New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-06-16
PLOT AND CHARACTER.
ONE INTERESTING REMARKS BY MR.
ANDREW LANG.

rom The London Morning Post.
There has lately blown. perhaps there is blow
u still, one OF those breezes that ruffle the
anquil waters of literature. The atmospheric
)nditions which generated the breeze. the tenn
est in the literary teapot We're the dramatic
iumphs Of Mr. Stephen Phillips As is usually
case. these Were not equally pleasing to all
1nds, but opposition would perhaps have been
SIS acrimonious if the authors favorable critics
suld have curbed their generous excuses. Such
gcesses were natural in themselves, for 1t is
every day that writer arises who is
trtainly a poet and whose plays can also be
eted with success. The combination Cf a calm
mind may venture to hazard an opinion) car
ed some critics "off their feet, as the con-
.rsation of Burns carried the Duchess of Cor
On In the old Scots phrase the reviewers were
carried We're excited and admiration VergeG
\ Engagement. So. I least. l am inclined to
link. after reading little green backed 1Orile-
um. OF Century Of Prayse." put forth by the
pets publisher. Not only he compared
my memory is cOTrect-tO MIN who sleeps by
Won but to Racine, SOphocies Milton. and
Ie author Of The Three Musketeers-" Some
ting OF this kind appears to have irritated the
-tics of The Saturday Review The Athe-
Gum and The Quarterly Review" These
snsors were much of the same humor that
aey teXtually repea ted some Of each others
.narks in the three periodicals, Mr.. Sidney
olVin has demonstrated a circumstance full
(. interest to the psychologist. The subliminal
elves Of the three critics appear to have been
mystic rapport with each other One of the
tree asserted that character is the main thing
the drama. against which Nj. ChUrton Col
rs quoted Aristotle who declares that in a
ay the plot is the thing-plot and incident and
ction- Hereon / ventured TO hint that Aristotle
Fed not be always in the right, that he has long
.ased 10 be dictator in literature or science.
nd that cannot regard plot and character,
hich really interpenetrate each other. if
ley could be held totally distinct and apart.
Looking at novels "a genre Of which Aristotle
new nothing) we find critics usually regarding
aaracter as much more essential than plot
fckens. Thackeray and Scot1 live by the merits
their characters. Nobody can say that the
ere plots Of Rob Roy" "Pendennis' or
David Copperfeld," are Of great merit; they
re not even particularly ineligible The ma
ainery is old fashioned and hackneyed: the
Mysterious frauds of Rashlegh Osbaldistone
II Micawber always the watch Cof which
was incapable). the bigamies of Colonel Alta
lont in fact, the whole set Of ficeles. are
1tworn and unimportant They are mere con-
entionS. In the same way Greek tragedy has
sr stock incidents. described by Aristotle The
recognition was one Of them:
Have you a strawberry mark on your left
q have"
Then you are, you are my long lost uncle'''
That was the kind Of thing rendered feasible
g the old folklore trick Of exposing q child
bout whom there was disagreeable prophecy.
he recognition common in Greek
age plots as as the brown tree in the IapdssaPe
ou get in your brown tree?' asked the critic.
nd the question was in Greece. How do you
Do in your recognition Now the plot so un-
srstood is a mechanical thing. mere charpen-
lge: il may he well done. as in Tom Jones"
nd "Edipus Tyrannus," apsurdly i'll
Hamlet in Shakespeare's careless huddled
Apply endings: or in Rob Roy or ''Waverley -
he great writers have been casual in the mat
Of plots even where they have been care
u il is not for the plot but for the characters
lat they are esteemed. Who does NOT smile (
ie plot Of Jane Eyre? Yet if there were no
lch plots how could the character of Jane her
IF Of Diana Vernon develop itself? The
cry peculiar and III invented circumstances in
hich the plot places these interesting heroines
lable them exhibit the qualities which make
ZEN immortal Take Imogen or Hermione in
The winters Tale II is their circumstances
quite out of nature, and borrowed from novels
fitch again. We're borrowed from folk tales
iat give the heroines their opportunities These
aaracters are the delight of mankind: but the
pnditions in which they display their qualities
ie incidents, the plot things out Of nature
he plot is a mere convention in many classical
orks OF the first quality. ancient or modern
onner borrowed the plot of the Odyssey from
four old Greek nursery tales, and from
Odyssey Mr. Phillips legitimateIy Dor
wed the plot Of his Ulysses" No known ma
vented that plot which. again, with nodiica-
ons IA LADY love in place of wife,. is the plot
lvanhoe-" Where the poet shines is in max
noble character. appropriate character
he hero Of the ancient, nay. the primitive, Sc