New-York tribune., 1908-04-05
CHURCH AND THEATRE
AN HISTORICAL EPIToME.

The s,infof1ed passages are extracted rror,
tnstr,letive address recently delivered by Mr p
fpson Locke before the Toledo Pastors Union -
nubIIshee in The Toledo Blade" The grown ].
friendly feeling between The Church and -.
Theatre IS one OF the auspicious signs OF tins
Both institutions likely to be the better S,re-
Mr. Locke in addressing an ecclesiastical audiszes
dweIt primarily. 'the important part the Dram,
has borne IN the history OF civilization. and n.
close contact throughout the ages. with sss
Church Students Will Gnd this historical spltor.
interesting end useful
TT is needless tc expstiate upon the fact that r.
earliest known dramatic germ was a pagan ears.
mOny. wherein honor paid BY the aHcss-.
Greeks 70 Dsmeter in the 9p7fng % the year arx
70 Dionysius in the autumn. Brsnder Mas.hs-
says with the authority Of long and paiHstazirr
s.rdy that at is from religious exercises set -
aiways with music and often dancing. taat -.
drama has evolved itself in almost every Utersf
in Chinese for example. ard again in Sanskrt
IRE development OF a true drama does aot alwav,
take pIace-apparently IN the Henrs" Htsraturs
for one. hut n IL does then this is its source A.
ways The civilized theatre j. only The natural
develar.rnent Of this opera-bai!et-
n was NOT until the appearance Of Tbespis rsa-v
200 Years ago. that the chO-us-ziHgIug and dane
ing made any material advance. But wtea he len
the leadership Of the chorus TO become an actor
psrsonatng several characters BY the use os di-ar
ent masks there began the evolution that in the
course Of time induced IEschylus 50 Aristotle says
to introduce second actor; 20 diminish the chorus
and make the dialogue sustain the chief hurdenos
the play SophocIes improved upon this and made
use Of a third actor and introduced the sti greater
innovation Of having two actors talking 70 each
other In his masterpiece. "GEdipus. the King" hs
used this FORM the three actors. by wearing slf-
ferent shaped and coIored masks representing al
the characters in the tragedy-
n Is from these early Greek players that the
ina -fnat.on Of medieval found means 20 sup
piv that inherent want Of story and acton Ias
v-snd4rinz bands of uInnesingers The clowns and
blIffoons who stroled from town 20 castle and ron
country fairs city market faces were ne reans
Of perpetuating the folklore Of tie various coun-
tries from which was eventually evolved knd
Of drama crude and simple IN its form ard nat
ter but possessing. nevertheless. the germ thzt
has resulted In the complicated drama OF to-day
and II IS curious 70 note that the earliest form
Of the modern drama.-using the term as applying
to the time after the decline of the Greek tragedy
in the period Of Eurfpides and the decade1ce q
The art in RoI1e.-'had its birth aetuaIy a. ths
base OF the altar and at the foot OF the p1-2t
70 aeain quote Professor Matthews; and II was
fostered by the Christian Church. the very orsa1-
cation that had cursed the old form when that
was decaGent and corrupted The drama grew
sturdry within the walls or the Church until Il
was strong enough 70 support itself. ard when a;
last il ventured outside 1t remained for long
while religious in intent"
Tradition ascribes TO the Benedictine nun H-os-
vitha OF the House of Gandershein, in Sax1ny
the earliest plays composed in tire West, she having
been the author Of six dramas. IN imitation ot
Terence having for their themes the Legendary
history Of saints and cOnfessOrs. In the eleventh
century the -IiturgicaI drama written entirely
In prose- till about foS0. when some ver5Laca;.oa
vas introduced. that being the style I'm which one
cr the earliest. THE Wise and tEa FocIish vi--
gins" was composed. The Prophets dating
from the year 100. entirely in rhyued Latin
verse.
These IiturgicaI plays which were at first Sat
elaborations Of the liturgy OF the mass 70 which
were sdded festival days tabIeaux vivans o.
scenes from the Gospels. were acted by priests IN
the churches In the course % time the clerical
6ramatists added more persOnages and more Incl
dents. all drawn from Scriptural sources one OF
the first and most noted arrangers Of these miracle
plays Georrey. who came 10 England from
France and settled at DunStaDie. Mathew cf Paris
writing about 1243. says that while Geoffrey was
in DUnstabIe he borrowed from the Sac-istan Of
St AIbans cOpAs for the of the performers o
miracle play honor OF ST. Katharine. Gaoffrer
soon after beca d monk in 81. Adams and was
its abbot in 1Ii9
During the next century these PLAYS became very
popular throughout England. especially in YORK
and WoOdkrk in the north. Chester il the west
Coventry in the 3IdIaEds and London and Canter-
bury in the south During a hundred ard fifty
| years there were written and performed vast
number Of plays. portion OF which. the York.
Towneley. Chester and Coventry Cycles. have beer
preserved 20 the present time. Each embraces the
main events Of Biblical history from the Fail OF
Satan to the Day OF judgment Frederick \. B0aS,
in his iiIumiIative work 'Sshakespea-s and His
Predecessor makes one observation THAI other
writer's have overlooked; that is. ''Tla manner in
/ which the religious playwrishts anticipated he
method of their mighty successor Their treatment
! Of their Origtnals-Jhe Bible and tie Npoc-yplaI
CiospeIs-s curiously akin Shakespearcs attitude
/ toward Plutarch and HOnshed- They never tam
per with essential facts. But the miracle play. Ike
| the Gothic cathedral 20 whicl it i the literary
counterpart. could md within its vast sweep
fog much that 5 at first sg- incOret-ors with Is
| exalted design Herein It was irs-ruc-iTey,
though crItiey. carrying the srcat principle of
! Romantic A-t--cEdr Jragejy Is heightened, noi
/ lowered, 10y comic relief"
In his specimens OF the pre-E-za5e-ls1 Drama
Mr.. Pollard says that The Miracle play takes as
IT'S basis the historical books ~ rHe Bloc a1d tie
| legends Of the Church ILe earliest eX-aH- Moral
| ity play called the Casteu ot PerSever57ca
/ which contains about $500 lines The earliest
| dramatic composition in the Eugsa language
/ r, we've. dialogue poem. of religious c1as-
acter. entitled The Narrowing OF Hen ard ds-
/ picting the strife between Jesus ar- satan i2E
the souls of is still preserved i'm the Br-t-sA
museum. These Miracle plays M'-aLties and n
| terIudes many of them performed first within ne
| walls OF churches and monasterleS. at-srWard u
! church yards, and finally in rude houses drawn y
horses from market place TO another. l51 sra--
uaIy 10 the brilliant era OF letters when the ni-
mortal Shakespeare produced the greatest sl-ulS'
I OF mankind the world has ever seen
| TIE BIJoU DREAM
! This is the novel name for the Tverty-NlL1
/ Street Theatre That place OF amusement = -.