Difference In The Possibilities Of Success example essay topic

That there are many difficulties in the way of presenting Shakespeare is a fact, I think, that no one will deny. Not that Shakespeare on the stage does not interest the public, but rather that those who know and love the works of the great bard so seldom see his immortal dramas presented in accordance with their own ideals. They are often disappointed because the stage characters do not altogether represent the ones they have pictured as the result of their own study or the perusal of the writings of the countless commentators who have devoted years to analyzing the works of the greatest of dramatists; just as many persons prefer a book that is not illustrated because the artist's conception of the characters is sure to differ materially from the mental pictures, vague at first, but which develop as the story unfolds until they become so real as to cause a discordant note when confronted by scenes and faces differing so widely from the ones they have created. Not only does the critic and the thoughtful theater-goer take his seat on a Shakespearean first night with his own impressions of the play and characters before him; but he remembers, also, other performances he has seen, and still others of which he has read. Contrast the difference in the possibilities of success that confront the woman who attempts Juliet, Portia or Ophelia, with three hundred years of comparison and tradition to contend against, as compared with those of one who appears before the same critics and the same audience in a play that is unknown, and in a character that can not excite comparison because her interpretation is the only one. Another unequal chance is found in the fact that while the modern play is written with the idea of telling a complete story in the two hours and a half allotted to an evening's entertainment in this busy age; with a Shakespearean drama it is necessary in order to conform to this custom to cut or omit passages and scenes that must necessarily detract from the perfect harmony of the printed work.

The unfamiliarity of modern-day audiences with the beauties of blank verse, and the difficulty of obtaining actors to play the minor roles who are capable of reading it correctly, are still other obstacles in the path of every Shakespearean producer. But, on the other hand, to act the famous roles of Shakespeare is, of course, the ambition of every player, man or woman. Speaking lines and enacting scenes that are immortal, revealing as they do boundless possibilities of thought and study, must ever be a labor of love to the sincere student; and even limited or indifferent success thus attained is dearer to the actress' heart than would be any amount of commendation acquired in a different field of endeavor. In this, as in most things, the pleasure is all the more keen and the reward the greater because of difficulties encountered, and, in a measure, overcome. Villa Allen, 1906.