| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: exaggerated, became clear and rational, and of high artistic
import, illustrating Shakespeare's conception of the true relations
between the art of the actor and the art of the dramatist.
'It is of course evident that there must have been in Shakespeare's
company some wonderful boy-actor of great beauty, to whom he
intrusted the presentation of his noble heroines; for Shakespeare
was a practical theatrical manager as well as an imaginative poet,
and Cyril Graham had actually discovered the boy-actor's name. He
was Will, or, as he preferred to call him, Willie Hughes. The
Christian name he found of course in the punning sonnets, CXXXV.
and CXLIII.; the surname was, according to him, hidden in the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum: never to come near Nimmie Amee again, but I told her I
was my own master and would do as I pleased, not
realizing that this was a careless way to speak to a
Witch.
"The next day, as I was cutting wood in the forest,
the cruel Witch enchanted my axe, so that it slipped
and cut off my right leg."
"How dreadful!" cried Woot the Wanderer.
"Yes, it was a seeming misfortune," agreed the Tin
Man, "for a one-legged woodchopper is of little use in
his trade. But I would not allow the Witch to conquer
The Tin Woodman of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: other mystery; the colors confused even in the highest lights.
"Cursy was an old playwright, jaded by the life of the theatrical
world. He liked comfort; he liked a luxurious, affluent, easy
existence; he enjoyed being a king in his own house; he liked to be
host to a party of men of letters in a hotel resplendent with royal
luxury, with carefully chosen works of art shining in the setting.
Tullia allowed du Bruel to enthrone himself amid the tribe; there were
plenty of journalists whom it was easy enough to catch and ensnare;
and, thanks to her evening parties and a well-timed loan here and
there, Cursy was not attacked too seriously--his plays succeeded. For
these reasons he would not have separated from Tullia for an empire.
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from To-morrow by Joseph Conrad: of the yard. The ground was so much dug up all
over, that as the season advanced it turned to a
quagmire. When it froze hard, he was disconso-
late. What would Harry say? And as he could
not have so much of Bessie's company at that time
of the year, the roars of old Carvil, that came muf-
fled through the closed windows, calling her in-
doors, exasperated him greatly.
"Why don't that extravagant fellow get you a
servant?" he asked impatiently one mild after-
noon. She had thrown something over her head to
To-morrow |
