SHAKESPEARE CLUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 3034, 8 May 1912, Page 79

SHAKESPEARE CLUB.

"AS YOU LIKE IT." The Rev. P. W. Fairclough presided at the meeting of the Shakespeare Club on April 24, and by way of introductory Remarks made some interesting references to "As .You Like It," which the members ot the club have reading this year. _ Mr Fairclough .'aid: —It is Shakespeare's birthday. Three hundred and forty-eight years ago Nature's Darling was laid in the green lap of Avon Valley. "To him the mighty mother did unveil Her awful face: the dauntless child

Stretched forth his little arms and smiled;. This pencil take,' said she, ' Whose colours clear Richly paint the vernal year; Thine, too, these golden keys, immortal boy! This can unlock the gates of joy; Of horror that, and thrilling fears, Or ope the sacred source of spmpatheltio tears. " —Gray's Ode. Like most of the biographies of genius, Shakespeare's begins with " Born of poor but respectable parents." His father was (among other things) a butcher, and there are curious traces of flesher's lore in tho plays. There is one in this play, wbelre Rosalind says, " I take upon me to work your liver ae clea.i as a sound sheep's heart, that there shall not be one spot of love in't." Very few details of the poet's life) are known. That, however, is true of quite a number of the great Elizabethans. Ben Jonson — was the son of a bricklayer, and we can find no trace of his having been at a university, though he writes himself M.A., tnd was proud of his undoubted scholarship. He had a history, of course, but it cannot be traced. We believe that Shakespeare left the Grammar School at about 14 years of age, after being there seven or eight years. As Latin was then the chief part of education, is it improbable that the greatest master of language that ever lived had acquired some facility in reading Latin authors? Is it unlikely that he added to this facility in later years? Even Lord Bacon left, the university at 16. Keats, an excellent olassic, left school at 14. Pope never went to school at all. but had a tutor for a few years; "Uhe same is true of Burke, while even Dr Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith left the university without a degree. Gervinus points out that both Goethe and Schiller read Homer only in German translations. Shakespeare's father beoamo bailiff or mayor of Stratford, and during his term of office twice entertained companies of players. These poor fellows probably builded better than they knew, and kindled the prince of dramatists. Before he was 19 Shakespeare married Anne Hatlutway. After that we lose sight of him till ho is about 22, when he in believed to have written his first poem, "Venus and Adonis," which, however, was not published till seven or eight years later. At 24 ho produced his first play, though no play of his was published till he was 34. Within 18 years of the production of his first play, a light, fluent comedy, he had grown to the titanic strength, the Promethean energy of the great tragedies, the masterpieces of time. From his fortieth year he mellowed to " Cymbelino," "A Winter's Talc," and "The Tempest," doing his last work in about his forty-eighth year. He had made money as an actor and manager, and retired to Stratford, probably a worn-out man, and died on his birthday; aged 52. So that we are within four years of the tercentenary of his death. We have scarcely any details of his life in London. There was probably not much to tell. He- must have spent'a great pijoportion of his time alone, reading and writing. Had he been a loose liver hie 'great achievements and his business success would have been impossible. About two years ago an interesting light was shed upon him. An American enthusiast and his wife, after spending .many months in the records crypts in London and examining millions of old docupients, came upon the depositions of a lawsuit, in which Shakespeare had been a witness, and had signed ills evidence. The case was one in which a French glover, no doubt a Huguenot, was sued by his scn-in-law for the dowry promised to the young wife. Shakespeare testified that he had lived in the glover's house for ten years; knew the parties well; knew that the son-in-law was a favourite with defendant, but knew nothing of the promise of dower. This discovery sheds light on Shakespeare's knowledge of French, and also on his religion. "As You like It," the play of this evening, was probably produced in Shakespeare's thirty-sixth year. Among the comedies it divides the crown of popular favour with " The Merchant of Venice," and as a mine of quotations and splendid passages is second only to "Hamlet." "As You Like It" is a pasora! comedy. In this species of play we expect Arcadian shepherds and shepherdesses living in much simplicity and innocence. We expect also an unusual amount of singing and much love-iinaking. There are also sure to be " pageants " or plays within the play. Corin calls Silvins's wooing of Phoebe a " pageant," and at the end liymon introduces another. The ancient world was obsessed with the number seven. There were seven planets, seven days, seven seas, 7 sages, 7 wonders of the world, seven sleepers, and so forth. In law our sentences and cur leases used to run in sevens. The guinea is the rudiment of septimal coinage, the stone, the cwt., and the ton are multiples, of seven. A child went to school at seven, was coniirmed at 14, and came of age at 21. For some reason this play bristles with sevens. "Seven of the nine days' wonder"; "the length of seven years"; "seven justices could not take up a quarrel." Then we hive the Seven Ages of Man, the seven degrees of a lie. the seven kinds of melancholy, and the seven i>oints of Conn's philosophy. There are also seven songs and seven rhymes. Seven persons appear at court, seven speak in the duke's party, seven belong to the forest, if we include Hymon, and ceven migrate to the forest during the play. All this- can scarcely be accidental, though I can suggect no explanation. Perhaps the cryptogam ists will explain. The scene is laid in the convenient forest of Arden. In the inediseval romance of Charlemagne and his Paladins this forest was übiquitous, or at least whereon the story wanted it. It had its lions, and giants, and magicians, a.nd hermits, and magio fountains, and distressed dameels and hateful paymin and knights errant, chivalrous and catiff. In these romances, too, we find the leading names of our play, Charles, Oliver, Orlando, Roland, and Rosalind. The speaker then outlined the

plot and pointed out that Rosalind was not a comic character. She is deeply in lovo and desperately earnest. She is not making- sport for others, or enjoying a shallow joke at the expense of her lover. To her her position is almost tragic. She cannot deny herself the luxury of being made love to; but. her disguise makes it cruelly onesided. She feels that it is more blessed to give than to receive, but her doublet and haso stand in the way of the major blessedness. Touchstone is Shakespeare's most cynical clown. He turns reason into wit and wit into reason. Ho struts like a turkey cock among the simple people of the forest, who have not been at court, and are theiv.fore beyond the pale of salvation. His very marriage is a take-off on the true lovo tihat he despises in others. Jacques, according to Audrey, is an "old man," and, according to the Duke, he has been a libortine. He is a burnt out cinder. Ho sold his lands to see other men's. He h bankrupt and sees the world forget him as the wounded deer is forgotten by the herd. He has tried many kinds of pleasure and has grown jaded with_ them all. There remains to him the chewing of -ho cud of bitter reflections, and studying the various aspects of human nature. It is to pursue tit's study that he ultimately becomes a hermit, in which calling he hopes fo find much new matter for meditation. — (Applause.) Members of the club read selections from the nlav, the cost of characters beincr as follows f-Duko fin exile). Mr T. G. Brukell; Duke (usurper), Mr T. Deehan; Jacques. Mr J. C. Stephens; First Lord, Mr O. P. Williams; Le Beau a.nd Jaques de Hoys. Mr A. H. Robinson; Oliver. Mr E. A Duncan; Orlando. Mr S. H. Osborn; Adam, Mr \V R. Davidson; Touchstone (a clown), Mr J. B. Callan. iun. • f!orin (a shepherd). Mr J. Martin; William (a. countrv fellow), Mr P. M'Neil; Rosalind, Miss Churchill; Celia, Miss Wilson; and Audrey Miss Burton. Miss Mazengarb announced the characters as they came forward. Hie audience erreatly enjoyed the reading, and showed its appreciation bv bestowing heartv applause upon the members. Miss Churchill was the recipient of special favours for a reading that was distinctly meritorious. Mr Callan infused splendid humour into his part, and the fame may 1m? said of Mr Stephens, both gentlemen showing a fine appreciation of the ':ha r acters they sustained. Mr Deehan, M> - Osborn, Miss Wilson, and the other members "-ave material help in what was undoubtedly a successful and enjoyable performance, in which all who Participated spoke out well, intelligently, and clearly. Miss Florence Pacey sang " April morn " with niee exprewion. and a quartet consisting of Messrs M'Kinlay. Armstrong, Thomson, and Hagigitt. contributed an item, fo'' wliioh they were deservedly encored. The hall was rather inoonvenienflv crowded Ten minutes before the hour of commencement even' se.->t was occupied and '•"serve forms pnd chairs were placed in different parts of the buildin?.