SHAKESPEARE’S TIMES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 687, 12 June 1929, Page 7

SHAKESPEARE’S TIMES

LECTURE AT UNIVERSITY THE STATE OF EUROPE The first of a series of lectures on “The Life a*nd Times of Shakespeare,” was given in the University Hall last evening by Professor W. T. G. Airey. Professor Airey dealt with the Shakespearian period from the point of view of the historian, tracing the events and tendencies which gave the time its especial characteristics, de scribing the historical events of the period itself, and touching briefly on

some of the results of these events. “Shakespeare’s period,” said the lecturer, “was really the beginning ol what we call “modern times.” Be fore that, in the “Middle Ages,” there did not exist what is known as the modern state, and the organisation of Europe was very different fron: that of today.

“During the Middle Ages there was in Europe a unity which can be clearly observed in the Church and less clearly in the state of the period. There was the perfect and obvious organisation of the Church under the Pope, which permeated every corner of Europe and gave rise to that allembracing title, ‘Christendom/ On the other side of the coin, as it were, there was that organisation, the IToly Roman Empire, and, in theory at least, the Pope and the Emperor were linked together as leaders of the spiritual and temporal powers on earth.

“This thorough organisation, then, did not leave room for any interstate feeling, and over the Avhole of Europe the social system was like a great pyramid, men looking up to their social superiors and down cii their inferiors, the apex of the pyramid being the Emperor and the Pope, and the base the huge herd of common people. “But, passing on to the age of Shakespeare—to the beginning of modern times—we find that the mediaeval structure has collapsed and that Europe has evolved into a series of close-knit and individual States. For the first time in history, thanks to the efforts of the Tudors, all England is ruled by one man and by the reduction of the barons and an increase in the general powers of kings, who have at last consolidated their rights, the general unity of Europe has disappeared. “At this time, too, by a large extension of the old ideas concerning the rights of the Emperor and the Pope, the theory of the divine right of kings is gradually coming into being. “It is interesting to note how far the nationalist sentiment influenced the change from mediaeval to modern conditions. All Shakespeare’s plays are full of this sentiment and are almost certainly a mirror of the popular feeling in England at the period in which they were written. In other parts of Europe, of course, the sentiment was not so strong, and, roughty*, nationalism did not really rise on the Continent until the 19th century, but, due possibly to the insularity of England, it has been a vital force there for nearly 350 years.”

Professor Airey concluded his lecture with a summary of the causes which led to the expansion of ’ Europe until it dominated the world. The Renaissance had given men a greater interest in the world about China and the interference with the trade routes to the East had caused men to look for new ways by which they might bring home the jewels and silks and spices they prized so highly. All Shakespeare’s era was one of great expansion, mentally and economically, and his surroundings had undoubtedly had great effect on his works.