ADDRESS OR SHAKESPEARE.

Evening Star, Issue 12900, 24 August 1906, Page 1

ADDRESS OR SHAKESPEARE.

.. To members and friends of the. Y.M.C.A. Literary and Debating Society last night Mr A. Wilson lectured on Shakespeare. Mr 11. D. Bedford was in the chair, and there was a large audience.. Mr Wilson prefaced his lecture by saying that his subject was not the on© that he would have selected had seleo tion lain with him. It was not possible to deal with the subject of Shakespeare generally, except in a broad and abstract way that might not bo very interesting. He had given lectures on Shakespeare oftencr than he could remember, but when he had done so it had always been with more detail, with regard to some one subject of Shakespeare, and ho thought that that was not only easier to the lecturer, but invariably more interesting to listeners. He went on to urge the desirableness of having some understanding of Shakespeare, and the “ shameful ignorance” of being iuiacquainted with it. To arrive at a thorough knowledge, of even one of Shakespeare’s plays one must do a lob of hard work. And to road a play without studying it was better than nothing at all. It was desirable, first of all, to read all the plays as one reads interesting novels—as one reads Dickens, for instance. Then the opportunity of seeing a Shakespearian play staged should never be missed. Also, he said, it would be well for young students to join the Shakespeare Club, or at any rate to attend their public readings. He believed that because of the benefits of this club the people of Dnnediu had n better Shakespearian knowledge than that possessed by the people of any other town in the Southern Hemisphere, though, if there was another town (and there is) in which another Shakespeare dub existed he would make an exception of it. Quaintly then the lecturer cautioned the young against the horrors of Shakespeare cant. Nothing was more nauseous than fine art cant unless it was literary cant, and on no literary subject had there been more cant than on Shakespeare. Therefore, if one must have views about Shakespeare, let them be views backed up by chapter and verse. As to the reasoned study of Shakespeare's works, ho advised a beginning with one of the lightest of the comedies. He himself began with ‘ The Tempest,’ but possibly ‘As You Like It ’ would have a fitter starting point. After a course of comedies the student should go to true Shakespearian tragedy. The lecturer advocated Shakespeare’s right to fikst place in English literature,, urging in this connection the honor that is paid him by men of other races. The literature of Shakespeare was not the literature of any particular country; it was the literature of the world. This is just the drift of the main body of the lecture, which was full of evidences of-deep 'study, andthorough knowledge' of the "subject -■ hand, and was_ delivered in that tellir style that is-Mr Wilson’s own. Final, the speaker -dealt with the life and • •• cestry of Shakespeare as it is know, and pointed out how extraordinary it is that the-"great, bard’s will, while mentioning such small matters aa his secondcand bed, made no, allusioca whatever to his library nor . to any cf the great works for which he must already have been in some sort famous. Indeed, the Tn -° i l fc - c fi ct f ao?(lin3T y fact in connection with Shakespeare’s whole 'career, as wo now looked back upon it, was his peculiar power of self-effacement. The lecturer was heartily thanked at the close of his address.