Life, 1914-12-31 · page 7 of 41
Life — December 31, 1914 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine presents a poem titled "Time" by Evelyn Louise Everett, accompanied by an illustration labeled "An Aida Audience." The cartoon depicts an operatic scene referencing Verdi's *Aida*, a grand opera set in ancient Egypt. The illustration shows elaborately costumed performers and audience members in exaggerated, theatrical poses—nobles, soldiers, and attendants surrounding what appears to be a reclining figure (likely Aida herself). The satirical point appears to be mocking the pretension and spectacle of high opera culture. The caption's note that "gowns must accord with the music" suggests gentle ridicule of operagoers' obsession with matching elaborate costumes to the performance. The grotesque facial expressions and crowded composition humorously capture the melodramatic excess typical of grand opera productions and their audiences during this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HOLD the souls of all the world, The little souls so mad for joy They drink the wines of wickedness, They clasp for gold the dross alloy; The languid souls, incurious, That pass like watchers at a play, That meditate so white and chill Nor heed at all, the common day; The mighty souls so great in grief ; The burning souls so swift in song; The tender, silent souls of peace, They one and all to me belong. Beneath my temple gate they bend, Before my sombre shrines they bow And each unto its secret self Repeats its one impassioned vow. They term me cruel and protest, They term me mighty and rebel, Yet never guess the sacrifice Is made because I love them well. AN AIDA AUDIENCE Mine is the harlot’s soul that weeps, Mine are the priests who kneel to pray, The maid who dreams, the child who laughs, The thief who hides his heart away, And be it late or be it soon, To serf in chains, to lord above I set upon each pallid brow The deathless symbol of my love! Leolyn Louise Everett. (to BE EN REGLE THIS SEASON COWNS MUST ACCORD WITH THE MUSIC) comicbooks.com