THE LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFUL 



without scenery. Occasionally we have 

 the Shakespearean method revived in this 

 land and time and the plays are acted on 

 the bare stage. On the other hand, we have 

 witnessed many elaborated productions of 

 "Romeo and Juliet," "Winter's Tale," "Tam- 

 ing of the Shrew," "Merchant of Venice," 

 etc., in which the scenery was a series of su- 

 perb pictures well worth seeing for itself and 

 without reference to the lines or the acting. 

 Yet we have never felt that the scenery 

 really interfered with the play itself, or 

 that it detracted from the acting or the 

 value of the lines. 



Speaking of Shakespeare in this con- 

 nection, we may go yet further. Sitting by 

 the fire and reading the pages for the mere 

 delight of them as pure literature, we still 

 have the landscape, a good part of the time 

 at least, standing plainly before our eyes. 

 The forest of Arden is as plain to us as 

 the salt marshes of Hackensack or the sand- 

 hills of Nebraska. The mental picture 

 which most of us have of Venice was taken 

 from the same book, and it is no mean 

 picture, either. How vividly, too, can we 

 see the island on which Miranda dwelt. 

 And even though the geographers say there 



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