, 1877-09-09
THE DECLINE OF THE DRAMA.


Bouo1cAuLr on the subject Of the decline OF
| the drama deserves some attention, not Sc
| much because the writer of it speaks with
| authority as because ho assumes to do SO.
AIr. Bouc1cAu1r is we'll known to patrons OF
the drama both in England and America.
He cannot hope to impose on them by the
use of asterisks and the fag-ends of familiar
classical quotations. Nor will the claim to
superior discernment aud virtue on his part
protect him from the censure which he
merits in this connection rs fully rs any
man now living He surrenders his case
when lie confcsses that he abandoned orig
nal productions and devoted himself to trans
lations because he saw tho gains Of the latter
description of work we're greater than those
of the former. This was certainly a low
motive to govern defender of the English
drama in its native purity. II ADDISON,
whom Mr.. Bouc1oAUIT processes to admire,
had sold his talent to tho highest bidder,
ho would not have written his tragedy
of "Cato," or his papers now famous
in the Spectator collection; GOLDSMITH
would never have composed "She Stoops
to Conquer" if he had* looked only to
pecuniary reward for his labors aud
SHAKESPEARE himself, the most careless Of
authors, might have found richer returns in
hattering the great or in satirizing the poor
than ho could hope to obtain in the pursuit
Of his regular calling.
This introduction of realistic effects on the
efc .- rF In u of Id
drama, and, with proper limitations, not
even Oh Indication of it. When spectacle is
substituted for acting, or accorded creator
prominence, there may with justice be an
outcry against the innovators; but if tho
scenery is used to assist the art OF the actors,
it cannot be too complete or resemble nature
too closely. MIR. VINCENT CEus1snEs and his
pump we're ridiculous only because the latter
was the chief figure in the play. Mr.. BoUc1-
cAuLr's condemnation of all devices Of this
description is rs unreasoning rs it is insin-
cere. When Mr.. MAcEEApT played g The
Tempest" on the boards Of Covent Garden
Theatre. at IN expense of many thousand
pounds, he showed no disrespect, but rather
tho>llghest reverence, for the author. And
the severe traditions Of the Comedio Fran
caise are commendab1e not so much because
they remove distractions from the path of
the actor, as because they are in harmony
with the spirit Of the authors they repro
duce.
Mr. Bouc1cAUIr has O great deal to say
about the influence Of newspaper criticism
on the drama, and to this cause more than
to any other he attributes its decay. He
says without compunction that the news
paper critic "is, and always has been, in
capable of discharging the functions of the
old critical band, while in another breath be
maintains that the men Of the highest liter
ary prominence are recruited for the ranks |
Of the press, If anything A1r. Bouc1cAuIr
might say on subject of this kind could |
possess weight, it might be worth the while
to place in parallel columns his condemna- |
lion Of newspaper criticism and his lament |
over the decline Of literature. But the pub
lie expects only the rankest inconsistencies !
from him, aud to point them out would be |
% insult the intelligence of his readers, We
Ire glad, however, to quote such sentiments
IS these:
As the newspaper press has prospered, 70 in pro-
PORTION hare the poet, the novelist, and the
lramats1 disappeared. In the commencement OF
his century, the list of authors headed BY Brnox,
'HEILEr, MOORE ScorT, CoLNAS, SHERIDAN,
'uLwEH, and KNOWLES formed but few OF the
Where are their compeers Of this periods
.hey are private soldiers in the ranks OF the press
Not to speak Of the contempt for rhetoric
7hich A1r. Bouc1cAu1r exhibits when he
peaks of ia galaxy" as go few Of
'halan1," and their sc compeers" ns *'private
oaiers," it may be pertinent to inquire |