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    » Jan. 15,1889 \ The Publishers 5 Circul...

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    CURRENT EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE.

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    Two Shak8pearjsan Studies. D The ~ The —...

    I ~ " „ . ' -Ml . inclined to think that subtle intentions are Ui of $ attributed % M \ to writers and laywrihts of

    ¦ which y ^ en U € *) their V JU . Kr \ AU minds 'ii JL V . KJ at rf X 1 the VV / J . O time C 4 IJ-1 . V 1 . p \ JXVUJf of conception II JliglA g UO VA ; were totallinnocentand that Shakspeare

    when he wrote y his weirdsome ,, tragedy , was , chiefly concerned in producing a dramatic

    piece of work , wit n ^ strong L ly marked contrasts and vivid , darkling effects . According

    i to Mr . Cornyns Carr , however , we now learn that it was $ he poet's desire to present us with

    -a finel v » mm y conceived - '' a ' mW . picture a . a of sexual contras « t , Lady Macbeth and her husband being placed

    in such a position as would best exhibit the respective X ^^ JLf ^ VVA f V Ui characteristics ~ i « UI . C « V UV ^ 10 UJ . V / O UL of their U 1 . LVXJ . sex K 7 W . A . . Accept ^ .. » . V ^ SV / ^/ V ^ ,

    ; up Mr hol . Carr d the says tradi , the tional ' popular reading view of of the the character

    play—! : of itself Lad , but y Mac from beth the , as derived tragic rendering , not from of the Mrs text .

    ¦ : Siddons—and there is scarcely a line of the \ j then irork taking that can this ri as ghtl his y be theme understood he proceeds ; and

    \ I very , dexterously to pass along , the course of ! the playciting here and there such passages

    ; as , with , a little ingenuity , can be made to bear out his view of the ideal'motive of the tragedy .

    and All this we , admire we must the confess neatness , is ' very with interesting which- Mr . ,

    Carr has dovetailed the various portions of his I argument C ? together C 3 , and what a fine appear * ¦»¦ A '

    ance of artistic finish he has given to his production as a whole , but we look upon his

    eloquence ai the eloquence of the special pleaderand remain unconvinced after all .

    The idea , he puts forth , that the ' motive of the drama lies in its contrast of ; the distinctive

    qualities of sex , as these are developed under the pressure of a continued purpose and a

    common experience / is undoubtedly very effectiveand Mr . Carr has arguejj his casewitli

    great plausibility , and shrewdness ; but , despite all his — ingenuity — g ^ ^ 7 , we are - scarcely ^/ carried away 4 / .

    Tradition with us has the stronger sway ; and it may be — — re — — markedthat though Mrs . Siddons

    ^/ r ^ , 7 t ; u | j much undoubtedl mm to tm | create M m y b the y her 4 popular powerful impression i % ^ k conception of * 4 Lad did ^ 9 y

    i in in Macbeth the the rote rftla , ' Mrs . took took . Pritchard a a verv , similar similar who preceded view view 01 of the the her very

    part . We wonder , what that ripe Shakspearean scholarMr . Halliwell-Phillippswhose death

    we have , had reason to deplore within , the last few days , would have said to Mr . Carr ' s

    ? esthetic theory ! We should scarcely be surprised if before long the character of * Lady Macbeth ' became

    as much a topic of discussion in Shakspearean circles as the state of mind of the unfortunate

    Hamlet . In regard to the latter play , we have Lately had pleasure in reading an especially

    interesting little work of Transatlantic origin . * The _ author — ^_^ — . _ — without .. ____ -. — _ perhaps j ^_ — £ T throwing _ any

    frqah light , on the character . , of ' Hamlet ^ j '— ^ j which / indeedat the j ^ resent - . - - dayfwould

    be difficulfc , —goes , over the old , ground with pleasurable vivacityand here and

    there reveal M . s attractive powers , / , of penetration and thoughtful criticism . The poet ' s intention

    ; in this case , Mr . Cooke thinks , was to present * The Human Afy . ' iery in * Hamlet' : an attempt to say on unsa toetM id word . With Anggetllvr . parallelism * from the Elder

    Kulbert ' . Jiy . rn 4 arun W- Cooke . New York : Fords , Howard < fe

    — ¦ ' : \] \ ' the internal spiritual struggle between the \ higher elements of man ' s nature and the lower

    —the constant and continuous state of man in this world . The warfare is principally in

    skirmishes and in sallies , but is constant , bitter , and uncompromising . Hajnlet's sanity or

    insanity is not a question to be argued . He ist an actor . Shakspeare created him and taught

    him how to act . He did not take a player and make of him a prince , but he took a prince and

    made of him an actor . The hero might truthfully say with Clarice in the play of * * Comedy

    and Tragedy * : "I am everybody—I am nobody . " He who best plays the part

    impersonates most accurately { Shakspeare s player-Hamlet /

    » Jan. 15,1889 \ The Publishers 5 Circul...

    » Jan . 15 , 1889 \ The Publishers Circul . . . ar 5 .. ] > ¦ ¦_¦— -- -- ¦

    Current Educational Literature.

    CURRENT EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE .

    Messrs . G . W . Bacon & Co . —The « E xcelsior - * School Maps' seem still to maintain a

    well-merited populari X ty . Ai new idea of this firm is seen in a series of 'Memory Maps *'

    v 4 T These are printed in different colours ,, and serve to inipress names arid forms on the

    observer ' s mind . Messrs . Blackie & Son . —Few new books

    of an educational character have been issued latel Of the y by Century this firm Readers . But ' the we few cann are ot speak good .

    too highly . They tare just the books wanted for elementary ; scnoolsartisticwell compiled

    and graduated , cheap , , and stro , ngly bound . Though these foifm the chief novelty in MessrSi

    Blackie ' s list , many old and tried friends will be which recognised comprise in nearl their y cop every ious branch and varied , of know lists - ,

    X . t' «/ ledge . t Messrs . William Black wood & Sons . — -

    The list of these publishers embrace ,. j & xceed ingly useful Ifoooks on geographygeology

    , , zoology , and English literature—these being in such form and at such price xas shall

    commend themselves to the notice of students and teacher 3 . The names of Dr . Mackay «/ ,

    Professors Page , Lapworth , Nicholson , and Minfco , are ample guarantees of the way in which

    such work is performed . The liat , in addition , contains several works on the cultivation of

    Greek and Latin , and in Stormonth ' s Dictionaries volumes of this character that are

    worthy of more than prdinary notice . Messrs . Burns . & r-OatesLimited . —This

    firm issue a number of jvorks , excellently adapted ^ ' ™ ^ r *^ ^ - »^ v - ^ ^^ ^^ r ^» . ^ v ¦¦¦ for > ^*^ ... educational ^* r ^^ w * « *^ ^ iir ^ mi ~ ^ ^*^ ^» 0 * . ii ^^ purposes m *^ m * ^ ^ m r ^^« v ^^ ^^ r t *^ . v ' The ^*^ ^^ ^ ^^ Gran ^^*^« ^^ ^^^ m * ^ m -

    ville Reading Books' and " * Granville History Readers ' may in particular be mentioned as

    * f 3 . conveying the necessary instruction in such form as shall readily be grasped <— ' X by the pup X JL il ,

    and prove of lasting and beneficial influence . A commendable feature in connection with these 4 The G publications ranville Reading ia their Books moderate / i Granville price .

    Poetry Books , and the ' Practical Geometry for Science and Art Students / we may also

    add , were adopted some time ago by the London School Board .

    The Cambridge University Press ( C . J . Clay & Sons ) . —In the educational list of the

    Cambridge University Press , the various - * - ' ¦ AttitO ^

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), Jan. 15, 1889, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15011889/page/7/