4.

A study of this scheme shows that Wildenvey has done no great violence
to the fable nor to the characters. His shifts and changes are sensible
enough. In the treatment of the text, however, he has had no scruples.
Shakespeare is mercilessly cut and mangled.

The ways in which this is done are many. A favorite device is to break
up long speeches into dialogue. To make this possible he has to put
speeches of his own invention into the mouths of other characters. The
opening of the play gives an excellent illustration. In Wildenvey we
read:

_Orlando_: (kommer ind med tjeneren Adam)
Nu kan du likesaa godt faa vite hvordan alle mine bedroveligheter
begynder, Adam! Min salig far testamenterte mig nogen fattige tusen
kroner og paala uttrykkelig min bror at gi mig en standsmaessig
opdragelse. Men se hvordan han opfylder sin broderpligt mot mig!
Han lar min bror Jacques studere, og rygtet melder om hans store
fremgang. Men mig underholder han hjemme, det vil si, han holder mig
hjemme uten at underholde mig. For man kan da vel ikke kalde det at
underholde en adelsmand som ellers regnes for at staldfore en okse!

_Adam_:
Det er synd om Eder, herre, I som er min gamle herres bedste son!
Men jeg tjener Eders bror, og er alene tjener...

_Orl_:
Her hos ham har jeg ikke kunnet laegge mig til noget andet end vaekst,
og det kan jeg vaere ham likesaa forbunden for som hans husdyr hist
og her. Formodentlig er det det jeg har arvet av min fars aand som
gjor opror mot denne behandling. Jeg har ingen utsigt til nogen
forandring til det bedre, men hvad der end haender, vil jeg ikke
taale det laenger.

Orlando's speech, we see, has been broken up into two, and between the
two new speeches has been interpolated a speech by Adam which does not
occur in the original. The same trick is resorted to repeatedly. Note,
for instance, Jacques first speech on the deer (Act II, 7) and Oliver's
long speech in IV, 3. The purpose of this is plain enough--to enliven
the dialogue and speed up the action. Whether or not it is a legitimate
way of handling Shakespeare is another matter.

More serious than this is Wildenvey's trick of adding whole series of
speeches. We have noted in our survey of the "bearbeidelse" that the
second act opens with a dialogue between the Duke and Amiens which is a
gratuitous addition of Wildenvey's. It is suggested by the original,
but departs from it radically both in form and c