Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 33 was the only successful playright of the old comedy. It was the purpose of his plays to satirize public affairs and to caricature ambitious politicians. Pericles, being the most prominent man in public affairs at that time, was naturally the butt of much criticism. The Athenian populace and even Per- icles himself, were amused by - ristophane’s ridicule of Pericles, whom he called the onion-headed Zeus, from the peculiar shape of his head. With the decline of Grecian democracy and the rise of tyranny, drama- tists were strictly forbidden to ridicule politicians. This restraint hastened the decline of the Old Comedy which in turn was replaced by the Middle Comedy. In a play of this class, actors. in the name of the author, would come to the front of the stage to joke with certain members in the audience. The popular disapproval of this type of play compelled writers to find something new. This resulted in the introduction of the New Comedy, the third division of Greek Comedy, which dated from the establishment of Macedonian supremacy. Menander, the best known playwright of — this period, in place of ridiculing public men, directed his satire against the com- plications of social life which had been corrupted by Oriental influences. The Greeks, however, during this last period of Athenian importance would not allow the dramatists to expose their faults. This put an end to all Gre- cian Comedy. Fortunately, with the spread of Grecian culture, the Romans were at- tracted to the comic drama as written by Menander. Terence and Plautus, both imitators of Menander’s style, were popular Roman playwrights. It has been through their works, preserved during the Middle Ages by the monks, that the classical comedy has survived, Though the Romans enjoyed Grecian comedy for a time, yet, with the increase of wealth, they developed a fondness for bloody spectacles, which resulted in the gladiatorial combats. Although this new interest did not completely ruin the theater, the rising power of the Christian Church ex- erted its authority in forbidding the attendance of the theatre. To carry out this regulation of the Church, all theatre-goers were excommunicated. This abandonment of the theatre lasted for over a thousand years, but with the incre ased number of adherents to the Orthodox Church, it was confronted with the problems of teaching the Christian doctrine to the ig- norant barbarians, The Church, therefore, strongly urged the representa- tion of scenes from the Bible. At first this method of teaching proved bene- ficial, but as time went on people began to attend the plays merely for pleasure, and this caused the total abandonment of plays given by the Church. The plays were next taken up by the theater guilds which, in addition to presenting Bible scenes, gave Morality Plays in which allegorical figures representing the virtues and vices were the characters. In these plays the comic element was introduced in the figure of Vice who used to chide and play pranks upon the Virtues. These plays were also given in England where the desire for something new encouraged the English to revive the Old Classic Drama. It was with this idea that “Ralph Roister Doister”, the first English Comedy, was writ- ten. It was soon followed by “Gammer Gurton’s Needle,” a comic portrayal of domestic life. These were received with great enthusiasm, and more com- edies followed in rapid succession. Although there were a number of good playwrights before Shakes- peare, yet his genius seems to have obscured the preceding dramatists. With the coming of Shakespeare, English Comedy like Tragedy reached its height. He, however, mixed the two types of drama especially in his tragedies, where, to relieve a tenseness of situation, humorous scenes were introduced, for example, “the grave-diggers” scene in Hamlet.

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32 SOMANHIS:. EVENTS on every side. When we enter the woods, the home of the squirrels, we marvel at the gorgeously colored leaves, painted in colors that vie with those of Iris’ purfled scarf. Now we catch another fragrance far different from that of autumn leaves. It is the smell of ripe apples! Our once blooming orchard is now a store-room for summer sunshine, and an in- describable odor pervades it, as if the vials of the earth’s most precious oint- ment had been broken. In the next field we find “the frost is on the punkin and fodders in the shock.” As we watch the smoke rising from the burning stubble we realize that it is the last odor of autumn, the incense of nature. We have known that winter was coming, that autumn was breaking camp, yet with what surprise do we behold the smooth, white veil or snow cov- ering the world? Oh, the joy of winter! “Give us to struggle with weather and wind; Give us to stride through the snow; Give us the feel of the chill on our cheeks, And the glow and the glory within.” How the eddying flakes, alighting noiselessly like a flock of birds, dis- guise all familiar objects with the same suit of spotless armor. The tall trees are covered with flowing, white robes; the fields are heaped with great sparkling drifts; and the fences are bedecked with fantastic ruffles fashioned by the cutting wind. As we look about us, in the dead silence of winter, we think of the truth of the words that “the air is just as full of good odors for the worker as for the idler, and it depends only upon the awareness, the alertness of our spirits whether we toil like dumb animals or bless our labouring hours with the beauty of life.” We have the “Great Possessions of Nature” on every hand; all we have to do to possess ourselves of them is to look at the world with eyes that see. Doris Robshaw ’22. THE HISTORY OF COMEDY Love of imitation is the origin of all drama. Tragedy excites sympa- thy, while comedy entertains through the excitement of mirth, The history of comedy, beginning with its appearance in Ancient Greece, developed through the Roman, Medieval, English and American periods, reveals so many changes that it can hardly be identified with the Grecian comedy. The word comedy is derived from two Greek words meaning “village revels.” From this it is supposed that comedy was originally a part of the village festivals, spent in revelry to honor the god of wine, Dionysus. Shortly after the solemnities of the religious festivals had secularized, rival bands were formed by young men, who, dressed as birds or beasts, appear- ed at the vintage festivals where they broke out into riotous dancing and singing. At first this entertainment was enjoyed, but soon the Greeks, ar- tistic by nature, objected to this coarse ribaldry. This led to a general improvement which resulted in the Old Comedy, the first of the three divisions of the Grecian comic drama. Aristophanes

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34 SOMANHIS. BVENTS Toward the close of Shakespeare's life, Cromwell and the Puritans who had gained such a strong foothold in England checked the develop- ment of the drama. All playhouses were shut down and a general gloominess seemed to have come over the people, who, after enduring the rigid rule of Cromwell during the Commonwealth, welcomed restoration of the kings. When the exiled royalty returned to England, after the Cromwellian era, which had become boresome, drama was brought back with renewed vigor. But the kings who had lived in France and absorbed so many French ideas demanded that English drama should follow the French style to which they had become accustomed. This accounts for the English imitation of French writers. Unfortunately, in copying the French dramatists. the Eng- lish copied their vices rather than their virtues, lowering their standards to such an extent that immediate reform was needed, With the beginning of the nineteenth century, the tastes of the young- er playwrights changed, so that in place of the cheap artificial plays, which were prevalent, they demanded a return to unaffected drama. For some time the comic drama had been overshadowed by the intro- duction of the novel in the middle of the nineteenth century. As the novel gained more favor, it took the place of all drama so that playwrights gave up the writing of dramas for the writing of fiction. In the present day, however, novelists have turned in the opposite dir- ection, for example, James Barrie, Bernard Shaw, and John Galsworthy have taken up playwriting in place of fiction. Without a doubt the play- wrights of today and the ne ar future will produce a larger number of com- edies. In America, especially, is this the case because comedy is popular with the Americans, who have no taste for tragedy, which strains their al- ready overworked emotions, In the busy whirl of the present, man has no time for useless tears. With few exceptions he prefers a high class comedy to a depressing tragedy. Margaret Sundman ‘22 VALEDICTORY Tonight, as we, the members of the class of 1922, have come together for the last time, it is fitting that we should think of the benefits we have derived from our High School training, and that we should express our gratitude to those who have made this education possible. Now, more than ever, we can appreciate the value of the South Manchester High School which we are about to leave. Superintendent, and Members of the School Board, your efforts and wise planning have shown your interest in our work. Our social and aca- demic life has been made more pleasant because of your thoughtful provision, Principal and Faculty, we all realize how much your work has meant. Though we have sometimes been discouraging and disappointing, you have not lost patience with us, but have helped us onward. We sincerely hope that our work in life will recompense your thoughtfulness. To you, parents and friends, we cannot express our indebtedness. Many of you have made sacrifices in order to give us these privileges. You have urged us along if we have been discouraged; you have done your best to make our lives brighter. We feel, however, that sometime we shall repay you with “deeds not words.” Schoolmates, the senior class is about to say farewell to the school, and a genuine sadness creeps over us. You have given your staunch support