Life, 1916-04-06 · page 27 of 80
Life — April 6, 1916 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon ("Easter Morning"):** A satirical scene of Easter promenading in fashionable dress. The figures wear top hats and elaborate clothing, depicting the social ritual of displaying wealth and status during the holiday in an urban setting. **Bottom Illustration & Caption:** References Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar* ("Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look"). The caption suggests someone—likely a political or public figure—appears desperate or dangerous. Without additional context, the specific identity is unclear, but the quote implies treachery or ambition. **Poem ("Easter in Washington Square"):** Nostalgic verse romanticizing Greenwich Village's past, contrasting "olden times" of refined society with contemporary spring rituals. It celebrates Easter traditions while gently mocking the persistence of fashionable social gathering ("for tea and truffles"). **Overall Point:** The page satirizes bourgeois Easter traditions and fashionable display among New York's upper classes, mixing gentle mockery with literary and Shakespearean references typical of *Life* magazine's sophisticated humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ Caesar: YOND CASSIUS HAS A LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK” EASTER MORNING SHS Easter in Washington Square APOWN the blooming primrose way, Across the dew-hung morning, You pass to keep the Easter Day, The Avenue adorning. A memory of the olden times, Of ruffs and laces, The ladies of the Dobson rhymes And rakes and races! A stream once ran beneath your fect Where shadows quiver, And lovers strolled along the street Beside the river Where now the archway breaks the sky, And when day falters The star of Easter shines on high To mark our altars! My Lady of the daffodils That smile to greet you The fragrant Square with glory fills— Love waits to meet you. Life, and again more life, to fling Your hands to pillage; s The dream—the song—the fire of Spring In Greenwich Village! Still sounds the lute and droops the rose; Joy trips in tether; Spring’s gentle wind about us blows Our hearts together, Just as of old!) Mark with what grace Fate nimbly shuffles, Here, sitting in the same old place For tea and truffles! Kate Masterson. comicbooks.com