Poem "Miss Charlotte Cushman," Daily Boston Advertiser, December 9, 1871
Dublin Core
Title
Poem "Miss Charlotte Cushman," Daily Boston Advertiser, December 9, 1871
Subject
Cushman, Charlotte Saunders, 1816-1876
Actors and Actresses
Actors and Actresses--US American
Praise
Arts--Literature
Description
Date
1871-12-09
Type
Reference
Poem Item Type Metadata
Text
BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER
SUPPLEMENT
Saturday december 9, 1871.
MISS CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN
Oh, could the Great Unknown, where'er he is
In yonder skies, behold Meg Merilies,
Her lofty form on Ellangowan height,
Her turban'd head arrayed in crimson light,
IIer long, dark hair, her eye, her look that spoke
When Bertram shuddered as the sapling broke,
Or hear sage Dominie, with terrors wrung,
Cry out “Avaunt! " then chide in Latin tongue,
Would he not grieve to see how tasteless men
Have marr'd the beauty of his magic pen
Yet this poor drama captivates the stage
Beneath the great Enchantress of the age.
Such is the play her wondrous powers adorn,
She seems a Sybil to the manner born ;
In Katharine to the last she walks a queen,
And startles Macbeth in the midnight scene;
She stands unrivall'd in dramatic play,
The noblest, greatest actress of the day.
With life unblemished, elegant, refined,
To see her, hear her, is a feast of mind.
Let superstition raise its false alarms
Like Papal thunders, at the Drama's charms;
Yet when true genius stirs the scenic air,
Might not some preachers learn a lesson there,
To move with grace, to modulate each word,
And give to truth an unction seldom heard.
Then would their voice, sweet as the breeze of heaven
That breath'd o'er Eden, ere to ruin given,
Make us all feel, while sorrowing at its loss,
There never was a drama like the Cross.
December 6, 1871.
I. H. S.
Location
Boston, MA, US
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Geolocation
Collection
Citation
“Poem "Miss Charlotte Cushman," Daily Boston Advertiser, December 9, 1871,” Archival Gossip Collection, accessed April 19, 2024, https://archivalgossip.com/collection/items/show/276.