WOMEN'S FORUM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 281, 26 November 1932, Page 13

WOMEN'S FORUM.

MUSIC AND POETRY. "In ancient Greece, poetry and music were at first treated as one art; the wandering minstrel would travel about from place to place reciting his epic fragments with a certain kind of chanting for each kind of poetry," said Miss Eleanor Brownlee, in an address to the members of the Writers' Club yesterday afternoon on "The Relationship of Poetry and Music." But in spite of their love of rhythm and musical representation, said Miss Brownlee, no great development took place in their music. The Greeks had left to the world the greatest drama and poetry, but one heard nothing of their musical achievements. This was not because they were not good musicians, but because, in most cases, literature and music did not go hand in hand. This did not mean that a musician could not appreciate poetry, nor that a poet could not appreciate music, but it implied that a creative artistic temperament developed, In general, along one line only. There was not one example of a great musician writing great poetry, nor of a great poet writing great music. It was a curious fact that in the history of the nations word development had come first. In Italy, after Dante came Scarlatti and his contemporics; in England, after Shakespeare came Pureell; in Germany, after Goethe came Beethoven; in Norway, after Ibsen came Grieg; and in Russia, after Tolstoi came a group of composers. This was more than a coincidence; it showed that all the nations had developed along the same lines. Poets and prose-writers nourished until words could say no more, and after them came the musicians, who took up their message as they laid it down and carried it into realms where no words could ever reach. The earliest music consisted of simple folk music. This was followed by the tone picture, the Pastorale, song with words and the Nocturne. The nocturne had been attempted by several poets, but it was impossible to find one which was at all comparable with those of Chopin, which were gems of perfect form and finish. The song without words, as it name implied, was impossible in the world of literature. "There are many things in life which we cannot express in ordinary words. It is left to two people, the poet and the musician," said the speaker in conclusion. "The poet can arouse the same emotions as the original by merely describing the scene, so can the musician. But the musician can go further; lie can describe in music the sensations he felt when he viewed the scene and arouse in the listener a double set of emotions." The address was punctuated with illustrative musical items given by Miss Brownlee (piano), Mr. J. Bartrum ('cello), and Miss C. Thronsen (songs). Mrs. I. M. Cluett, the president, presided, and passed a vote of thanks to the speaker and those assisting.

SECONDARY EDUCATION. "Is the present educational system equal or superior to the eld?" was one of the questions brought forward yesterday at the League of Penwomen when an impromptu speaking afternoon was held under the control of the president, Mrs. Carr Rollett. An older member of the league opened the discussion by stating that in her individual opinion in the Dominions the people were given too much superficial knowledge. She considered that the young people should be given a good grounding in Latin, so that they would know the derivations of language, instead of a smattering of French, and then languages would be easy to them. Why should the ratepayers pay for a smattering of things as now taught? It would be better to know a few things well. She considered there was too much memorising in modern teaching. The president pointed out that in her youthful days a workman did not speak well, while now he was nicely dressed, spoke well and could discuss subjects intelligently, and he bore himself modestly and with dignity, and this she felt was for the betterment

of the race. The discussion turned on the further subject of whether free secondary education was desirable, and one member expressed the opinion that free secondary education should only be given to those who really desired it. She had seen that students went to the universities to learn to make money. That was not education in any sense of the term; in the words of the Bible, it was "casting pearls before swine." Another member immediately said that education was benelicial even if a man worked on the roads, but this was opposed by another member, who said that those who wanted education should be made to pay for it. She would like to see parents, before they brought. children into the world, have to consider whether they could afford to educate them. There was no such thing as free education; the ratepayers had to pay for it, whether they approved or not. The opinion that a great number of the scholars who went through the secondary schools had only a smattering of knowledge, which did nothing but increase their vanity and

prevented them from working with thenhands, was expressed by another member, who said that the only form of education which should be free was technical education, which would enable young people to earn a living. Free secondary education should be by scholarship, for although a few plodders who could not take scholarships did succeed in after life, they were only a few, in contrast to the number who would succeed if they had to work for a scholarship. Education should be free to about 10 per cent in the secondary schools, but primary education should be entirely free to all. The rest who wished for further knowledge for their children should be made to pay for it. Another member held that every child should bo given every chance in education, but she felt that the Danish system was better than ours, for no child of fourteen knew what it wanted to become. In Denmark the boy might be sent to work on the land till he was seventeen, when he could decide whether he wanted to continue his studies. If so, he was entitled to go to the university free and continue his education. A vote taken on the subject was in i favour of the present free secular system.