Letter from William Montgomerie to Lawrence Wilson [manuscript], ca.1956.
1956
Items
Details
Title
Letter from William Montgomerie to Lawrence Wilson [manuscript], ca.1956.
Created/published
England?, 1956 September4.
Description
1 p.
Associated name
Montgomerie, William, sender.
Note
This is a PRELIMINARY RECORD. It may contain incorrect information. Please email catalog@folger.edu for assistance.
Item Details
Call number
FAST ACC 271278 (flat)
Folger-specific note
From dealer's description: " ONE: TLS ('Wm. Montgomerie.') from Montgomerie to Lawrence. No place; 4 September 1956. 1p, 4to. He has been retyping the essay, and thought Wilson might like to read it. His is 'a new interpretation', and Montgomerie 'thought that a Catholic priest might be intrigued by the problem, which suggests - by this interpretation - that Shakespeare may be posing what is fundamentally a Christian problem, rather than merely a moral problem'. Montgomerie has always been 'dissatisfied with the revenge motive of most scholars'. He points out that 'Shakespeare was capable of writing the mercy speech of The Merchant of Venice while the end of The Tempest is more the real Shakespeare than Titus Andronicus.' He feels that the problem 'might be worth discussing some time', and suggests that his interpretation 'may be more daring than some critics can face, but we are living in the post-Freudian age'.In a postscript, after suggesting that Wilson keep the essay as he is 'making a few more copies', he explains his use of the word 'Catholic' in the letter: 'I mean that a Presbyterian might not be willing to face the problem. William Montgomerie (1904-1994), Scottish poet, folklorist with his wife Norah Montgomerie (1909-1998) [Lawrence Wilson, brother of poet R. N. D. Wilson (1899-1953); William Shakespeare] Typescript of his piece of Shakespeare criticism 'The Two Versions of Hamlet's "Mousetrap"'. With Typed Letter Signed explaining his aims to the Ulster poet Lawrence Wilson. Place not stated in either item. Letter dated 4 September 1956. Essay undated. Typescript of a piece of Shakespeare criticism by the Scottish poet and folklorist William Montgomerie, titled 'The Two Versions of Hamlet's "Mousetrap"', with an interesting covering letter from Montgomerie to the Ulster poet Lawrence Wilson (brother of the better-known poet R. N. D. Wilson). Ordered from Richard Ford. D9301, 2019-05-14, email quote.