Literature in the Making, by Some of Its Makers

American literature -- History and criticism; Authors, American

"The subtitle of _Caliban by the Yellow Sands_ is _A Community Masque of
the Art of the Theater_, _Devised and Written to Commemorate the
Tercentenary of the Death of Shakespeare_. The dramatic-symbolic motive
of the masque I have taken from Scene 2 of Act I of _The Tempest_, where
Prospero says:

                            It was mine art
    When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape
    The pine and let thee out.

"The art of Prospero I have conceived as the art of Shakespeare in its
universal scope--that many-visioned art of the theater, which age after
age has come to liberate the imprisoned imagination of mankind from the
fetters of brute force and ignorance; that same art which, being usurped
or stifled by groping part-knowledge, prudery, or lust, has been botched
in its ideal aims, and has wrought havoc, hypocrisy, and decadence.
Caliban is in this masque that passionate child-curious part of us all,
groveling close to his origin, yet groping up toward that serener plane
of pity and love, reason, and disciplined will, on which Miranda and
Prospero commune with Ariel and his spirits.

"The theme of the masque--Caliban seeking to learn the art of
Prospero--is, of course, the slow education of mankind through the
influences of co-operative art--that is, of the art of the theater in
its full social scope. This theme of co-operation is expressed earliest
in the masque through the lyric of Ariel's Spirits taken from _The
Tempest_; it is sounded, with central stress, in the chorus of peace
when the kings clasp hands on the Field of the Cloth of Gold; and, with
final emphasis, in the gathering together of the creative forces of
dramatic art in the Epilogue.

"So I have tried to make the masque bring that message of co-operation
which I think all true art should bring. And the masque is the form
which seems to me destined to bring about this desired co-operation, to
bring back, perhaps, the conditions which existed in the spacious days
of the great Greek drama. The growth in popularity of masques and
pageants is preparing the way for a new race of poet dramatists, of
poets who will use their knowledge of the art of the theater to
interpret the people to themselves. And out of this new artistic
democracy will come, let us hope, our new national poetry and our new
national drama."

THE END

       *       *       *       *       *




TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES


The duplicate book title and chapter titles have been removed. Also the
following misprints have been corrected:

    TOC: put in "Tippecanoe" without a hyphen (in "Tippecanoe
    County, Indiana")

    TOC: "Mackaye" changed to "MacKaye", as in all other instances
    ("Percy Mackaye was born in New York City...")

    p. 56: "countinent" changed to "continent" ("Yet in their time
    these men set the whole countinent in a roar.")

    p. 75: period is added after the middle initial W (ROBERT W.
    CHAMBERS)

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Literature in the Making, by Some of Its Makers

American literature -- History and criticism; Authors, American

"The subtitle of _Caliban by the Yellow Sands_ is _A Community Masque of
the Art of the Theater_, _Devised and Written to Commemorate the
Tercentenary of the Death of Shakespeare_. The dramatic-symbolic motive
of the masque I have taken from Scene 2 of Act I of _The Tempest_, where
Prospero says:

                            It was mine art
    When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape
    The pine and let thee out.

"The art of Prospero I have conceived as the art of Shakespeare in its
universal scope--that many-visioned art of the theater, which age after
age has come to liberate the imprisoned imagination of mankind from the
fetters of brute force and ignorance; that same art which, being usurped
or stifled by groping part-knowledge, prudery, or lust, has been botched
in its ideal aims, and has wrought havoc, hypocrisy, and decadence.
Caliban is in this masque that passionate child-curious part of us all,
groveling close to his origin, yet groping up toward that serener plane
of pity and love, reason, and disciplined will, on which Miranda and
Prospero commune with Ariel and his spirits.

"The theme of the masque--Caliban seeking to learn the art of
Prospero--is, of course, the slow education of mankind through the
influences of co-operative art--that is, of the art of the theater in
its full social scope. This theme of co-operation is expressed earliest
in the masque through the lyric of Ariel's Spirits taken from _The
Tempest_; it is sounded, with central stress, in the chorus of peace
when the kings clasp hands on the Field of the Cloth of Gold; and, with
final emphasis, in the gathering together of the creative forces of
dramatic art in the Epilogue.

"So I have tried to make the masque bring that message of co-operation
which I think all true art should bring. And the masque is the form
which seems to me destined to bring about this desired co-operation, to
bring back, perhaps, the conditions which existed in the spacious days
of the great Greek drama. The growth in popularity of masques and
pageants is preparing the way for a new race of poet dramatists, of
poets who will use their knowledge of the art of the theater to
interpret the people to themselves. And out of this new artistic
democracy will come, let us hope, our new national poetry and our new
national drama."

THE END

       *       *       *       *       *




TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES


The duplicate book title and chapter titles have been removed. Also the
following misprints have been corrected:

    TOC: put in "Tippecanoe" without a hyphen (in "Tippecanoe
    County, Indiana")

    TOC: "Mackaye" changed to "MacKaye", as in all other instances
    ("Percy Mackaye was born in New York City...")

    p. 56: "countinent" changed to "continent" ("Yet in their time
    these men set the whole countinent in a roar.")

    p. 75: period is added after the middle initial W (ROBERT W.
    CHAMBERS)

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Literature in the Making, by Some of Its Makers

Literature in the Making, by Some of Its Makers

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