New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-06-16

quence Of events: in developing the huIiiaT 49,, lrn
possible elements Of the world o!d my "a -
can be no better plot than that OF the Ody9se:.
granting the machinery the gods. Hades. ~
clops. and forth. as tradll4 - - lie
like any other convention II arr IA os+ If
there are. practically, no plots mus, -
us may have found ourselves in the liIS! ,Ilop
tiers Of plot. But we are c"ISC ~ -
tirnid or have common sense. ana Ihe noNel
breaks off short In plot taken from history
conventions need TO he added. arbl1f@LtE 49,,
ti,r r,71et come in or the thing draCs the stream
tl'il Iilu a. I'm. , NJ Wason.s -Clementna
is almost wholly historical he rae "TS - -
velop the faint actual hint that me teip rIr
heroine fell in love with each otheI. 10 m" f
in a few fancifUl adventures arc ma -, ia,,+tor
sI..es But history very seldom 81 - an autIo
s. good chance as in the adTenour %
In spite of Aristotle. who was not nldIl4 '?,
and was writing about an art OF very PT ouIIi
and obsolete traditions and conditions; t nc,
+ar net Moi fas far as the two he looked at
apart is the salt of literature. 1hefe -: 30 ~
speak nothing in the given plot say. oL ' be
and Francesca" A man falls in love Win MS
brothers wife and the husband reNenses MN
self In Dante Cand Dante's 'Paolo ara J.. an an,
cesca." like Homers "Iliad, is the pest ll!T
thing is but an incident But Dante posSeSSeu'
in addition TO his genius. the supreme ddEa
tage of being able to follow the lovers l''o IN
eternity of tormented and undYing love A dram-
atist cannot do that Though the HadeS SceLe
of Ulysses" might he adapted TO the pur PoSeI'
and so the dramatist loses most OF the point.
Once given the idea. the poet can treat II IN
Mr. PhfIlips's way. or in Leigh Hunts way or
in Mr.. Marion Crawford's way. or. as the COOK.
hook putS another way h'uit u
much can be made Of il in any way. Dante mas
done what was needed, once for all But. clear
IL the one main idea being given from without
rhe new poet will. even i'm his own mind. hardly
be aI,le TO disentangle plot and character II he
decides 10 make TWO of his characters veterans
in incest (as l believe Mr.. Marion Crawford
does) then he must make plot determined
by his characters. Another plot he must make
if his haracters are TO he ingenious young ne.
cnners in crime "suave SCeluS. dulCe fla g1tlu1r
Thus predetermined character viii he the max
ing OF the plot. and the plot vii! he the means,
not as in Aristotle's opinion. the end Inc real
end IF l may differ from Aristote) is the mar
mony and interaction of plot and character Tor
the purpose of developing and exhibiting char-
aCter in action. To take thoroughly modern
instance. Mr.. Hornung's new novel. me
Shadow of the Rope" Mr.. HornunS mad. l
think really good character. the heroine BUT
he had to make a plot to develop her. and |
cannot honestly say that | think the plot a good
one II breaks itself on many reefs Of i'm
possible. or all hut impossible. occurrences, not
to mention that the old blotting pad and the
antiQuated backmailing tramp are introduced
once more Yet probably the character Of the
heroine Rachel caused the search. not very
fortunate for a plot; il would not be the plot
that gave rise the idea Of the character. or so
il seems 10 one reader. In the Greece of Arts
totle however il was not the characters that
We're invented and needed plot TO III them.
The plot and the characters in outline had 10
be borrowed from heroic myth. as II existed in
Homer in the Cyclic poets. or in temple legends.
Thus the plot the thing, was the only leSiu-
mate thing with rare EXCEPTIONS, and OF the
given plot the poet had TO make the best use in
his power. Now all the conditions are altered