fact tha' more of nie for .Mea", ire, ' "J ronius nun ures- ins productions hae been printed ;ida" and "I'erlcles," rarely, If ever, than liny oilier book in the world ox- Rlvrn in l'ii"lish-speak liR countries. I ccpling the I'.ible. Tho average niini- Ifls memory has been honored in that her of persons who pass through the hind by Ihc erection of a pioturcs'iuo door of Shakespeare's birthplace eveiy statue the work of Otto I.essiiif-;. It year Is thirty thousand, one-fourth ot stands in the city of 'Weimar and Is whom are Americans. The old house one or the few statues which j-'ives hns been lestored as far as possible the poet a perfectly easy and natural and now belongs to the Knulish Gov pose. eminent. The poet was bom In a In IhiHiand the ler-cenicnary cole- smnll room facing the street which Is bratlon will not bo as elaborate as it the real show place of the house, al would have been In times of peace, though the kitchen and cellar are also but the memory of the dramatist will well preserved. In the garden are not be neglected. Outdoor perform- flowers and trees mentioned in Shakes allocs of such plays as "Mid-summer poare's plays. The site of "New Night's Dream" and "As You I.Ike It" j Place," win re tho poet died. Is also will be given for the benefit of the marked, as is Tudor House which was wounded soldiers. .r. one or two of restored by .Miss Mario Coiclli, tlio the l.e'uiliful country estates where noted writer. thou- l.ieu are ipiartered there will be Trinity Church, where the hard is pascaii'- showing the most notable I buried, Is charmingly situated amid charnte.s of Shakespeare' - p'ays. In 'trees on the banks of the Aon. The London the- clubs will celebrate, while , pool's grave inside the church is uiv at the schools appropriate entertain-I ei ed with a marblo sleb and above It mens will be riven. lis the bust by Gerard Johnson, c.e- thls picture was .Martin Droeshoiit. a I'"1 lr'1"- u" f""J,v -..u i.muu-. mi . mu ; twenty-third, as wo shall likely haven Flemish mgraver. who was still In his nrocshotit plettm so. after all. we ; clabora(o c.i1.lUof.pnarcan prortUctton3 boyhood when Shakespeare died, and ' ' onl' Iminslno what manner of j throughout tho year. Already we havo ,von wns in up- i,w ),-n(n,i n nnni.i v..,i..v. J llUlt.ljll, U UUUI.IIUI1 it is doubtful wheth'r he ever saw the poet anil tho port rail was probably engraved from a pointing which was recently hrou-jlit to light at Stratford. "The Klv House" portrait, a more pleasing picture, Imngs in the birth place. It was formerly tho property of a Mihop of K!y and wns painted In the t-eventeenth ccnturv. Nearby is the inagnlfleent statue present! d to the 'own of fi rat ford In 1SSS bv the sculptor Lord Ronald Gower. The top is surmounted by a colossal tlgiire of tlio poet, anil around the base are figures of I.ady Macbeth man Bard pcnratico. There Is also a death mask of Marl)eth an(l Tho Mc wly of which resembles a portrait owned by . W!n(Isor hy AmpPlcan playcra, and the Kesselstadt family, but neither portrait nor mask hns been proven to resemble the poet. Honored in Dciiiiinrk, France and Italy. Denmark, Hamlet's land, has hon ored Shakespeare by a splendid me morial showing the poet seated In a larso stone chair. Tho figure Is both colossal and dignified. It stands In Copenhagen and Is the work of L. ITas- selrlis. There will be an elaborate (representing Tragedy). Prince Hal presentation of Hamlet In that city t History). Ku 1st n ff (Comedy) anil , m honor of tho ter-centenary annl H. :mlet (Philosophy). There is also a vcrsary. In 1-ranro the people are holding a series of lectures on tho art of Shnkes- , fountain and clock tower presented to the town in ISSThynii American whoso I name does not appear on tho gift. ''Iiarlecote, the scene of the poachlns 1 irehlent which started the poet on hi.n journey to London, Is a few miles iaway, as is tho cottage whore tho poet 'courted his wife, Anne Hathaway. Tlie monument to Shakespeare In I tho Poet's Corner in Westminster Ab 1 bey was placed there by popular sub scription in 1711. It is nearly always , wreathed in (loners. In the National Portrait Gallery in London hangs the famous Chaiulos portrait of Shakes peare. It shows important varlitions from the portrait bust owned by the , Gi.rriek Club and tho Droeshoiit en-Igra- lug. and was probably painted not many years after the poet's death pcare, and in Paris they nre especially well attended. Literary clubs are planning banquets with readings from Macbeth, Hamlet and Julius Caesar. In the rural districts the school chil dren will give a aeries of pageants. At Hordcaux they will present one or two plays with elaborate staging. In Italy several of the operas In spired by Shakespeare's works will be produced. Gounod's "P.omeo and Ju liette" will be given with an all-star caste, while "Otcllo" and "Falstaff" will also be sung. Italian admirers of Sliakespcaro will havo a banquet. In Holland tho Sliakespcaro Club will celebrate the day by a ellnner and readings from some of his plays. They Henry tho Klghth.wlth Sir Herbert Tree as Cardinal YA'oolsey. America Is fortunato In having this dis tinguished player "In our midst" as ha Is recognized as perhaps tho best por trayor of STiakcspoarcan characters, appearing on the stage today. He has also put on a moving picture Macbeth on a most elaborate scale. Perhaps I tho greatest of all the celebrations will no uiosc hold by tho public school children everywhere from tho Atlantic to the Pacific. More than fifty thou sand schools have special programs arranged for the week in which tho anniversary occurs. They rango from a simple reading of a play to tho most elaborate pageant. Thcro aro several statues erected lit memory of the poet In this country, the finest one being on tho Mall In Central Park, New York City. This Is one of tho best works of John Q. A. Ward. It will bo wreathed in flower on Anniversary Day. After three hundred years tho real greatness of Shakespeare Is fully rec ognized, men and women of all na tions are proud to do him homage, and In tho language of one of our men's hearts.' r &5-ye&s"e I iirW-i . ' I &o?r2 S0Q sw J i mm Ba&aafa.. imr,v&' .a. msmssmn. - i - ----- Tr,w,,-,j- imm. mm -r f felt! 'mrt&BfflaaMBF II i ft 2"K'-W!lUiU.W "T -ZTZLli II KsZscS'SKr, frOTTl A Sketch of. the Life of the Bard of Avon, and of His Rise to the Highest Place Whe World's Literature. ! i -i , ltitil. bv 'll.e IiitPNiatinniil Syndicate. JIG, l -e. I'-, day of Shakespeare's birth .mot bo exactly ascertained. ft Tho Inscription on his inonu "Wtt1 nient says ho died on April 23rd. In tho fifty-third year of his Tradition hns fixed the same du'n as his birthday. Hi was the son of John and Mary i- lr 'i Shakchpeare, who lived on Hen '( "trect In tho Ilttlo Hngllsh toxvn of Strntford-on-Avon. Their home v as a poor one, and tho room in which 'he great poet was born wns poorly '' 'rnihed, Us walls woro white-washed ii- l Its celling consisted of uncovered fori. His father married Mary Ar 1 i tlio daughter of a well-to-do firric, In l.'fi", and was nt that tlmo i bailiff and a glovo maker. Tho wlfo innrrltrd a rmall sum of money from her f-lther and with, this (hoy pur ih'srd tho Iiome w hero tliclr gifted in wns born. Sfter a tinn unprospci'ous times i ic to tho Shakespcarf family audi ' f.iiher tried various ways of sunk-1 i living, such as dealing In corn1 i 1 'Irib'i-, and finally opening a I in - in p, I 'Is would sot him apart from other lads of his ago. He attended tho public school of tho village and was studious, learning Greek and Latin. One of his biographers describes him as a "ehest-nut-halrod, fair, brown-eyed boy, good humored nnd ever ready to wait upon his parents." Owing to the financial reverses of his father young William was forced to leavo school at tho ago of fifteen and assist his father In tho butcher shop. Aubrey th his biog raphy asserts that tho lad often as sisted In tho killing of tho sheep nnd calves offered for sale, Tho father was compelled to mortgage his prop erty. Taxes wero unpaid and finally tho property went under tho hammor. Tho young mnn then becamn a clerk In an attorney's ofllcc, nnd how well ho spent his time there In exhibited In his remarkable knowledge of law as shown In his writings. Mfirricil ill Chilli on. children came of tho union, two of whom survived their father, The couple lived In a picturesque cottage, but not altogether happily, according to Shakespeare's biographers. Stroll lug players frequently came to tho viU lagu and tho young man took an active Interest in thnlr performances and soon came to know tho old Knglish comedies and also the "stago business" of tho performers. Ho often wished to go to London, but with n family dependent upon his slender purse It was next to impossible for hint to leavo his work eren for a few days. A poaching expedition, however, sot. ttfd the matter, It seems that ho went with some others on a poaching trip to tho deer park at Charcoto and was receignlzod and about to bo arrested, In revengo ho made a ballado on tho owner which caused that gentleman to redouble his persecution of younn Shakespeare to such an extent that I he young man wns obliged to leave started for London, the land of op portunity which his genius demanded. Goes to London. On retailing the city ho found him self practically penniless and for a time he eked out a living by holding tho horses of gentlemen outside tho theatre. Some tlmo later he seems to havo .found some of his strolling p)n or friends who helped him to ob tain work In a printing establishment. I Hut. this did not satisfy his ambition, and through lili acquaintance with James Hurbage ho managed to get a part on tho stage. Queen Elizabeth loved the play nnd was an enthusi astic patron of the playor. Little wooden theatres began to spring up In various parts of London and w re crowded to their capacity, Shakes peare, although lie continued to act upon tho stago until a few years bo fore his death, never attained very much prominence ns a player. In lfiOS his first work appeared In the shape of a narrative poem, "Venus and Adonis," dedicated to the Karl or Southampton, the poet's patron and friend. "I.ucrece" followed a year later and was dedicated to the snmo nobleman. First in, jt Is not certain at whai datn Shakespearo's career as a dramatic au thor began, as his earliest dramatic exercise seems In havo been whipping Into shapo for the stage plays which wero out of date. About this time Jiamuet, the only son of tho poet, died. After John Shakes peare, his lather, had received mate rial aid he sot about to obtain a coat of arms. The son was now a rising author in favor at Court and tho fa ther began to seal eh tho family tree for ancestors who had done good service for the Crown. After awhile ho discovered that one of his forefa thers had done service for King Henry the Seventh, anil the crest was forth coming. Two years later the poet was styled "gentleinnn" In a legal doc ument. Shakespeare's prosperity con tinued, and a year later he purchased a house at "New Placo" ami set about to mako It one of tho show places of that time. This property passed into the possession ot his daughter Susan nah, who becamo the wlfo of an emi nent physlelan. This house Is now used ns a museum for Shakcspearo relics. l,ocd Ills lUitbplacc. Tho poet loved his blrthplaco and frequently visited tho village where ho had now beenmo a man of lmportnnce, In fact so Important that his neigh bors began to ask hltn for loans, some of which are still unpaid, tTnliko most men of artistic temperament, he was a fairly good business man, a shrewd bargainer and a tax dodner of tho keenest typo, for ho actually evaded the restrictions against brow ing malt liquor for his private uso. Ills wife's debts ho left unpaid nnd was caielesa about his own. He was continually In litigation wl'h rome body. As there was no copyright at that tlmo the por-t refused to havo At tho ago of eighteen he married William v.u.'i the third Anne Hathaway, one of the daughters 1 that part of tho country or to spend ly Ilf-i was pasred like ' of a farmer of Khottory, a Ilttlo vll-isome time In jail as tho laws against e , , 11-,,r 1 i if II t ,i , nrwl lilti- l'ttr, .vltli.n it.llr, f 2l ! 1 1 f ntul rpl.U ........1.1,..-..! llnw, ...,,. ufrfiln 1 If ' " . ,,, J.i'-.,,.hv, ,,,,.'.. ,J,I,..W., iJl"- IllAUIIIIIi, III llllll IIIIIU HVtU U.,,,,1 t,v toy dots iio' record an act which lady was clsht years his senior, Tlirto loft his family at 'WanvlcUBhlro ami It Is Ronerallv con ceded that "Love's Labor Lost" was I hi:' plays publi -bed as ho feared thlm his first original play and after that might lessen their financial valtto to ho turned out plays rapidly, hl'i company. In L06, after an absence of ten! Aubrey, who was his earliest blog years, he returned to Stratford and rapher, declares that ho wns "a hand purchased valuable lands and assisted 1 some, well shaped m-vi. modest and his father In rebuilding hu fortune. jtunlnblo and otherwise gentlemanly." i-Vori 159G until his death he divided us 11 mo between London and Strat ford, coming to the latter place to rest and perhaps to get atmosphore for his work, for In "Tho Merry Wives of Windsor" .Mid the "To mine of the Shrew" his leferences to the part of the country in which he spent his boy hood days are unmistakable. "As You Llko It," too, is a play of pastoral lovers, tho heroine ot which Shakes- peat e has made ono of tho most en chanting women ot literature. A I-'avoi'lto nt Court. . He was frequently called to Court in roferoneo to now plays and there Is i a tradition that Queen Kllzabeth was; so delighted with the humor of Kal-' staff In "Henry IV." that she com manded Shakespeare to continue the story and show Falstaff In love, and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" was written. So eager was tho Queen to sco the play that sho commanded the poet to havo It ready In fourteen days. Her request was fulfilled, but many Shakespearean scholars declaro that on account of Its being so hurriedly written tho humor of Falstaff lacks tho spontaneity and freshness of tho Falstaff of "Henry IV." His "Morohant of Venice" was writ ten when the Jew was contemptible In tho mind of Western Europe, whoro ho was regarded as tho personification of greed. Today tho tragic figure of Shyloek Is ono of tho most command ing characters In dramatic art. Toward tho close of her reign the Queen becamo exacting and suspi cious, continually finding fault with tho new plays. When "Hlchard tho Second" wns put on sho plainly Rhowed her dislike for tho theme, nut back of this dislike, for tho play was her angor at its author for his friendship for F.ssex, whom she hnd sent to the block, and Southampton, whom rhft condemned to llfo Imprisonment, Thcso men wero Ms friends and their downfall weighed so heavily on his mind thnt when the Queen died in 1603 he alono of all tho poets re mained silent when poetic eulogies woro filling tho air. Shnkespearo's fa vorite child had died In 1506, and In 1601 his father, to whom ho was de voted, had been laid to rest In tho little cemetery besldn tho Avon. Tho enrly years of tho seventeenth century wero stormy ones for tho poet and ho was now Iff tlio mood for turning; out tragedies, "Jullua Caesar" was written during tho cloa ing years of Elizabeth's reign, and "Corlolanus" was finished shortly after her death. "Hamlet" followed, and is said to be taken from a folk tola! of Northern Europo of the fifteenth century. Shortly after the accession of James I he showed favor to sev eral actors, among whom was Shakes peare, and when "Othello" was pro' scnted he asked that others bo glven, "Macbeth" wns completed In 1606, and Its Scottish background shows tho suggestion of King James. "Klngi Lear" was his next work, and In this the dramatist mounted to tho subllmi ost heights of dramatic creation. Othcri plays followed in quick succession and Shakespearo's fame spread over thai known world. llctlrcd nt Forty-seven. Ho loft London and returned ti Stratford In 10 11 with an ambition tcv becomo a country gentleman. Ho' was but forty-seven years of age, but men grow old early In thoso days, and ho felt that the time had como to retire. His sources of Income had been from hla plays, from his stock In tho Globe Theatre, which unfor tunately was destroyed by flro In 1613. He owned valuable land la Stratford from which ho derived a good Interest and ono of his biogra phers Is of tho opinion that his In come In later llfo was not less than fifteen thousand dollars per yoar. His family at that time consisted of his wlfo and two daughters. Tho oldest was already married to Doctor John Hall, and tho second, Judith, wedded John Qulncy, a wine merchant of Stratford, bhortly beforo her father's death. Early in 1616 Shakespeare had a draft of his will prepared which ho signed in March. It is related that he died on April 23rd, 1616, of "a feavour" after "a morry meeting" nt Stratford with his old friend Ben Johnson and tho poet Drayton. It Is not unlikely that tho cause of this fever waB tho unsanltnry condition of tho street In which ho lived. Two days later ho was burled Insldo tha chancel of Holy Trinity Church. Over his gravo nro cut In stone lines that have become familiar to tho English speaking world: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake fore' boaro To dig the dustc enclosed hcaro; Blcsto bo tho man that spares thess) Moncs An curat bo bo that moves my bones i