Should we really care for the greatest actors of the past could
we have them before us? Should we find them too different from
our accent of thought, of feeling, of speech, in a thousand minute
particulars which are of the essence of all three? Dr. Doran's
5 long and interesting records of the triumphs of Garrick, and other
less familiar, but in their day hardly less astonishing, players,
do not relieve one of the doubt. Garrick himself, as sometimes
happens with people who have been the subject of much anecdote
and other conversation, here as elsewhere, bears no very distinct
10 figure. One hardly sees the wood for the trees. On the other hand,
the account of Betterton, "perhaps the greatest of English
actors," is delightfully fresh. That intimate friend of Dryden,
Tillatson, Pope, who executed a copy of the actor's portrait by
Kneller which is still extant, was worthy of their friendship;
15 his career brings out the best elements in stage life. The stage
in these volumes presents itself indeed not merely as a mirror of
life, but as an illustration of the utmost intensity of life, in
the fortunes and characters of the players. Ups and downs,
generosity, dark fates, the most delicate goodness, have nowhere
20 been more prominent than in the private existence of those devoted
to the public mimicry of men and women. Contact with the stage,
almost throughout its history, presents itself as a kind of
touchstone, to bring out the bizarrerie, the theatrical tricks
and contrasts, of the actual world.
Adapted from an essay by W H Pater
Questions:
1. In the expression “One hardly sees the wood for the trees”, the author apparently intends the word trees to be analogous to
A. features of Doran’s language style
B. details learned from oral sources
C. personality of a famous actor
D. detail’s of Garrick’s life
E. stage triumphs of an astonishing player
2. The doubt referred to in line 7 concerns whether
A. the stage personalities of the past would appeal on a personal level to people like the author
B. their contemporaries would have understood famous actors
C. the acting of famous stage personalities would appeal to us today
D. Garrick was as great as he is portrayed
E. historical records can reveal personality
3. Information supplied in the passage is sufficient to answer which of the following questions?
I Who did Doran think was probably the best English actor?
II What did Doran think of Garrick?
III Would the author give a definite answer to the first question posed in the passage?
A. I only
B. II only
C. I and III only
D. II and III only
E. I, II and III
Answers:
- B
- A
- C
- The “wood” refers to the bigger picture, the “trees” to the details. One apparently does not get a picture of Garrick the man, but one does get along and interesting record of his triumphs. We are also told that Garrick has been the subject of much conversation and anecdote. Hence the “trees” refers to the details of Garrick’s life learned mainly from oral sources.
- “Should we care for the greatest actors” means “should we like them”. The author goes on to ask whether we would find their ways and ideas too different from our own. These are the doubts that he raises. The author is not really concerned whether we would like their acting. Hence, A is the best answer.
- The quotation marks around "perhaps the greatest of English actors," tell us that the author is quoting from the book he is reviewing, and hence the author of that book, Doran, thinks Betterton was probably the best. Doran writes “long and interesting records of the triumphs of Garrick” but we cannot infer Doran’s opinion of the actor from that. The author would not give a definite answer to the question because he says the writings of Doran “do not relieve one of the doubt”. We can answer question I with the word “Betterton” and question III with the word “no”.
