The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-04


 V1 inent New York dramatic pro-
 ducer presented for the first time any stage a poetic play entitled "Sappho and Phaon," by Percy Mackaye. The next day the reviewers bounced upon the drama with mercess violence. They referred to the verse as being involved, incoherent and unintelligible One in par tcular spoke of it as being 'all Greek. There has arisen from the episode warm controversy in print by the dean of the critics and the manager. The man ager defends his production. and ably, too, and the critic resumes his excorat- ing strictures upon the work. In his re- joinder the critic writes:
 Tn my remarks of October % I said that in recounting the mournful tale of Sapphos infatuation and suicide Mr. Mackaye had made a tumble of incidents so obscure as hardly to be susceptible of analysis, and so tedious in It's prolixity as to be wel-nigh insufferable l was not commenting on the book, for l had hnever seen it. l was commenting on the play as then shown, and l was recording the impressions that it conveyed to my mind. I saw that one woman. named Sappho, was expressing infatuation for the husband Cor partner. or mate, or whatever it may be called), of another woman. named Thallasa; that the hus- band succumbed to the charms of Sap pho, and that, presently, after an inter- change of ardent protestatons of passion ate longing, the pair disappeared down precipice and went to sea.
 "As nearly as l could comprehend the situation tand the language, which often was unntellgible. and when ineligible sometimes obscure) that was the ever lasting old story of two women and one man--so old that the moss has enveloped it. I had heard the voluble Sappho speak, with rapturous appreciation of supreme desire, refer with satirical contempt to fountains of cold reason cold virgins and boys with phiosophic boards, and declare herself decidedly in favor of mad joy and love; and. associating those observations with what l remembered of my reading about the Lesbian bard and of some of her verses, I reached the conclusion re- corded in my review
 Meanwhile, persons who are ambi- tious to see established a drama which
 
 is different from the common crudity of the average modern piece will find ii the fate of the managers effort cause for lament. He has announced the early withdrawal of the play. If the work was as obscure and mediocre as the dean of critics and his fellows described it to be, it was doomed from the start and deserved its doom. poor play is not better because done in blank verse, but worse; blank verse is not good because it's authors ambitions were praiseworthy Poor drama muddied by bad verse is hopeless. Nothing more merits cordial welcome and complete success than does a good play expressed in fine verse. And those who are disappointed in the col lapse of the effort in question do not mourn the failure of poor work, but the circumstance that the work proved poor. which is quite different. They were hopeful that American poetry drama and art would achieve new stimulus in the triumph of the work through merit Knowing how shy of poetic plays American managers are, they realize that in the fate of "Sappho and i Phaona blow has been dealt the chance of further ventures in the poetic field by American managers in the early future. It is difficult for manager to compre- bend that the quality of a play can be the primary cause of its failure. It Is more like him to blaine the failure upon it's class People do not want poetic drama" he will assume. He might re- call that they do not want prose drama either. if it be labored, obscure and un- interesting.
 Too many writers in blank verse especially those who essay the writing of plays in that style-are prone to de- part from simplicity, which is the very essence of blank verse worthy of seri- ous consideration. They become prolx when they should be terse; they waste ten lines in a metaphor that should be expressed in one: they become involved when they shoulds be fluent; they are turgid and esoteric when. without los ing imaginative beauty, they should be clear as day. The lines should be so