Peace, love, creativity: Hope of mankind; The tragedy of modern Man, part one

From the Great Hall of the Cooper Union in New York City. National Educational radio presents the Cooper Union forum series on peace love and creativity the hope of mankind. These programs were recorded by station WNYC. Here now is the chairman of the Cooper Union forum Dr. Johnson. The Fairchild thank you very much my friend. Good evening ladies and gentlemen welcome to the forum for jobs and the great role of the Cooper Union where we are continuing with our program of peace love the particular subject of discussion. This time happens to be the tragedy of. And modern. How to. Want tragedy and water

more. The first time in 40 years I've ever done this on the radio. I hope the radio will pardon me moment. Professor from the University of Buffalo where he was a professor of English he was come here to talk on this topic. Just mention and this is the only thing I'm going to say about one of the many things I can say. You know one thing I'm going to say is that he was the first winner for the play right here. Isn't that a credible first order when or you know we're delighted that he could get down here from Buffalo talk to us

talk to us on the topic and do tragedy. Modern. Was there a little more gradual. Yeah man. Ladies and gentlemen I suppose I will impart. This day to say the word tragedy from may misuse that to which we have become a part. For instance in the current issue of the Saturday evening there is an article entitled The tragedy dating of Thomas Thomas Dodd

Senator lack of scruples with respect to money sent to his office or to person use of money sent to his office for an army of social purposes scandalized the nation. And here is an article called The tragedy a town that died in New York. And I'm glad they are. But even if the author soon die out I have an infant was impossible because he admitted in fact he admitted his guilt but not even assume that the author thinks he was innocent in what sense could there be attraction. As an American. M. you from unions own personal purpose.

Sounds sad to resign for the conduct of government. The word tragedy sounds very low in knight that that is not used to convey a definite quality of experience or a definite quality of Lot. Now the title of this lecture tonight is tragedy in modern man. And I will try and presenting my ideas on this topic to stick to our rather restricted and I hope clear notion of tragedy and boy he collects and current misuses of

modern man a tragedy that is one topic. And the first thing I want to mention and this connection is a book by Joseph Wood Krutch published some 30 years ago which was called the modern contemporary book a very intelligent sophisticated essay on contemporary Lett literature and morals of that period and which touched up the position that the modern temple was on him right. Because you're really only suitable for tragedy. Very recently an American classicist named Arnott Knox has published a book entitled The heroic attempt by a book about the hero's Sophocles and

in his analysis of the heroic temple. It's evident that what he considers the heroic temple is something definitely not model so we have a work in which the modern Temporist scene is not tragic and a work on the right which is not right or is seen as not modern. As Now there where an antipathy or a contradiction between what we modern with deisel makes and which is a far more clearly and the tragic to go back to Joseph Wood Krutch walk which was riding but at the time period. Crutch tried to show that in those words and those literary

works are magic words which have been called trash and which justify the use of the term. There was a certain view of humanity. There was a certain wonder around it and excitement about man his possibilities and his capacity probably remember that in how much the speed of mammals which is because of what an excellent work is man. So he goes on to deny that he can continue to have that feeling. But many cases according to crutch that was Works which justified the time tragic expressed.

Feeling pride in the human being and what he is and what he can accomplish. Not physically but Marley. And Crouch had this feeling of disappearing. We are too sophisticated. And you were a legend and we very do not feel that way about the people we know you and we cannot know about literary creations differently than we can fail about people we know very well quest of civilization. The greater knowledge we are able to cumulate from

psychology about the actual motives of people in their old situations which we experience and come to understand deeply informs that people are really not worthy of the kind of poetry which Sophocles and Shakespeare developing them to be modern. To repudiate tragedy. Now to this one I can't. But there's something strange about it and that it does not pertain to one's own experience. And he suggested Martin Reilly Chinaman any tragedy you live is quite impossible and normal rubble that is undesirable from the point of view of a modern culture.

That William and there's a real problem neither is the notion that modern man or the modern individual for that is uniquely from a psychological point of view that he's having a religious find Hughes not able to be his followers willing to swim. Moreover. He also stated or implied by Crouch that he is not able to see his fellows from a metaphysical standpoint and by metaphysical I mean to take the word in an extremely general sense and not limited to

any particular metaphysics that I'm a physical we mean a point of view in which the intensities of feeling personal feelings are related. Just some here were very nature the inability of modern man to look upon the actions of models of their followers from any psychological point of view. Number one the rennet they're ready to look at such actions not feelings. The legislature or metaphysically can jam a quarter to a kind of sophisticated delight in the shortcomings. Of those who are right and to the art of comedy

in fiction and on the stage. Tragedy then becomes impossible. Now before considering whether that view is justified. And at some point I shall try to challenge it. I want to develop some further notions about it. Common not merely just one crutch but many other riders of the same general persuasion and tendency. It is very often fraught when it is sad that modern ones are incapable or

tragedy. The corollary to that being that the Elizabethan was capable of tragedy great whatever trad leading in one century was charging is very often thought that or soon when and where necessary and that a going from the fourth of the century could work into the other and see apply in which a man very much like himself dressed like himself speaking a language such as he regularly says but I was wise. Resent going to a tragic destination. And at a struggle for further assume that this was

true. Elizabeth Inman in the period of Queen Elizabeth and of James the First War in the 17th century in France and Louis the Fourteenth. Now this is not the case of a Greek in a more century could not enter in and see anyone he could consciously identify with himself or whose language she could recognize as being very close to here suffering a tragedy and for the record the characters of Greek tragedy were seen in the launch of the light. They warm air but they spoke through loud speakers of accounting their gestures will form and not normal. And

there was a great distance between the figure of Greek tragedy and the greenback day in the Athenian audience and the same is true though the distance may not be extreme between the allegedly from spectacular. And the tragic figures of Shakespeare rather sour between the court of Louis the Fourteenth and the people the dramatic thing is a rash thing and corner on the French today I think very largely as a result of the growth in development of the novel which today we are told is a dying form. But I'm thinking of the period when it was most

alive and people could read a book in which the hero or the protagonist was very much a man can read a book in which a protectiveness was very much like himself spoke very much as he did that he was found in very similar situations in life created the notion. Or suggested the possibility that there might be a type of life moment in which there would be no division between the audience and the characters on the stand in line and in front of my loving situation and yet the audience would be very happy not to be in my right and at the same time could watch someone exactly like

him. Then right on the notion of who we are to expect to playwright to make. Tragic without any adornment of our language. And he destroyed more personality and he elaboration or enlargement and as much of our situation. And finally with recourse to religion or metaphysical idea of any kind. And so the question then is raised is this in fact is this not an impossibility and always

who may be right in the end of the modern parameters. Are they not asking for the impossible. Some of you may be inclined to say well in the 19th century this is one of the place people on this day who spoke are not only unadorned language and striking. I'm speaking of Israel is to play uprising like the dosshouse and those characters who no longer verse who are middle class. The action took place and you know we didn't interior very realistic. No we didn't carry that with reverence on the stage to indicate

the Clash relations. Appearing in and yet for some people in the situation and with these characters you've created something comparable to the World Cup. Perhaps God will be cited as evidence. Now there is no question that every word this is his one of. In heart importance was one of the playwrights who accepted this demand as we go and try to meet him

and he did try to mediate in the house. He tried to work the chair in a structure and with the catastrophe was really inevitable and could not be avoided in the great crash. He tried to preserve the solemnity the serious the sense of awkwardness found in flight and yet be true to a raw. Are purely like I want your goal of human beings when the values

that prompted them to act. And I think that people in the 19th century have an opportunity in saying this for others. I've been enjoying at least the illusion because it made me laugh here Lucian. There they was playing themselves on the stage and they were seeing themselves so people know better and tragically affected tragically tormented tragically destroyed. We reflection on absence after the novelty of writing near

Ron or the may have been imitated. Our friends and thousands of times by contemporary playwrights and by moving picture industry we find that we are not really satisfied with there. Tragic character. And at this point we begin to agree with the point of view taken by Joseph Wood Krutch that after all these people to either limited or mechanical to grasping what you lacking in a higher or certain higher range of feeling as well as a high range of rhetoric. For us to really feel unknowable by that despair this suffering or that destruction and we have come to feel that

we us and so much I get in this kind of work and then the notion arises which I think just at the very first. But perhaps it is impossible to expect without the metaphysical exploration metaphysical speculation. What do you believe in religious feeling. Such transcendence of the ordinary human situation as more great works of tragedy. Which if you haven't the word Porton meaning and made a pageant a witch and when you playwrights and want to let. You slip through. And so the question right now

and the question which concerns me in the present generation is which is the true one and can be hired and impassibility then asked the playwright. And of course in a way we answer that we answer something about man as he is in modern times. Now I cannot in order to justify my contention that despite war we never got.

Involved in bringing this day to the audience the fact that the audience person was more secure why didn't more right as they are in this day and age just buy more of the land of which this war the playwright and the rest in the Yarra tragedy it is not impossible. Shimon and not him and does not require. Any religious. Belief as some have said. Or metaphysical metaphysical speculation.

But to to make that point of course I will have to will present you with a definite work which has characterized as what I have which satisfies which will satisfy the modern audience and let me personally back to our being a modern situation with modern individuals with a modern psychology in which there is no metaphysics no religion and yet in which they're feeling right and I think we have such a plight. There may be others but I can think of none in any case the least satisfying to me and that is the why

of the time I write here and the long and titled Henry of the four which actually in my mind and so I I recently saw a production of it. Now I wonder why you would mention when Conny Pirandello of the number of things that are quite explicit. First the question of trust which I made a big point. Now I know why the hero is a modern Italian who will manage the means but letting in modern times. Who would want to. At a carnival with this watch. As a result of the baring of his watch. Man I

was jealous of them and I play she would run from a sword and struck his head. And what was mine and.