Kenwood: paintings in the Iveagh Bequest

Yinka Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, installed on the Fourth Plinth of London’s Trafalgar Square from May 24, 2010, to January 30, 2012, temporarily transformed a space dominated by the 19th-century monumental sculpture of Lord Horatio Nelson, Britain’s most famous naval hero. When installed in Trafalgar Square, Shonibare’s model ship in a bottle, with its sails made of factory-printed textiles associated with West African and African-European identities, contrasted dramatically with the bronze and stone that otherwise demarcate traditional sculpture. Shonibare’s sculpture served to activate public space by way of its references to global identities and African diasporic culture. Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship, this paper argues, inserted a black diasporic perspective into Trafalgar Square, offering a conspicuous challenge to the normative power that defines social and political space in Great Britain. The installation in Trafalgar Square was only temporary, however, and the work was later moved to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, where it is on permanent display. This paper provides an investigation of the deeper historical references Shonibare made to the emergence of transnational identities in the 19th century and the continued negotiation of these identities today by considering the installation of Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle in relation to both sites.

The French classical novel The Princess of Cleves, written in the 17th century by Madame de Lafayette, represents the end of the ＂river novel＂ tradition, and anticipates modern novels with its simple and condensed structure. Arguably, this novel launched the line of French psychoanalytic novels. Ever since its publication, academics have been critiquing this novel in various lights. However, the most heated debates over the novel took place in the 20th century when the classical novel became the subject of theoretical interpretation by European and American academics. The various approaches of reinterpretation included traditional academic, Existentialist, psychoanalytic, formalist-structuralist, feminist and queer, etc. Jauss' idea of ＂horizon d’attente＂ is useful in capturing the interaction between The Princess of Cleves and its readers, which always reflects the changes in the spirit of times, readers' reading habits, publishers' strategies, as well as the significant influence, in the 20th century, of modern and postmodern aesthetics on the acceptance of this classic work. The present paper delineates the aesthetic reception of the novel according to critics' different approaches in the 20th century, and analyzes the formation and consolidation of this classic work in terms of the origins, differences, and evolution of literary theories. The diversity of theories in the 20th century led to profound and divergent views on The Princess of Cleves, as the ＂inherent modernity＂ of this classic work provides ample textual space of maneuvering for various literary criticisms. The Princess of Cleves thus witnesses the history of 20th century theories, and demonstrates the complementary relationship between literary criticism and literary works.

Statement of the problem. The art of conducting is one of the most important aspects of musical culture, which largely affects the development and popularization of musical art as a whole. The 20th century was a period of experimentation and innovation in musical art, when conductors were looking for new forms of expression and new ways of interacting with the audience. Many conductors dedicated their activities to the performance of works of Ukrainian composers, which contributed to their popularization both in Ukraine and abroad. They created programs that included both classical works and modern compositions, thereby enriching the cultural palette of the country. In addition, conductors often initiated the creation of new music groups and festivals, which contributed to the development of the musical infrastructure. Studying the artistic projects of conductors helps to understand exactly how the musical culture of Ukraine was formed and developed, what were the main trends and directions of this development. Thus, the study of the directions of project activities of conductors of Ukraine in the 20th century is important not only for understanding the history of musical culture, but also for its further development. Recent research and publications. The works of Viacheslav Boikо, Anatolii Martyniuk, Dmytro Mazur, Tetiana Potapchuk, Oleksandr Horbenko, Viktoriia Tkachenko, Mykhailo Burban and others are devoted to studing the various issues of the Ukrainian conductors’ activities. Existing studies focus on professional skill, methodical work and individual qualities of conductors, the main emphasis is on individual creativity. Therefore, there is a need to study the activities of Ukrainian conductors of the 20th century in the context of their artistic projects, analysis of the direction and content of the latter. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is the systematization of the project activities of Ukrainian conductors of the 20th century. The novelty of the study consists in the considering the evolution of the Ukrainian conductors’ activity in the 20th century, the identification of certain directions as a set of artistic projects, and its general assessment from the standpoint of the modern scientific discourse of art history. A complex of general and specific scientific methods is aimed at revealing the research topic, namely: historiographical, biographical, sociocultural, comparative, systemic; materials that were not previously introduced into scientific circulation were used, which allows for a deeper understanding the specifics and scope of the activity of Ukrainian conductors in the considered historical period. Research results. Changes in political regimes, wars, revolutions and other historical events of the 20th century significantly affected the activities of musicians and cultural institutions. The leading Ukrainian conductors, whose creative activity falls on this historical period are Ya. Barnych, L. Brahinsky, H. Veriovka, V. Verkhovynets, I. Vilensky, N. Horodovenko, P. Hrechanichenko, H. Davydovsky, P. Demutsky, V. Yorish, I. Karabyts, M. Kolessa, V. Komarenko, A. Kryvokhyzha, M. Kushch, B. Levitsky, B. Liatoshynsky, I. Maichyk, M. Malko, V. Minko, V. Mishchenko, P. Myloslavsky, A. Pashkevych, K. Pihrov, M. Pokrovsky, F. Popadych, Y. Pribik, M. Radzievsky, B. Svitlichny, E. Skrypchynska, I. Sliota, V. Smekalin, Ya. Stepovy, K. Stetsenko, Ye. Shechtman. As key figures in the musical world, they not only adapted to these changes, but also actively influenced educational and sociocultural processes thanks to their creative activity. Project activity in the field of music in the 20th century was characterized by several key aspects. Among them are the selection of the repertoire (popularization of classical music, assimilation of new genres, such as jazz and pop music, new directions of international importance), directing and theatricalization of opera and ballet productions, organization of musical groups (folk choirs, folk song ensembles and dance, jazz and pop music orchestras), performance activities and organization of concert tours (planning, management). Only in the second half of the 20th century this activity reached its full development and all its components began to be fully realized. Conclusion. The conclusions indicate the dynamics of the development of conductors’ project activity in the 20th century in connection with the expansion of the musical repertoire, the differentiation of musical genres, the cooperation of conductors with composers, experiments with media projects and technologies, the study of musical heritage, artistic initiatives, the management of opera productions, etc. It was noted that the conductors contributed to the development of musical education and the popularization of Ukrainian music through their participation in artistic projects. Thus, in the 20th century, the conducting art evolved reflecting the needs and requirements of the modern musical world. The globalization of the century contributed to the intensive development and expansion of conductors’ capabilities in creating innovative artistic projects that combined music with other forms of art, contributing to the understanding and deepening of musical impressions of the audience and opening new perspectives for the development of musical culture.

Oranje's erfgoed in het Mauritshuis

Summary The Norwegian art collector Rasmus Wold Meyer Among the many Scandinavian collectors of art who were active during the first decade of this century, Rasmus Meyer occupies a unique position in the field of art collecting in Norway. The greater part of his collection of paintings, acquired between 1905 and 1915, to‐day comprises an independent part of the City of Bergen Art Collections: Rasmus Meyer's Collection. Meyer came from a wealthy, tradition‐bound Bergen family in which cultivation of the arts had played a natural role for generations. His father, Gerdt Henrich Meyer (1817–97) had continued to develop the large family business and among other projects built up Vaksdal Mill. Under Rasmus Meyer's competent management it became Scandinavia's largest grain mill, providing the economic wherewithall for his collecting. To begin with, Rasmus Meyer collected applied art. In 1902 he began, in a small way, to buy paintings. From 1905 he began seriously to buy with a specifically formulated end in view. In his native Bergen he would build up a collection of paintings which would be »Western Norway's National Gallery«. For ten years he worked with singleness of purpose towards this goal. From the start his aim was patterned on the Hirschsprung Collection in Copenhagen; his collection was to show the development of Norwegian art (i.e. its history) in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, it was his wish that in due time the collection should pass into public ownership. Gradually his plans regarding the essential nature of the collection changed somewhat. He realized that his initial plan was so comprehensive as to be detrimental to the quality he desired to maintain. Influenced by German and Swedish collectors, he partially relinquished his original goal and concentrated on creating what he called a »galerie des Perles«, sticking however to his intention of retaining the distinctive Bergen character of the historical part. During his first years of collecting, Rasmus Meyer was mainly interested in acquiring older art such as works by J. C. Dahl and the Düsseldorf painters. In this he was following an established Bergen art collecting tradition. When, gradually, he turned to the contemporary art of his own period, mainly buying works by the naturalists and painters from the 90's, Meyer was following the example of other Norwegian collectors. But, in 1907–08 he began seriously to buy paintings by the youngest generation of artists, thus breaking with Norwegian collecting tradition hitherto and placing himself in a relatively isolated position in this field. Before 1915, Meyer's collection contained far more works by, for example, J. Heiberg, L. Karsten, H. S⊘rensen, O. Wold‐Torne, A. Kavli, S. Grande and L. Jorde than did Bergen's official collection. As late as 1915 Bergen's Art Gallery owned no works by such prominent artists of the 80's as H. Backer, H. Heyerdahl, Th. Kittelsen or Edvard Munch and only one each of E. Werenskiold, Chr. Krohg and E. Peterssen. In his determined efforts to build up his collection, Rasmus Meyer allied himself with a great number of expert advisors, both Norwegian and foreign. It was the process of building up his collection which brought him into contact with the artists themselves and his start as a collector was not prompted by the wish to help them. He cannot be considered a generous patron of the arts but his many great acquisitions and commissions quickly became an important factor in the national art milieu. For the youngest generation of artists his many purchases generated great moral support in their struggle for recognition. The question of when and how the collection was to be turned over to the public authorities gradually became as important to Meyer as his purchases. He wished to have his collection around him as long as he lived. It quickly outgrew his original home even though alterations and additions were made. Through his visits and familiarity with German and Swedish private collectors, he gradually began to consider some of their private residences, which also housed their collections, as a possible solution. In the homes of Linde, Thiel and Fåhræus he found answers which he himself worked to develop further into his dream of a residence combined with a gallery to which the public would be admitted. These plans resulted in several designs but no final solution was reached before his death.

In March 2007, I visited the United Kingdom to present two conference papers on black abolitionists in the Atlantic world. Both talks drew upon my recently published book Rites of August First: Emancipation Day in the Black Atlantic World (2007). I also planned to use this trip to evaluate bicentennial commemorations of the abolition of the British slave trade. This essay offers an analysis of some of the more important commemorations. Although events were also held in the major slave-trading ports of Liverpool and Bristol, this essay focuses on the capital of London.(1) I also attempt to address broader questions of historical memory and public history in this essay, which is divided into two parts: a critical examination of the commemorative events, followed by some suggestions for future commemorations. My sources consist of personal notes, published pamphlets, newspaper articles, secondary historical literature, and websites. The essay has three major objectives. The first is to provide readers of The Journal of African American History with a personal walking tour through these important commemorations, identifying various sources for further reading. The second is to make cross-national connections between slavery and abolition in the United Kingdom and the United States both past and present. The final objective is to help to explain why public history matters. EXHIBITING THE PAST The City of Westminster, a borough of London with city status, has long been home to the British political and legal establishment. Between February and November 2007, organized a series of events marking the bicentennial of the 1807 Act of Parliament outlawing slave trade participation by British citizens. The exhibit, On the Road to Abolition: Ending the British Slave Trade, 1807-2007, consisted of a trail around fifteen small and large sites presenting various aspects of the British slave trade and its abolition. Some of these sites were quite revealing. As a native Londoner, I have walked Trafalgar Square (London's equivalent of New York City's Times Square) countless times, but never noticed before a brass relief of a black crewman holding a musket at the base of the south side of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson's column, a 170-foot monument to Britain's most famous sailor. This crewman was either George Ryan, a 24-year-old ordinary seaman listed as an African, or he was one of nine West Indians who served on Nelson's flagship Victory. (2) Indeed, black sailors often served on British and American ships. In the early 18th century, white sailors performed maritime labor, while most people of African descent were enslaved. This was to change, however, from the late 18th century onwards. Black men often served as cooks, officer's servants, and musicians in the British Royal Navy. Despite their menial tasks, black seamen obtained a degree of protection from kidnapping by serving on military ships. After the War of Independence, black men also served in the U.S. merchant marines. W. Jeffrey Bolster estimates that black men (mostly free) constituted nearly one-fifth of U.S. seamen by 1803; while Keletso Atkins maintained that between 40 to 50 percent of U.S. whale crews in the South Atlantic off the South African coastline were African Americans. (3) Although menial work and racism were rarely far away, this maritime experience reminds us that not all African Americans were enslaved, and that many of these traveling seamen played a vital role in establishing cross-national connections between people and ports. The exhibition Westminster and the Transatlantic Slave Trade mounted at City Archives was the 13th site listed on the trail. Through a series of twenty-five panels, the exhibit described the impact of the slave trade at the local level and particularly on the lives of black residents. One estimate puts the black population in Britain during the 1790s at between 10,000 and 15,000, with most living in and around London and working as laborers and domestics. …

Your reviewer found himself repeatedly turning to p. 127, which is robustly occupied by a three-quarter-length portrait of Theodore Turquet de Mayerne (1573-1655), Physician to James I and to Charles I. His hand wrote the dedication to James I in the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis when it was published in 1618. His pink and bearded face gazes out from the portrait with an expression of shrewdness tinged with apprehension, his right hand held in a gesture of ‘take me as I am’ and his left hand grasping a skull. In gold lettering across the top of the portrait are the words ‘Theodorus Mayerne Eques Auratus’. He seems to epitomize the gravitas, wisdom, authority and worldly success to which most Fellows of the College aspire. It was not an easy road down which the College travelled. Founded in 1518 when Thomas Linacre (1460?-1524) gave over the front portion of his house in Knightrider Street just south of St Paul's Cathedral to accommodate the first Fellows, the College moved premises four more times, to occupy the present site in Regent's Park in 1964. This latter building was designed by Sir Denis Lasdun, combining the architectural features of the adjacent Nash terraces and those of Le Corbusier. The interior, with its stately staircase which lends itself both to formal ceremony and to the interchange of chance encounters, is a striking feature of the building. Over the 480 years of the College's existence the Fellows were involved in several battles with institutions that they perceived to threaten their authority. The Apothecaries sought the right to treat patients as well as dispense for them, and when the College opened the first dispensary at the College in 1698 to provide medicines for the poor this was seen as a threat by the pharmacists. The Dispensary was so successful that others soon followed in St Martin's Lane and in Gracechurch Street. It seems astonishing today that the numbers of Fellows at any one time in the 18th century was below 100, whereas it is now over 10 000, and that it was not until 1835 that non-Oxbridge graduates were admitted to the Fellowship. The Licentiates of the College were sufficiently outraged by the Oxbridge stipulation that they besieged the College in Warwick Lane in 1767 and fought a battle with the Fellows, each side brandishing a motley range of weapons (etching on p. 35). Another agreeable illustration shows a painting by Thomas Rowlandson and Auguste Pugin (1808) of the examination of a candidate for Fellowship in the College premises in Trafalgar Square, at a time when the College was going through a period of placid self-satisfaction (p. 51). The College possesses many treasures of interest and beauty, among which are: a silver caduceus (not a rod of iron), the President's symbol of office; a silver-gilt mace; and a gold-headed cane. The cane was originally owned by Dr John Radcliffe (1652-1714) and was passed successively to five eminent Fellows before the widow of Dr Matthew Baillie presented it to the College in 1825. The cane was carried as an emblem of the status of a physician and possessed a solid handle, in distinction to the more customary canes carried by physicians which had perforated handles in which could be held aromatic herbs or Marseilles vinegar ‘of sovereign remedy against all pestilences’. By the year 1660 the College library possessed 1278 titles as listed by Dr Christopher Merrett, the first Harveian Librarian. Unfortunately the Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed most of these books, some 100 being rescued by Dr Merrett and the Beadle. This calamity led to a bizarre dispute between Dr Merrett, who maintained he had done all that he reasonably could to discharge his duties as custodian, and the College, who maintained that to lose most of the library came under the heading of ‘serious reasons’ for dismissal. The aggrieved Dr Merrett thereupon refused to give up those books which he had saved and the College riposted by sacking him. Since that time many generous donations of books have been made, in particular that of the First Marquis of Dorchester, who bequeathed his whole library to replace the disastrous losses from the Great Fire. Geoffrey Davenport, who was Librarian to the College from 1970 until 1999, and his two co-authors are to be congratulated on producing such a splendid work, the product of intimate contact within the College supplemented by wide learning.

A hippopotamus herd in Trafalgar Square

Warfare on three continents, empire building, and revolution—political, agricultural, and industrial—dominate 18th-century world history. In Europe royal dynasties formed, fought major wars that carved up the map of Europe and the Americas, and began the great colonial expansion that dominated the next century. But the 18th century also ushered in the Enlightenment, which fired the imagination of Europeans, and the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions, which changed society and work forever. To help students better understand the major developments of the 18th century and their impact on 19th- and 20th-century history, this unique resource offers detailed description and expert analysis of the 18th century's most important events: Peter the Great's Reform of Russia; the War of the Spanish Succession; the First British Empire; the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War; the Enlightenment; the Agricultural Revolution; the American Revolution; the Industrial Revolution; the Slave Trade; and the French Revolution. Each of the ten events is dealt with in a separate chapter. Designed for students, this unique format features an introductory essay that presents the facts, followed by an interpretive essay that places the event in a broader context and promotes student analysis. The introductory essay provides factual material about the event in a clear, concise, and chronological manner that makes complex history understandable. The interpretive essay, written by a recognized authority in the field in a style designed to appeal to general readership, explores the short-term and far-reaching ramifications of the event. An annotated bibliography identifies the most important recent scholarship about each event. A full-page illustration complements the narrative for each event. Three useful appendices include: a glossary of names, events, and terms; a timeline of important events in 18th-century world history; and a listing of ruling houses and dynasties of 18th-century Europe. This work is an ideal addition to the high school, community college, and undergraduate reference shelf, as well as excellent supplementary reading for social studies and world history courses.

Early Italian humanists already were pursuing many of the innovations and themes characteristic of their better-known counterparts of the 15th and 16th centuries. Decades before the traditional “father of humanism” Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), writers such as Lovato dei Lovati and Albertino Mussato were fascinated by the study, emulation, and critical assessment of the classical world. Sparked by the needs of the urban societies of the 13th-century Italian Peninsula, Lovato dei Lovati turned toward Antiquity for stylistic models to follow. From his more localized influence, the numbers of early humanists expanded, especially in Padua and Verona. By the early trecento at the latest their writings were generating acclaim across the Veneto, as evidenced by the coronation with the poet’s laurel of Albertino Mussato in Padua in 1315. Works of poetry, history, drama, and others flowed from their pens, even as many of their writings are no longer extant. These late duecento and early trecento figures differed from later writers in several important ways, even as they established a foundation and context for later, better known humanists like Petrarch, Coluccio Salutati, and Leonardo Bruni. Early Italian humanists, for example, made some important manuscript discoveries. They read and critically assessed new and familiar classical works. They tried to emulate the style of classical works in their original writings. However, key differences remained between these early humanists and their later counterparts. Unlike 15th-century humanists, early Italian humanists lacked knowledge of Greek and, thus, were limited to classical writings available in Latin. Philological developments by early Italian humanists were rudimentary, and most manuscript discoveries were to come only later. Humanists in the 15th century mostly rejected these earlier writers as part of their movement’s history. Much of the 20th-century scholarship argues for the inclusion of these writers within the humanist canon and assesses the innovations of early Italian humanists in relation to the work of Petrarch or later writers. More recent work has turned to analyzing their lives and writings on their own terms and publishing new editions of texts.

646 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE II. What distinguishes the post—World War II period is not that science and technology propel the arms race—military-technological change, I repeat, has normally had external sources—but that military authorities have come eagerly to accept or even promote (rather than usually to resist) the introduction of new weapons. Although several of the articles make the same mistake, they offer compensating virtues. The introductory essay does not. It takes almost no advantage of the insights provided in the articles it purports to introduce. It is fortunate that the reverse is also true: The articles entirely ignore the structural-functional explanatory model posited in the introduction. In short, forget about the introduction, use the articles that may be relevant to your particular needs, and wait for the book that will really address the interactions of science, technology, and the military. Barton C. Hacker Dr. Hacker sometimes teaches courses in the history of technology and other subjects at Oregon State University and is completing his latest book, Elements of Controversy: Nuelear Weapons Testing, Radiation Safety, and the AEC, 1947—1974, which continues The Dragons Tail: Radiation Safety in the Manhattan Project, 1942—1946 (Berkeley, 1987). The Patterns of War through the Eighteenth Century. By Larry H. Adding­ ton. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. Pp. xii+161; illustrations, maps, bibliography, index. $22.50 (cloth); $10.95 (paper). There has long been a need for a one-volume textbook covering the history of warfare from prehistory to Napoleon. Such a book should note the changes in strategy, tactics, logistics, and technology that affected early warfare. At the same time, it should be easy to read, to satisfy its undergraduate readers, and comprehensive enough to present a good and accurate survey for scholars. To try to fill this void, Larry H. Addington has written The Patterns of War through the Eighteenth Century. Unfortunately, Addington’s book is so filled with errors, misinterpretations, and mishandled secondary sources that we must still wait for an adequate survey of this important subject. The factual errors are especially conspicuous. Many statements made by Addington are highly questionable, and some are simply wrong. These are too numerous to mention in this review; however, it should be noted that Addington seems to be particularly lost when referring to military technology. For example, a Roman shield was a scutum, not a scrutum (p. 26). Most castles were not built in the 13th and 14th centuries (pp. 61—62). In fact, more castles were built in England, Germany, and France during the 12th century than in the 13th and 14th centuries combined. The trebuchet was not only a counterweight stone-throwing machine, but more often a traction- TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 647 powered artillery piece that relied on the pull of several burly men for its power (p. 62). The Swiss army was not the only army that held its own against cavalry in the 14th century (pp. 64—65). The Scots, English, and Flemings all had success against cavalry-based armies. Hand-held gunpowder weapons did not appear for the first time in the 16th century (p. 68), nor were the Spaniards the first to use them (p. 75). They were certainly known at the end of the 14th century and were used by Burgundian, French, English, German, Italian, and Swiss troops before the Spanish army used them. Finally, Charles VIII was not the first to mount his gunpowder artillery on wheeled carriages (p. 74). This, too, was a product of the mid-15th-century Burgundian army. Other statements show a simple lack of understanding of early warfare. Addington often accepts without reservation the inflated numbers of soldiers mentioned in original sources. He states uncrit­ ically that there were more than 200,000 Persian soldiers, 1,200 warships, and 3,000 supply ships attacking Greece under Xerxes in 480 (p. 12), more than 200,000 Roman casualties in the First Punic War (p. 30), more than 20,000 Moorish cavalry at the battle of Tours (p. 50), more than 8,000 Viking warriors at the battle of Stamford Bridge (p. 53), and more than 4,500 knights and 30,000 foot composing the...

More than just a collection of factual entries, this rich resource explores the difference between scientific and pseudoscientific pursuits in a way that spurs readers to ask questions and formulate answers. * 124 entries, from alchemy and alien abductions to yetis and zombies, that continually focus readers on the true nature of legitimate scientific methods and findings * An introductory essay, drawing on the work of genuine historians and philosophers of science, offering guidelines for assessing topics in pseudoscience * 40 original line drawings created specifically for this reference, depicting key individuals, creatures, artifacts, and more * An extensive bibliography of current and classic works on the full range of pseudoscience topics covered in this volume * An index that makes it easy to locate specific topics, terms, names, and ideas

First published in 1874, this classic work still stands as one of the most definitive texts on the nature and use of the Hebrew tenses. This edition includes a new introductory essay on the book's importance as a manual for today's students of the Hebrew language.

The Affordable Housing Reader brings together classic works and contemporary writing on the themes and debates that have animated the field of affordable housing policy as well as the challenges in achieving the goals of policy on the ground. The Reader – aimed at professors, students, and researchers – provides an overview of the literature on housing policy and planning that is both comprehensive and interdisciplinary. It is particularly suited for graduate and undergraduate courses on housing policy offered to students of public policy and city planning. The Reader is structured around the key debates in affordable housing, ranging from the conflicting motivations for housing policy, through analysis of the causes of and solutions to housing problems, to concerns about gentrification and housing and race. Each debate is contextualized in an introductory essay by the editors, and illustrated with a range of texts and articles. Elizabeth Mueller and Rosie Tighe have brought together for the first time into a single volume the best and most influential writings on housing and its importance for planners and policy-makers.

YEATS'S DRAMA AND THE NO A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN DRAMATIC THEORIES IT IS A WELL KNOWN FACT TO STUDENTS OF William Butler Yeats that the Japanese No Drama had some influence upon his later plays, beginning with Four Plays for Dancers published in 1921. On numerous occasions, the similarities of his dramatic theory and practice to the No have been brought to our attention, such as various theatrical devices in mask, dance, chorus, and musicians, or such ideas as ritual, spiritualism, "anti-naturalism" in the No which Yeats seems to have found congenial to his own idea of drama.1 Not only the studies, but also Yeats's introductory essay itself, which he wrote for a collection of No plays translated by Ernest Fenollosa and refined by Ezra Pound, consider his principal beliefs about drama as essentially similar to some of the major characteristics of the Japanese dramatic tradition. These similarities, however, would tend to mislead us into a superficial association of Yeats's dramas and the No, since they are after all the products of different times and places. This study attempts to examine the concepts and contents involved in both dramas, so as to see beyond the terms commonly describing the characteristics of the Japanese dramatic traditiop and Yeats's plays. By doing this, I hope to focus upon a more meaningful relation between the two dramas than has been taken for granted. 1 Frank Kermode, The Romantic Image (London, 1957), pp. 77.80; Earl Miner. The Japanese Tradition in British and American Literature (Princeton, 1958). pp. 260-264: The unpub!' diss. (Columbia. 1948) by Lawrence E. Shaffer. Jr•• "Yeats and the Noh Drama"; Anthony Thwaite, "Yeats and the Noh," The 20th Century (Sept. 1957). pp. 235-242; Gerald Moore, "The Noh and the Dance Plays of Yeats:' Japan Quarterly, VII, No. 2 (1g60), 177-183; F.A.C. Wilson, W. B. Yeats and Tradition (London, 1958), pp. 40-46; F.A.C. Wilson, Yeats's Iconography (London, 1960), pp. 27-33: Tadaichi Hidaka, "Ietsu no BuyO Shigeki to NilIon no Nogaku," RisshiJ Daigaku Bungaku-bu Ronso, I, No. 1 (1953), 9-27: JirO Nan-e, ND nQ Tenkai (TOkyo, 1954), pp. 8-51. 101 102 MODERN DRAMA May I A basic similarity exists in a link between Yeats's dramatic concept and the medieval idea of the No, a link which Yeats himself did not seem to be clearly aware of. The most fundamental attitude toward drama-the nature and purpose of art-seems to be vitally related in both cases to the symbolic world view. In other words, Yeats's dramas and the No uphold the similar world view and objective of art. The occult tradition which permeated the medieval aesthetic attitude of Japan is also at the root of Yeats's theory of poetry and drama, as stated by Mr. John Senior: The chief symbolists [including Yeats] were to some extent occultists, that insofar as their work contains "philosophy" it is occult philosophy, and more important, that the purpose of their poetry is in a sense the communication and evocation of occult experience.2 As well, in the writings of Zeami (1363-1443), one of the chief founders of the No, we are able to note the Buddhistic world view on which he bases his aesthetic ideas. What are some of the major ideas Yeats and the medieval followers of the No share? (1) There are two orders of reality, visible and invisible; they are two sides of one reality. This dualistic view results from the two kinds of consciousness, the individual mind and the Mind. The former sees the illusory, while the latter sees the reality in the illusory realm. (2) The artist stands in a special relation to the ultimate reality. His task, according to Yeats, is to capture the light beyond the illusory, so that his expression may not be an isolated voice but the immortal voice of the Great Mind or Memory. Yeats's "Great Mind" seems to be fundamentally similar to the Unconscious Mind of the Universe which Zeami refers to as "Emptiness": The vessel (Emptiness) is the universe which gives birth to all things, depending upon the season...