Life, 1910-01-20 · page 34 of 36
Life — January 20, 1910 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine (a satirical publication, not the later photo-magazine) combines literary criticism, advertising, and subscription promotion. **Main Content:** The left column continues "The Literary Zoo," a critical essay discussing how literature should be made accessible to ordinary readers. It critiques scholars like Henry Mabie for writing introductions to poetry collections, arguing they make classic works seem remote rather than inviting people to actually read them. **The Satire:** The right side features "She Smiles," a humorous advertisement for *Life* magazine itself. A suburban husband explains he's happy to come home on Tuesdays because that's when *Life* arrives, making his wife good-natured. The joke satirizes both marital dynamics (implying his wife needs distraction from domestic duties) and *Life's* self-importance—claiming the magazine is so essential that it literally improves family harmony. **Context:** This is essentially *Life* promoting itself through gentle mockery of middle-class suburban life, while the editorial content debates how to make literature relevant to average readers—an ironic contrast given the magazine's own elitist literary pretensions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
e ° written on @ post card, giving your own —_ rae > Burpee, Philadelphia, 22 sei aii yacsye |] Sevrttess. iis nary tir Pp b) 9 The Leading American Seed Catalog—provi- To risk your heart for a dog to tear, ded you intend to have a garden this season. A book of 178 pages with colored plates painted from nature. It tells the. plas fen ch eons hs Bees Ore e e When the fourteen years which Nature We have the Largest Mail-order Seed Trade in rp permits the World and it fs sufficient to address simply u ee, ade. a Are closing in asthma, or tumor, or fits, — And the “vet’s’’ unspoken prescription runs To lethal chambers or loaded guns, The Lipcraty Zoo Then you will find—it’s your own affair, (Continued from page 145). egistered w Wasmnsions ( That you've given your heart for a dog to tear. —New York Tribune. fayor, will tell you exactly who Burns was, and why, and make it clear, with- out injury to your morals, that Shel- ley turned out pretty good stuff, if he did lead an eccentric private life. Mr. Mabie, we are glad to see, is really very lenient with Shelley; but then, of course, the “introduction” was originally accomplished in the Out- look, and not in Mr. Bok’s Philadel- phia salon. We are glad, too, that no reference is made to Shelley's vicious habit of eating buns instead of break- fast. If Taine had been writing these introductions he would almost certain- ly have asociated pastry with some of Shelley’s performances. But = Mr. Mabie is no materialist. Mr. Mabie’s book is intended for readers who would like notable poems if they only knew how. As he him- self says, no one who knows and loves English poetry can fail to regret that so many cultivated readers have turned away from a fountain of re- freshment so abundant. The problem Design of back, Nemstitched linen, pat, Sept. ‘Red, Bhues Browa, Green, 25 cents gold eds dediey! ‘Dealers everywhere or sent rection She Smiles “I’m always glad to go home on Tuesday” said the suburbanite with a large family whose better half had more than she could do, “* because on that afternoon my wife is sure to be good-natured. That is the day that LIFE comes, and I am a regular subscriber.”’ Going home on Tuesday is to lead them to the fountain and make them drink. They would not de- liberately buy a whole volume of Poe or Keats, and they are untrained in the use of the encyclopedia and anthology. Until the encyclopedia becomes more popular with those who seek refresh- For him is well worth while; His wife is sure to greet him With a sunny, honey smile. Does it pay? Well, rather. Every man, woman or child in this country (and others) who thinks of a good thing always sends it to LIFE. first. You will see more good things in LIFE in one month than anywhere else ment of the spirit, and the newspapers generally take to printing “ Old Favor- , s” once more, we sce no reason why “Introductions to Notable Poems” should not be eagerly welcomed by the too numerous persons who have never read poetry. W. T. Larned. in a year. More artists are working continuously for LIFE than any other paper in the world. Logk over some of the recent covers — where else is there anything like them? Life without LIFE is Lifeless — can you get away from that? Read this offer. Obey That Impulse Tue verses which Mr. Kipling has at- Now! foshed (0 peare of ado in: hinsnew Send us five dollars and we will not only put you on our subscription pany of dog lovers: list but will send Free a handsome photo-gravure reproduction of Playing Bridge by Balfour Ker, as a premium, Pay you to see it. Do something about it at once. Just having LIFE around your house —well, you'd be surprised, if you haven’t tried it, what it will do. It’s a real asset. Buy a pup and your money will buy Love unflinching that cannot lic— Perfect passion and worship fed By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head. eat LIFE, 17 w 31, New York We Want Your Wife . who cannot eat anything without Acidity, Gases, Bloating | Belebing, Distress ker Eating, ‘ry One More Good ~anyustng abe icninca ee area tie eating Sip THE b MANGANESE Natural Spring Water. You Can Stop Her Suffering To-Day. Recommended and sold by Park & Tilford: Charles & Ci Acker, Merrall & Conditt Hegeman: Riker: Mithn Bigelow, Kalish: Grocers and Druggists general ‘end for Booklet. MAN-A-CEA WATER CO., 13 Stone St, New York, Subscription $5.00 Canadian $5.52 comicbooks.com