The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-12-15


the poets themselves, sometimes by critics
who are not poets. Very frequently, how
ever. the critics refuse admission to the new
cases, and there IS war between the poets
and the critics. The frequency of the last
phenomenon has given rise to the notion
that war is the only natural relation between
them.
Since, then, the rise of the critical spirit is
not to bear the blame of the failure of
modern tragedies on the stage, where are we
to look for the true cause 1t has already
been limited that the theory of development
by continual differentiation will throw some
light upon the question. Mr.. Herbert
Spencer has applied the theory to the
early history of the fine arts ia
Greece. He has shown how poetry,
music, and dancing flow from a common
source-the monotonous chant accompanied
by rude instruments TO which in the earliest
times men marched in procession to the altars
of their gods; how they gradually became dis
tinct, and received each separate and paral-
lei development not, however, without act
ing and reacting upon one another continu-
ally; how poetry, having reached the compa-
lively high development which we find in
the Odyssey, began itself to diverge in differ
ent directions, and how in this way lyrical
poetry and the drama, both of which we're po-
tentially contained in the epic, obtained both
an independent existence.
We see this principle at work throughout
the history of art, if at least we do not con-
fine our attention to short periods, but regard
its development in any degree as a whole.
If we compare, for instance, the English
literature of the Elizabethan era with that of
the nineteenth century, and more especially
that portion of our literature which may be
fairly comprehended under the drama, we
shall see that many things, of which hitherto
no adequate explanation has been given, may
be explained as natural results of the law of
progress. Shakespeare and the other dra-
matists of his time advance far beyond their
predecessors in extending the range
! of dramatic writing. We find
in their works that the distinction
between tragedy and comedy has been esta-
| blished; most of the conventional characters
which are repeated in the moral plays with
! little variation have been thrown aside; real
characters, drawn from the experience of life,
have in general taken the place OF the devils
and the virtues and the vices of earlier poets;
art has separated itself from religion and
morality, to which in former times it
| intended to be entirely subservient. There
! has been marked progress from the general
to the special; from distractions, in which
experience is vaguely summed up, to pictures
of actual men and women of decided indi-
viduality. Still, however, the drama is suffi-
ciently narrow to be almost completely within
occupied by Shakespeare appears to us
| to be of immense extent. He seems to
have been conversant with every phase of
human feeling. And no doubt the wonder
and admiration with which we regard him is
in great measure just But we must not
forget that we are apt often to attribute to
Shakespeare that which is in reality modern
Interpretation of what he wrote; we are apt to
consider that to have existed actually in his
thoughts which can only really be
said to have existed there poten-
TALLY; his writings contain indeed
the germs of much of our nineteenth century
thought, but we require to be reminded that
they were as yet only germs, that they had
not the full meaning for Shakespeare and his
contemporaries that they possess now for us.
We must remember also that the range of
Shakespeares plays is almost co-extensive
with that of the whole dramatic art of his
age: it can hardly be said that any important
species of it which we find in the writings of
his contemporaries in England is altogether
outside of his.
Turning to the dramatic productions of
our own time, we see at once how vast pro-
gress in speciality has taken place. 1t is no
longer possible for man-it would be impos-
sible even for a second Shakespeare re-to cover
the ground that the drama has now appro-
priated to itself. Setting aside the novel
with its many varieties-the historical novel,
the novel of society high and low, the politi-
cal novel, the religious novel, and the rest,
all of which may be regarded as in great
degree developments to be traced in THEN
origin to the Elizabethan drama-we have not
only tragedies, melodramas, comedies of many
kinds, farces, burlesques, extravaganzas,
written for representation upon the stage, bat
we have also writings essentially dramatic bat
not intended for production at all-such, fol
example as Shelleys "Prometheus, Landor's
Imaginary Conversations" and "Acts anC
Scenes, and Mr.. BrOwnings Dramatic Ly-
RIGS, which are, as he says, ''though oftec
lyric in expression, always dramatic in prin-
ciple, being sosmany utterances of SO many
imaginary persons, not mine.
1t is true that our literature has not had ar
isolated development. Many ideas and many
forms of expression have come to us frou
, distant ages and from different countries
Greece, Italy, France, and Germany have al
, done something to modify our art, giving u
new matter to assimilate, new methods t.
, initiate, alien laws of criticism to am
plify and determine our own. Example
are scarcely wanted to show how deeply tn
ever-increasing desire to understand and imi
tate early or foreign modes of thought ha
influenced the writings of our modern Eng
lish poets Mr.. Matthew Arnold, by insist
ing on Greek ideas of beauty; Mr.. Rossetti
by directing our attention to early ItAlial
art; Mr.. Swinburne, with his admiration 70
the poetry of Mr.. Browning, who says-
"open my heart and you viii see
Such lovers old are and she;"
4 all of these have tended to increase, by tn
introduction of foreign elements, this de
{ velopment of English poetry by differentia
l. L. 8. II. fS,,.