College of St Marys of the Springs - Yearbook (Columbus, OH)

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gayety pleases and fascinates us--it is as if we were looking into a great crystal ball, and benoicung the wonders within. All is love and fun and laughter-such a world of happiness! Now 111 N1 he 1 CUIPCSV' there 15 H falfy world, but it is not the brilliant, laughing, comic fairy W0rld OI ine earner drama- Underlying the marvelous, there is strong current of seri- OUSIICSSS we Ieel Ull'0U8n0l1!1 that what the magic creatures do has an important and fixed pur- pose. l:..very action is to accomplish something, is directed toward an end, 'The fairies du not mt about in piaylulness and caprice, but are busily engaged in arranging the threads of the Clrarna. and ln aCCOIIlPllShlIlg the purposes ot Frospero. l-lere, Fairyland has for its represen- lHllVeS Ariel and ballDHn- 'lhey are lh0UShts more than imagesg the former beautitul and SnaCl0W.Y-lllie. !1n0U8h W1Se and lnlellecluali the latter, ugly, beastlike, and treacherous. Ariel has in everything the airy tint which gives the name-Caliban is gross in feelings and 1Ina8eSi he nee lnrelleelual powers, but not moral sense. Ariel is spirit without sense, Cal- iban is sense without spirit. 'il hese fairy creations make the atmosphere heavier and we feel lhelr POWer and Strength- While We learn I0 know well only these two creatures, we feel that the all surrounding air is hlled with the shadowy forms and shapes of which Ariel and Caliban are representatives. l Contrasting pictures illustrating the different atmospheres are the struggles of Oberon and Titania with Cupid and the shipwreck-one caprice and frivolity, the other a serious design. Oberon and Titania love. quarrel, and are reconciled, but there is no depth or serious out- come of the incident. ln it we feel the poet laughing, as it were, under his breath at poor human nature. How giddy! How foolish! we almost hear him say. l-low he smiles at idle love and fascination-at jealousy! The whole is a satire on man's weakness in the power of Cupid. Titania is capricious, breaks the law of the family, leaves her husband because he will not patiently dance in our round. She falls desperately in love with the hideous Bottom, a horrid brute. l-low truly blind is love! The gross clown does not appreciate her -her ideal perfection and love are wasted. Soon a reconciliation is accomplished between herself and Oberon, and straightway the clown is forgotten. Puck executes the deed-peace is restored, and the fairy laughter rings through the land again. Such is the seriousness of the fairy tale of A Midsummer Night's Dream. ln The Tempest Ariel causes the storm, scatters the ship's crew, and disperses them about the island. The sprite is sovereign over the powers of Nature, and directs the elements for the accomplishment of his master's designs. By Ariel's mysterious music, the lovers, Fer- dinand and Miranda are brought together. The final reconciliation is achieved by Ariel. I-le seems to know the action of the drama, and flashes out of the air instantly. Too, Caliban's conspiracy is felt throughoutg we know that he is plotting against his master. So the atmos- phere is evidently heavier and in remarkable contrast to that of the earlier drama. Another dissimilarity presents itself! ln A Midsummer Night's Dream fairy controls and influences man-in The Tempest, man commands fairy. The lovers in the wood near Athens are entirely at the mercy of the mischievous sprites who work upon them, deceive them, and lead them about by appearances. Man is the game and sport of the playful elves. They trick the lovers and then laugh at their success-at the discomfort of their victims who act not through their own intelligence and wisdom, but through the influences of their captors. l-low absolutely helpless they are! What comic discord and confusion Puck causes be- tween the lovers by anointing the wrong person! What sport for Fairyland! Certainly, this is not so in the later play. Ariel and Caliban and all their tribe are ab- solutely and entirely under the command of Prospero. They are his slaves, bound in obed- ience to him-he is the lord of the Spirit World. All the influences within his magic circle ' 4

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Nw 1 gsm! f ww N ic , ww A pwu, ww mu, SHAKESPEAREAN CONTEST ' AN bw , :Y x 1 f' Qs 1 t , fs. is 5 'l X it v A10 A K ui ll YV Ms i fftfthl .x ff 'AA it if if 'i R30 Q , .jeff -:ri f P ff- Eff,fGl.4'.,f 'i-u'fli' x ' I J 1-' , ,,.., I .. ei . - I ,Pe-Kia- 1',, q f, ,:4 V , ,.vifi?,i:?gi Z.-,Q-., i A 3-iffff .rf X -we sy -31:i:5?? Kabir. - 'Teas '. f? ff' ' E5fF3'??'1l gl it ?s1.s,'M9C T 5' 5 s 1, ' w ill-.-li1ff .g l 5 3 , yv ' . ' ,Mig ':g22fZ'1f331i- OJ.. Hll 'Elfill Pdrdlltl KWIZC 6830512 ' 6?:5,7XS' Cf? R V60 of Shalaespleirezi-Q greatest ciramas, ui? Midsumrlner Iljighfs ream an me empest, ave an e n setting, utt e poet 's'W 'f mm displays his usual versatility in the treatment of this fairy ele- ment. That he does so is here hardly to be wondered at, for between the composition of the first and of the second lay a quarter of a century of mellowing years. A Midsummer 1:ight's lireamn Lepresentsf ShatllEsriezHre's sargguine period. - --.. ., ,.., ., Q - s owing is exu erance o you u ove an ima mation: T The Tervrli-Eesti? a piefiod of fcallm sweetness and diiciplined T T ftdsf' T powers. e rst te s us o e ladsome 'o ousness of life, new, and filled with hopeful ambitions. Ii is light and fresh and playful, bearing numerous traces of the youthfulness of the author. After its production, came success, progress in dramatic art, fully realized ambitions. Then followed a time when life was a fitful fever, filled with bitter disappoint- ments and keen suffering. Through all this our poet's character was not marredg these stages of life but deepened his understanding, and brought him to a period when he looked on life with kindlier eyes-with sympathy and peace. The Tempest is a product of this last stage. It is in the fairy element of the two plays that this contrast is most clearly drawn, and the reader must feel the difference in the author's views. To begin with, the general atmospheres are strikingly contrasted. In A Midsummer Night's Dream the entire atmosphere is light and fresh, delicate, and truly dreamlike. We and Ourselves viewing a whole great sunshiny world of fairies where the bright sunbeams spar- kle and dance on the airy beautiful wings of the dainty little creatures. And in this marvel- ous and joyous world the mischievous Puck and his companions, by their merry pranks, set the whole company in tunesome harmony, the lady fairies' laughter, like the tinkling of many thousands of tiny silver bells, mingling with the deeper musical notes of the fairy knights. We watch the fairy as she dances o'er the green, dewing the orbs, painting the lovely blos- soms. and making all nature beautiful- these magic folks are the artists of nature. The 3 . H! M Ox '

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ww Q ww . ww e ww . ww . ww 3 ww 1 wuz i ww are subdued by him. It seems that nothing within this sphere of ideality can resist him. Cal- iban's plans against his master are frustratedg he is helpless without the consent of Pros- pero- , l-low fine my master isl I am afraid he will chastise me. It is unmistakably evident that these sprites are powerful only in their service to Prospero. What lessons, what moral teachings do we glean from these fairy worlds? Are their marvelous happenings only to amuse and entertain? Most assuredly, Shakespeare has intro- duced the ethical element into the fairy tales of his dramas. Now, in A Midsummer Night's Dream the moral lesson is not enforced, nor is it distinctly clear. We must inter- pret its teachings ourselves-we must seize these shadowy forms and shapes, and force from them their lessons. It is a land of dreams, a world upside down, but, nevertheless, it is in itself, real and wondrously beautiful. These same dainty little creatures so fine and delicate. who love all things neat and sweet and beautiful, punish the lazy and slattern, and aid the in- dustrious. That bewitching little rascal, Puck, chuckles over the consequences of his errors. l-low he enjoys the weaknesses of humanity! My lord, what fools these mortals bel Certainly, this drama is an intrigue of capricious love. The mirror is held up to nature, but the one strong ethical lesson is not forced upon us, as it plainly is in the play contrasted. ln The Tempest there is an evident design for good. Ariel is the sole cause of right- ing the wrong done to Prospero. After having avened the WYODS done his master- thus ao' complishing poetic iustiee in the drama, his ministration does not cease: for he not only in- Hicts punishment. but brings true repentance upon the wrongdoers-uhearts' sorrow and a clear life ensuing. Having been a Minister of Fate. he is an Angel of Relfloollon-Ariel is Destiny in as much as his powers incense the seas and shores, yea, all creatures to requite the Quiltv act. committed against Prospero and his daughter, the fair. innocent Miranda. Clearly does this reveal the truth that when a wrong is done in our old world. the whole of nature is aroused to avenge it-to erase it. Such experience is S0 C0mm0nlv and oft-times re- peated that we are convinced that nature. herSelf. feels keenly the dreadfulness of wronsz- and seeks to I-,lot if our, The laws gf the Real World have permitted and concealed the in- iustiee. but Providence. Ariel. causes order and iustice to .be brought forth. The guiltv soul of the wanderer is brought back to a consciousness of l1lS evil. The guilt like poison be.-'zins to bite the spirits of the penitentsf' Forgwenoss follows- Such is the forcible lessen taught us bv the poet through his fairy folk. I , Truly are we convinced that the contrast in the lW0 Cfeellons 15 marked. is vital: vet from their composite studv. it is strongly revealed that the activities of nature and men take place by the instrumentalitv of the supernatural Hgeneles- n There must be 3 Producing cause. whether it be God, angel. fairy or demon-a Power suponor to 'laluro and moo- We efe aided to understand a little better, life. that study that vexee the Wlsesl and to fealile the noth- ingness and emptiness and vanity of its outward Pegeanlfy- And. like the baseless fabric of th1S VISIOH. The cloud-eapp'd towers, the Rorfleetle Palaeee, The solemn temples, the great globe llSelf, Yea, all which it inherit. shall dis90lVe- And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are Such Stoll . . A5 dreams are made Of: and our little life IS rounded with a sleep. MILDRED Joan, 'I 3. 5