The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-08-11

completed his voyage from tho Iellespont TO
Argos. Altogether too tmid to dream OF cor
recting. or oven verifying their masters dicta.
the censors of tho French stego were ready
enough to pervcrt thom. Aristotle had merely
noted the historical fact that most dramas OF his
day happened to observe certain limits OF time
| and place. To inquire. however. whether this
| popularity were essential or accidental seems
| not TO have occurred TO men who understood
neither tho functions of n chorus nor the
mechanism of the Attic stage. But it
IL plain that the forvor OF popular en-
! thusiasm and tho gush OF genuine sym
patty ignore the restrictions OF their
theory. We find it no tax upon him who has
| learned to love Desdemoha In Venice to attend
hertO Cyprus. and easily as tho Afrite in tho Per-
sian tale. Hermann" transports the ontranced
mind from the palace of liuy Gomez to the tomb
of Charlemagno. And equally in "Goetz Won
Borlichingon we gallop from city to castle and
from month to month with the reckless speed
Of his own troopers yet our interest still un-
| tired. sits rooted behind the saddle.
There is no doubt ono sort OF unity which any
clear-sighted man who has witnessed n dozen
plays recognizes quito az distinctly as the watch
ors on the critical Zion. The current phrases
aesthetic unity unity OF interest. OF impression.
of design. describe the same thing from different
stAndpoints. An effective drama undoubtedly
! must De coneTcnt anu uetcfinlnMe. IL VIII
neither perplex the judgment nor scatter the
sympathics Of an audience. but evolve n single
catastrophe. decipher central thought 1t IL
true enough that to wait the Imagination across
long intervals. lulling meanwhile calculation
/ and sustain'n g enthusiasm. may enhance the
| difficulty OF the feat but difficulty Ia spur and
| not Il wall. IL IL clear that n drama is not an
episode: that n genuine unity OF action i'm
plies. az Aristotle said beginning. a
middle. and an end In other words.
| great passions cannot bo adequately con-
ceived without n view OF their development but
how rarely il such perspective possible within
the compass Of dav or tho limits OF a single
scene No doubt some frgid works may have
owed compactness. but it IN equally clear that
noble plays have sacrificed vitality to the nc
titious unites oi place aud time. Compare. for
| example. "Andromachc" and lie Roi s'Amuse."
The action Of Hacnes tragedy takes place
within thirty hours. We arc shown at
the outset four passions wrought already to
the uttcrmost point Of tension. Tho hoadlong
appetite Of Pyrrhus is ready to spurn the most
sacred obligations and insult his alanccd
bride. On the other side, Orcstcs tx swept by u
flaming sympathy toward treachery aud muir
der. In Hermione wounded pride has tramplcd
out moie-ty and pity. while Andromacho's ma
ternal tenderness is on the brink of golf immo-
lation. or course the poet know that his audi
cnco would call these passions to account.
would instinctivey demand their source and
provoration. He was aware that the heart does
not grow white hot in ~ single day. or without
ample fuel and accordingly n largo part Of the
tragedy is purely historical. The persons of
the piece recount their wrongs and Justify their
projects. Tho result II, we are moved. but by
no means electrified attention is secured. but
not rapport. II IL otherwise In llugos drama.
Tho action covers several weeks and the scene
is often shifted. We are made To see the bud
ding heart Of Blanche interpreting its secret and
slowly learning to realize hor Indebtedness. Tho
cruel levity Of Francis has leisure to fancy to
pluck and discard flower. Again the rago and
despair IF IriOoulet do not merely perplcx and
-tartle. like the play Of transient lightning but
rivet the gaze like the blazing passage Of some
comet In a word throughout the place We
wat h the growth and catch the fire Of passion.
Docs II not appear from this instance that even
Illusion. which rigorous limitations were sup
posed TO insure may be lost in classic and IA
vorel in romantic plays? But Illusion is at
best only the handmade Of tho tragic muse.
Surely the central aim OF the drama as well as
Of sister arts is not initiative. 10 cheat the
senses nor yet moral, 10 purge the passions.
but simply and purely aesthetic. to ombody the
sublime and beautiful which challenge delight.
Not initiative. for il is denied that tho matchless
achievement Of IouXls was in any proper sense
"A work Of art. Not moral. for m allegory like
the Pilgrims Progress addresses itself more
successfully than most tragedies to the end
which Aristotle assigned thom.
II was n remark Of Schlegel. which has boon
seized and expanded by later writer's that even
the literature OF the Greeks is rather plastic than
pictorial and his suggestion throws light on
the whole method 81 their drama. as well as
the un1uestionable tendency toward unity OF
place and time. 1t is certainly true that sculp
ture. which was the parent and tutor Of Athenian
art. Is in our day rather retrospective than
creative whereas painting, which inter
prets more faithfully tho essential melan-
choly and restless longing OF Christian
world has taken n second and probably
lOnier flight If We choose TO admit that
the Attic tragedy. yielding TO n dominant in
stinct OF Crock art aimed rather at grouping
than perspective, we shall At all events under
stand its exclusive recourse b the bold outline
and austere simplicity Of Hellenic myths. What
ever we may think OF this view OF the Greek
drama. 1t is certain that the genius OF romance
languages Obeys q different impulse and pre-
fers n broader argument Her voice-if she
would master us-must be freghted with our
nearest hopes and speak to our livelieet sym
uathes. 1t is certain. for instance TINT the
English stag would have crowned phrynichus
aud not fined him. for the effective treatment OIL
a contemporary event.
Grant however that 1t is possible to find a
modern theme whose scope consents to the
limitations Of classic rule the second canon OF
French critics struck at the root Of right
method. Instead of applying gives, like the
pseudo uniti"s. 1t communicated n faint or
rather genius under their hands shared the
fate Of Atys, for a slavsh devotion to the suave
and nne mutated yrle art To what should
we attribute that artificial tone and dainty nn-
ish which distinguish the literature OF tho
dncieh r59uaef We cannot ascribc it 10 n secret
bias Of the language inherited from that most
artful and involved moI7m Of thought tho
written Latin, for the Castilian reproduces more
faithfully the structure and idlom Of the mother
tongue Neither does the influence Of court
account for tho persistent Tendencies OF two
centuries. Undoubtedly that influence was
profound. Art kissed the hand Of patronage
and not seldom wore her livery while 10 tera-
ture n modest station was conceded al
the monarchs lcyGes provided she wore
the costume and manners Of the plnce
Pensions nourished and an academy crowned