ATE
SHAKESPEARE'S
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ECES SHAKESPEARFE
COURSES FOR 36 YEARS
f. I. N. Demmon Responsible
library Shakespearean
Collection
for
Just two years before Henry Clay
ade his famous race for president,
rof. Isaac N. Demmon, head of the
partment of English Language and
.terature, was born in Summit Coun-
Ohio. His parents early removed
Indiana, then a wilderness, and be-
,me one of the families of hardy
oneers who settled that region. Pro-
ssor Demmjuon availed himself of all
e opporvunitics for education that
ere at hand and so well 'did he ap-
y himself, that at the age of fifteen
was prepared to enter the univer-
ty, but his help was needed at home,
id not until reaching man's estate
as ie enabled to enroll himself as
student in the University of Michi-
Ln.
the world to the greatest genius of all
time. Three hundred years have
passed since the death of Shakespeare.
but his appeal is as great today as it
was then, and so it will ever be.
"The divine truths he learned then
are true now, and were true ages be-
fore him. That is why the appeal
made by him never diminishes. Of
course conditions have changed, and
the situations that called forth such
plays as "Troilus and Cressida, "Ti-
tus Andronicus." "Pericles" and a
(Continued on Page Six)
NU MEROUS COMPOSERS
yWRITE MUSIC FOR PLAYS,
Shakespeare's Lyrics and Romantie
Scenes Furnish Motifs for
Inspiration
If a poet arises, in any age or nation,
who is dear to the people, there is cer-
tain to follow a tone-poet who will
set music to the words that have exert-
ed such power, and thus bring them
closer to the popular heart.
This statement is especially true.of
Shakespeare, whose influence was very
far-reaching and was exerted upon
composers of three generations and of
all the civilized countries of the
earth. No poet ever inspired one-
quarter as much music as Shakespeare
has done. "The Tempest" has been
set to music fourteen times as an op-
era, the Germans having been espe-
cially attracted toward this subject.
Since Doctor Arne's first setting,
French, Russians, and Italians, as
well as Germans have turned the sub-
ject into opera, John K. Paine, most.
eminent of American composers, has
built a symphonic poem upon the
theme, and Ambroise Thomas has
turned it into a ballet.
Richard Wagner, in his younger
days, composed an operatic setting to
"Measure for Measure" which was not
very successful but which ;howed,
nevertheless, that the greatest oper-
atic composer was in some degree in-
spired by Shakespeare.
Sir Henry R; Bishop gave the only
tolerable setting of "the "Comedy of
Errors" to the world, and the one im-'
portant setting of "The Taming of the
Shrew" was written by Hermann
Goetz.
Max Bruch wrote the only setting
of "A Winter's Tale" under the title
of "Hermoine." -"The Midsummer
Night's Dream" had its chief result in
Mendelssohn's incidental musik, a4;
though there have been a half-dozen
settings as an opera, none of which
are at present known to the stage.
There are two operatic settings of
"Othello," one by Rossini and the
other by Verdi. Many other plays,:
including "Twelfth Night," "Richard
III," "Henry IV;" "Macbeth," "Ham-
let," and "Romeo and Juliet" have;
been set to music by such eminentc
composers as Saint Saens, Purcell,1
Verdi, Berlioz, Gounod, Tschaikowskyl
S H A h I Il A NI iL7 N JOYNSO N A T ('h ESS
A iiewly discwvercd portrait of Slwospearc probably painted from life
by aalulch artist, tnly purchased by the de Heyman
fanilyfw", a.uYn
Pagent Faturs Quint ance
No elort has been spared to make
the dances of the Shakespearean pag-
eant as hiistorically true as possible,
many of I he step~s being worked out
by Iiss Evans, director of physical
educa1ton, trom old dance 1 reatises
and engravings from old folios.
The pageant opens with a rollickin e
village dance dating from the fifteenth
century. The dancers in their peasant
costumes of red, green, blue, and yel-
low enter weaving garlands of ow-.
ers. Laughing and chatting they await
the comning of heir qeen, meanwhile
swinging into a (ance, singing as
they skip through its lively measures.
T'erhaps the most charming of the
dances is presented in the Romeo and
Juliet scenes, when the "lords and
ladycs of high legree,' garbed in satin,
velvdt and lace, trip througi the quaint
o( steps and cnrtsey low. In this
scene, the Morris (lance so popular
in Shakespeare's day will be present-
ed by six men clad in black who, while
executing the intricate steps, throw
streamers of scarlet ribbons across
the stage.
"Quaint, whinsical and full of a
wierd witchery," is the phrase used to
describe the elfin dance from "The
Merry Wives of Winldt(10." The stage
is dark as the eight clin sprites in
soft shadowy colors of gray and green
steal onto the stage, bearing their'
iihte l taners. With a joyous aban-
d 1 thcy fling themselves into the fan-
snIc steps of the dance, but at a sig-
at from their leader, they approach
the luckless Falstaff to plague him
with their torches, circling about him
and singing:
nh im, and burn him, and turn
Dim about
Till -aidles and starlight and moon-
light be out."-
Another glimpse of fairyland is giv-
en i the last scene. While Titania
r a ipon a mossy bank, her fairies
(lance to amuse her. They are divided
inli groups resembling flowers such
as poppies. nasturtiums, butter-and-
a, (end-erbury Bells, jacks-in-the-
p a]pit, and morning-glories. A strik-
big rainbow effect is produced as they
whirl about the stage in their gay
costumes of red, orange, yellow, blue,
green, and violet. These retreat to
the rear of the stage as six color
fairies enter, and all, after a short
dance, are about to sink to sleep when
hey are frightened by the entrance of
two moonbeams. They perform a duet
cla(l in brilliant blue covered with
black tarletan and streaked with sil-
ver. Suddenly Night in sombre black
enters, touches them, and they vanish.
Then as the epilogue is spoken, Night
executes a short l)antonnme, drops to
the ground in sleep and all about is
d ark.
d Spanish galleon, and Shakespeare to
an English man-of-war, who by means
of his wit could sail all around the
heavy learning of Jonson. In other
works of the time we find him much
[admired and dubbed, "sweet Shakes-
peare," and "honey-tongued Will." He
is described by Audrey, his earliest
biographer as being a "handsome, well
shaped man."
Late in life he retired to Stratford
when he lived the life of a gentle-
man upon the royalties accruing from
his plays. A popular belief is that he
died of a fever contracted after a mer-
ry meeting with Ben Jonson and the
poet Drayton.
RARE COLLECTION OWNED
BY GENERAL LIBRARY
Old Volumes of Shakespeare and
Works of Criticism Gathered
from All Sources
Only those who by reason of their
scholar's right have passed the great
iron doors of the fire-proof vault on
the third floor of the General Li-
brary are aware of the priceless treas-
ures contained therein. And not the
least noteworthy of these is the col-
lection of books, manuscripts and
pamphlets contained in the Shakes-
pearean collection.
When in the year 1882, James Mac-
Millan of Detroit bought and pre-
sented to the university the library of
a collector, comprising 750 volumes,
his act resulted in laying the corner-
stone for the present collection num-
bering more than 6,000 volumes and
valued at a sum exceeding $50,000. To
the student of the Shakespeare text,
and its elucidation through the la-
bors of the long succession of schol-
ars who have edited it, probably no-
where in this or in any other country
will he find more favorable oppor-
tunity for study offered him.
It is almost with a feeling of rev-
erence that one turns the pages of
the original second, third and fourth
folios with their ornate covers stamp-
ed in gold, their crooked, sprawling
type, and their thick parchment-like
leaves yellowed by the hand of Time.
In the eyes of the bibliophile,.as well
as the lover of Shakepeare these three
volumes are sacred.
Then there are splendid photo-
graphic fac-similes of the folios as
wel as the quartos. As for the rela-
tively modern editions, they are ar-
ranged in the shelves chronologically
from Rowe's edition of 1709 to the
most elaborate "edition d luxe" of.
the last century.
Here may be seen the first Ameri-
can edition struck off in Philadelphia
in 1795 as well as the first Boston edi-
tion of 1802. Most of the work was
done by the publishers themselves on
a hand press using ink-balls of sheep-
skin, and on hand-made paper costing
$5.00 a ream.
The works of Dryden, Cibber, and;
Tate, who sought to "refine upon the
language of Shakespeare" are pres-
ent and are worth more than a pass-
ing glance. In the eighteenth century,
editions of single plays came into1
vogue, and many are the hands that;
tried their skill. One of the most
curious of these is an edition of "Mac-
beth," by Henry Rowe, Trumpet-Maj-
or of the High Sheriffs of Yorkshire,
and Master of a Puppet Show" as thei
title page announces..
: i .bdes Taken from Seven of M4
Faniliar Shakespearean
Mays
When the curtain rises on the
Shakespeanean Pageant, "The Queen's
Progress," to be presented in Hill a u-
.ditorium, May 5, in commemoration
of the 300th anniversary of the poet.
it is said that the audience will at
once perceive the exactitude and mass
of detail employed to obtain the 16th
century atmosphere.
An old English folk song is used in
the opening number, as well as the
ballad of "Greensleves" of Elizabeth-
an fame. Several of the movements
'for the elfin and fairy dances have
been taken from Mendelssohn's "Mid-
summer Night's Dream." One of Ni-
colai's dances has been adapted for
"The Merry Wives of Winsor." These
orchestrians and special arrangements
are being made by Earl V. Moore of
the school of music faculty.
Episodes for the pageant are taken
from "As You Like It," "Macbeth,"
"Romeo and Juliet," "Julius Caesar,"
"Merry Wives of Winsor," 'Hamlet,"
and "Midsummer Night's Dream,'
Rehearsals are well under way un-
der the supervision of Prof. Herber
Alden Kenyon, each part being re-
hearsed s eparately, as is the custom
for such productions, the whole only
being presented a fewv days prior to
the first performance.
More than 100 men and women are
listed for the dances, but those in
charge announce that there is room
for 20 more men and request that
those interested in the pageant com-
municate with Prof. Kenyon at, once.
The cast for the pageant is as fol-
lows:
Queen Elizabeth... Phillis Povah, '16
Duke (As you Like It) ...H. L. Haag, '16
Amiens...........Chase Sikes, '16
Jaques..........Julius Fishbach,'17
Adam . . .......Robert Holland
Rosalind.......Miriam Hubard, '16
Touchstone.........George Walner
Macbeth ..........John Barker, '16
Banquo.......Malcom MacLean, '16
Romeo......Earnest Wisdom, grad.
Juliet'......... Pauline Em'erson, '16
Nurse ... .....Rollin Hunter, '16
RUSSIAN CATHEDRAL ChOIR TO
SING HERE FRIDAY EVENING
The Russian Cathedral choir of New
York City, consisting of a score of boys
and eight or ten adult singers, under
the leadership of Ivan T. Gorokoff as
choir master, will appearsin Hill au-
ditorium Friday evening, April 28, as
an extra concert on the series of com-
plimentary recitals given under the
auspices of the University School of
Music.
Advertizers In The Michigan. Daily
are the reliable business men of the
city. It is to your interest to trade
with them. **
HISTORICI
SOUGHT IN
DANCE A
C4SI'UMES, MUrSIC AND SCENIC
EFFECTS TO PORTRAY 1)AYS
()F ELIZABETH
u
PARTS BEING RI
PIROF. ISAAC N. DEMION 1
The original of the photograph is
portrait by S. Bennett Linder, of
ew York, and hangs in Memorial Hall.
--Photo by Swain.
After gradual ing, he spent several
ars in teaching, but was recalled
the faculty of the university in 1872
d with but few interruptions has re-
lined here ever since. During the
st 35 years Professor Demmon has?
voted himself almost exclusively to
e teaching of Shakespeare courses.
Io a reporter of The Daily, Profes-
r Demmon said, "The Shakespearean
urses, almost as they stand today,
re instituted by my predecessor,
of. Moses Coit Tyl'er, a learned
akespear scholar, and have served
a model for many of the similar
arses to be found in the curricula
other universities.
'This is my 35th year as a teacher
these courses, and in all that time
ave never met with an unappreciative
ly of students, but of late years the
erest in the work of the poet has
en growing steadily. Earnest
akespearean study has ceased to
the task of the specialist in English
rature alone, but has seemed to
art a broader appeal to students of
courses. This year the enrollment
greater than it has even been before.
'The Tercentenary Celebration? It
but another tribute being paid by
What Is Known of- Shakespeare
One of the myths surrounding the woods and fields.
Shakespeare is the popular belief that These records of hIs marriage are
we know nothing at all alout the man. dated "1582" in the diocese of the
But this is false as certain documents ishop of Worcester. Ann was eight
and the records left by his coniemp- yeats his senior, and for many reas-
oraries show. The first record con- ots we are left to conclude that his
cerning Shakespeare is the certificate arriage was not the happiest. Short-
of his baptism in the cra1bel hand- . after the birth of his twins, Ham-
writing of some old clerk, tiil to b met and Jludith, Shakespeare went up
seen in the re i trv at Stratfdrd: to London to take employment at one
I
andi others. 1'141-Apr1 6- --e-ms mills of the theaters, probably holding the'
Besides these larger works, many of Johannes Shakspere." horses for thd rakes in the audience.
Shakespeare's own lyrics have been It was the custom of the time not Robert Greene attacks him in the
set to music over and over again. to baprise a child until it was three words, "Tn his own conceit the only
'Take, oh, take those lips away" has days old, and thus Shakespeare mst Shake-scene in the contrie. It is a
been set more than thirty times; have been horn Oi Ap ii 23. From pitte men of rare wit should be sub-
"Who is Sylvia?" and "It was a lover thence on, 110 th ( e: Otdo a ear un- jet to tIhe pleasures of so rude a
and his lass" have each received eight- til his marriage with Anne Hathaway room
een musical' settings. Some of the z but it is supposed that le acquired But Shakespeare soon became popu-
most important composers who have 'his early education in the freeschool ?mr with men of learning and was es-
employed Shakespeare's lyrics are at Stratford, studying Latin and Greek aerially beloved by Ben Jonson, with
Purcell, Arne, Stevens, Linley, Bishop, acco ding to the custom of the time, whom he had many a friendly argu-
Haydn, and Horn, and in his leisure moments roaming mnent. Fuller compares Jonson to a
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