The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-04-07

effective AZ the writings Of sohopenhaueI
and Nietzsche, from whom the playwright
| borrowed his ideas. The greatest works
| Of Ibsen can he appreciated only b. ths
! cultured individual and not by the un-
cultured crowd. That is why the breadth
| Of his appeal win never equal that o.
| Shakespeare. in spite OF his unfathomable
| intellect and his perfect mastery of the
commonplace playa Dolls House,
! for eXampie-have attained wide sue
| ccss. And n wide success Is thing to
be desired for other than material rea-
| sons. Surely II Is n good thing for the
public that Hamlet" never falls.
Shakespeare was wise enough 10 fee
that what the crowd wanted. hoth IN
matter and I'm form. was what was need
Shakespeare's mind was commonplace.
J meant 10 tender him the highest praise
| In his commonplace lies his sanity. He
Is so greatly usual that he can under
! lie iH above novelty Ills wisdom is
greater than the wisdom OF the few; he
| Is IN" heir Of all tho ages, and draws his
wisdom from the general mind Of man.
And IL Is largely because OF this that
he represents ever the IDEAL OF the dra-
matist. He who would write for the
theater must not dcspise the crowd.
All OF the above mentioned character
lstics Of theater audiences, their instinct
tor contention and Tor partisaoship. their
creduljty, their sensuousness, their sus-
cepubnity TO emotional contagion their
incapacity for original thought. their con-
servatism and their love or the common
place appear In every sort OF crowd. ~
remains :or us To notice certain traits
In which thoster audiences differ from
other kinds OF crowds.
In the Arst place. thcatcr audience Is
composed OF individuals more hoterogen-
eous than those that make UP political
or social or sporting. or religious conyo-
cation. The crowd at football game.
AT n church. at a social OF political con-
ventioD. is BY it's very purpose selective
OF It's elements. IL IL made UP entirely OF
college folk. or rresbyrerians, or Prohi-
biuonists. or Republicans, as the case
may be. Bu; theater audience Is COM
posed Of all sorts and conditions OF men.
The same thcater I'm New York contains
the rich aud the poor. the literate and
the illitenaic. the old and the young. the
native and the naturalizeG. The same
play. therefore, must appeal 10 all Of
these. II follows that tho drsmatlst must
be broader In his appeal than any other
artist. lie cannot connne his message
10 any single caste of society In the
same single work OF art he must incor-
porate elements that will Interest all
classes OF humankind
Toll a filthy-faced urchIn OF the gutter
mat YOU know about a play that shows
ghost that stalks and talks at midnight
underneath castle tower and man
mat makes believe lie is out OF Ills head
50 that he can get the better OF a wicked
king. and girl that goes mad and browns
herself, and play within the play. and .
funeral In n churchyurd. and a duel with
poisoned swords. and Il great scene at the
end IN which nearly every one gets
killed. tell him this and watch his eyes
grow wide. | have been To II thirty-ccnt
performance OF "Othclio" In n middle west,
ern town and have felt the audience thrill
with the headlong hurry OF the action Yet
these are the plays that cloistored stu
dents study for their wisdom and their
style.
And Let rs not forget. IN this connec-
tion. that similar breadth OF appeal Is
neither necessary nor greatly 10 be de-
sired IN those forms OF literature that. un-
IKE TIC drama, are not written FOR the
crowd. The greatest nou-dramatic poet
ana the greatest novelist IN English are
appreciated only by the few. but this Is |
not In the least TO the discredit OF Milton
and of Meredith. one Indication OF the |
greatness Of Mr. klpi!nS's story, They F" !
Is thar very few nave learned 20 read II
Victor Hugo. IN his preface 10 ..ut,,.
Bias has discussed this entire principle |
from slightly different point of view /
He divides the thcater audience INTO three /
Jlasses-the thinkers. who demand char /
acterizctcn: The woman. who demands 4
passion. and the mob. who demand ac- \
tior-Erd insists that every great plav \
must appeal 10 all three classes al once 4
Certainly "Ruy Bias itself !ulls this /
1csld~atum. and ~ great IN the breadth
of its appeal Yet although al three OF /
tie necessary elements appear Ia the
play. 10 has more action than passion, and
more passion than chRractcTiEatlo And
his fact leads Us 10 the Theory. omitted
- Victor Hugo from his preface. that
lie mob Is more important than The
women and The women more Important
hRn the thinkers In the average tnoateT
audience Indeed. a deeper consideEa-
Jon ol The subject almost leads us to
discard the thinkers a psychological
orCe aid 10 oblitcrate tho distinction
lctwceu tEc women and The mob. I; l.
o en- unthink!nE aad feminine-ulnded
mob thn: tho dramatiSt must first OF
10 appeal. end This leads Ne 20 believe
hat action with passion for rs motive
s The prime essential for play.
For. nowadays at least. ~ Is most eB-
cntlsi that the dramh should appeal 10
crowd OF women. Practically speak f,