[358]Vincat amor patriæ——His Country's LoveShall conquer.[359]—Non possum ferre, Quirites,Græcam urbem.To speak my Mind,I hate inRomeaGrecianTown to find.Dryden.
[358]Vincat amor patriæ——
His Country's LoveShall conquer.
[359]—Non possum ferre, Quirites,Græcam urbem.
To speak my Mind,I hate inRomeaGrecianTown to find.Dryden.
Having thus set aside these spurious Offsprings, Comedy and Tragedy remain now to be discours'd of distinctly, after I have first said something of what relates to them in common, that is, to Dramatic Poetry in general.
The History of the ancient Drama, bothGreekandRoman, as it does not come within my present Design, I leave to be learnt fromVossius, and others. I shall only lay before you the following Passage, from hisPoetical Institutions, which may serve for a short View of it.[360]The Drama, says he, owes its Rise to Days of Festivity. For in ancient Times 'twas usual for Men, when they had collected in the Fruits of the Earth, to meet together, that they might sacrifice to the Deity, and unbend their Minds from the Fatigues of the Harvest. Hence arose two Sorts of Poetry; the one graver, in Praise of the Gods; the other jocose, full of Lampoon against one another. Under the former Head we may reckon theDithyrambicsofBacchus, Hymns to the Gods, and Panegyrics upon Heroes. Under the secondIambics, andPhallicVerses. The first Essays were rough, and unpolished;but, by Degrees, the great Actions of Gods and Heroes grew more numerous, and increas'd into set Fables: So, in like manner, the jocose Compositions began to come under proper Regulations. Thus from the former Kind arose Tragedy; from the latter, Satire, Comedy, and Mimic." Thus he, agreeable to which, isVirgil, in hisGeorgics:
[361]—Baccho caper omnibus arisCæditur, & veteres ineunt proscenia ludi.An horn'd He-Goat,Sacred toBacchus, on each Altar bleeds;And ancient Interludes adorn the Scene.
[361]—Baccho caper omnibus arisCæditur, & veteres ineunt proscenia ludi.
An horn'd He-Goat,Sacred toBacchus, on each Altar bleeds;And ancient Interludes adorn the Scene.
AndHorace, in his Epistle toAugustus:
[362]Agricolæ prisci fortes, parvoque beati,Condita post frumenta, levantes tempore festoCorpus, & ipsum animum, &c.The ancient Swains, those temp'rate happy Swains,Contented Sov'reigns of their little Plains,When all their Corn was hous'd, wou'd make a Feast,Unbend their Minds, and lay them down to rest;Their Cares dissolv'd into a happy Thought,And Minds enjoy'd the Rest their Labour sought.Creech.
[362]Agricolæ prisci fortes, parvoque beati,Condita post frumenta, levantes tempore festoCorpus, & ipsum animum, &c.
The ancient Swains, those temp'rate happy Swains,Contented Sov'reigns of their little Plains,When all their Corn was hous'd, wou'd make a Feast,Unbend their Minds, and lay them down to rest;Their Cares dissolv'd into a happy Thought,And Minds enjoy'd the Rest their Labour sought.Creech.
For the same Reason, I shall pass over all the Apparatus of the ancientDrama, of which the foremention'd learned Author, and many others, have treated fully; the Form, for Instance, and Ornaments of the Theatre, theScene,Proscenium,Pulpitum,Orchæstra; the Habits of the Actors, as theToga,Pallium,Soccus,Cothurnus, and many other Particulars of the like Nature. I cannot help, indeed, makingthis one Remark, that the Mask of the Ancients has been, to me, Matter of Astonishment. For can any Thing in the World be more contradictory to Reason? The great Aim of the Drama has always been, to represent Nature herself, and conceal Art, as much as possible: The Poet, therefore, thought it his Business to draw the Characters of Men, as they really were. Is it the Custom, then, I beseech you, either for Kings and Heroes, on the one Hand, or the Commonalty, on the other, to walk about with Masks on? Why, then, do they appear with them, upon the Stage? If it is the Excellence of the Poet to counterfeit Nature, why are so much Pains thrown away, to convince the Spectators, that what they see is but an imperfect Copy of her. This Artifice might do well enough in Puppet Shews: But that the immortal Works ofSophoclesandTerenceshould be murdered with so monstrous a Device, is perfectly amazing. Besides, (to omit the Impediment they must be to the Actor's Speech) is it usual for Men to preserve the same Countenance in all the possible Variety of Circumstances? Why, then, must they do so upon the Stage? Where are the different Passions, of Joy or Sorrow, and the various Turns of the Muscles that express them? At this Rate, indeed,Horace's Rule is preserv'd according to the Letter, tho' very far from the Sense of it:
[363]——Servetur ad imumQualis ab incepto processerat, & sibi constet.Let all the Parts agree, and be alike.Creech.
[363]——Servetur ad imumQualis ab incepto processerat, & sibi constet.
Let all the Parts agree, and be alike.Creech.
I cannot help wondering, thatHorace, and the rest of the great Critics ofGreeceandRome, should have borne with thisOpprobriumof the Theatre[364].How much better is it for the Persons to appear as they do among us, with their own Face, and, to use our own academical Term, each habited according to hisDegree. Nor am I perfectly satisfied with the Sock and Buskin of the Ancients, tho' undoubtedly a less Absurdity than the Mask; for we all know, that the Commonalty did not, in Fact, wear the Sock, nor the Nobility the Buskin; and why Actors should appear only as Actors, I can see no Reason, since it is the Business of the Poet to imitate Nature, and conceal Art and Fiction as much as possible.
As I before determin'd to pass over the History, and the Decoration of the Drama, so I had much less Inclination to describe the musical Instruments that were made use of in it; this is rather the Province of Musicians and Antiquaries, than Poets or Criticks. The various Kinds of Flutes, theTibicines,Choraules,Pythaules, &c. are abundantly explain'd byVossius, whom we have often had Occasion to mention.
To come, then, at last, to the Subject that properly concerns us: The Drama, I define to be,A Poem containing some certain Action, and representinga true picture of human Life, for the Delight and Improvement of Mankind.
A certainActionI say, in the singular, because it ought to be butone; two do but distract the Minds of the Audience, and create more Uneasiness than Pleasure. In many, indeed, I may say most Tragedies, as well as Comedies, but in Comedies more particularly, two Actions seem to be carried on; but they are often only seemingly two, not so in Reality. One of them is so subservient to the other, so united, and interwoven with it, that it must be reckon'd rather a Part of the same, than a distinct Action. Like a small River that branches out from a greater, which returns to its first Channel, and is totally lost in it. But in some Plays the Action is entirely one, and tho' the other Kind may be justly admitted, nay, often admir'd; yet this must be allow'd the more excellent of the two; for it requires a much nicer Art to excite Pleasure and Admiration by a proper Conduct of one simple Tale, than from a Variety of surprizing Incidents. Besides, when the Mind is solicitous only about one Event, the Thoughts are more close and compact, the Expectation more attentive, the Concern more exquisite, and the Impressions strike deeper than when it is distracted and weaken'd between two different Prospects. Here, therefore,Horace's Rule is morepeculiarlydirected, tho' propos'd by him in general:
[365]—Sit quod vis simplex duntaxat & unum.
[365]—Sit quod vis simplex duntaxat & unum.
True, indeed, it is, according to the Principles of Nature, and Natural Philosophy, that all Things, the more simple they are, and less compounded, are the more perfect, and less subject to Change and Corruption, to Vice and Error. This appearsmanifestly, from a Comparison between the Body and Soul, the Creature and the Creator.
Twentieth Lecture.
Tho' the Words,Fable,Action, andDesign, are frequently us'd indiscriminately, they have each of them peculiar and distinct Ideas. By theActionis meant some Adventure of one or other of the principal Persons, attended by a great and memorable Event. By theFable, or Plot, a Heap of Incidents, Episodes, and Other Things, which are subservient to the carrying on the Action, and bringing it to a Conclusion. TheDesignis a particular Disposal of the several Parts, so as they may be artfully interwoven, and unfolded. What we call theDistinctionofPersonsorCharacters, thePassions,ThoughtandDiction, are certain Adjuncts and Circumstances adhering to the Persons represented. These Things, tho' of the greatest Moment, and the chief Concern of the Poet, which we shall treat of singly in their proper Place, it shall suffice to have mention'd only at present; because they don't so properly come under the Head we are upon, of theDramaingeneral. When we come to the distinct species of it, these will then offer themselves very naturally.
I would now, however, observe, that those general Precepts ofHoracerelate to the Drama, where he speaksfirstof thePassions,Thought, andDiction:
[366]Non satis est pulchra esse poemata; dulcia sunto,Et, quo unque volent, animum auditoris agunto.Ut ridentibus arrident, ita fientibus adflentHumani vultus: Si vis me flere, dolendum estPrimum ipsi tibi; tunc tua me infortunia lædunt,Telephe, vel Peleu: male si mandata loqueris,Aut dormitabo, aut ridebo. Tristia mœstumVultum verba decent, iratum plena minarum,Ludentem lasciva, severum seria dicta.Format enim natura prius nos intus ad omnemFortunarum habitum; juvat, aut impellit ad iram,Aut ad humum mœrore gravi deducit, & angit:Post effert animi motus, interprete lingua.He that wou'd have Spectators share his Grief,Must write not only well, but movingly,And raise Mens Passions to what Height he will.We weep and laugh, as we see others do.He only makes me sad, who shews the Way,And first is sad himself. Then,Telephus,I feel the Weight of your Calamities,And fancy all your Miseries my own;But if you act them ill, I sleep, or laugh:Your Looks must alter, as your Subject does,From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe;For Nature forms and softens us within,And writes our Fortunes Changes in our Face.Pleasure enchants, impetuous Rage transports,And Grief dejects, and wrings the tortur'd Soul,And these are all interpreted by Speech.Roscom.
[366]Non satis est pulchra esse poemata; dulcia sunto,Et, quo unque volent, animum auditoris agunto.Ut ridentibus arrident, ita fientibus adflentHumani vultus: Si vis me flere, dolendum estPrimum ipsi tibi; tunc tua me infortunia lædunt,Telephe, vel Peleu: male si mandata loqueris,Aut dormitabo, aut ridebo. Tristia mœstumVultum verba decent, iratum plena minarum,Ludentem lasciva, severum seria dicta.Format enim natura prius nos intus ad omnemFortunarum habitum; juvat, aut impellit ad iram,Aut ad humum mœrore gravi deducit, & angit:Post effert animi motus, interprete lingua.
He that wou'd have Spectators share his Grief,Must write not only well, but movingly,And raise Mens Passions to what Height he will.We weep and laugh, as we see others do.He only makes me sad, who shews the Way,And first is sad himself. Then,Telephus,I feel the Weight of your Calamities,And fancy all your Miseries my own;But if you act them ill, I sleep, or laugh:Your Looks must alter, as your Subject does,From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe;For Nature forms and softens us within,And writes our Fortunes Changes in our Face.Pleasure enchants, impetuous Rage transports,And Grief dejects, and wrings the tortur'd Soul,And these are all interpreted by Speech.Roscom.
Next of theCharacters, or the different Circumstances, and Dispositions of the Persons:
[367]Si dicentis erunt fortunis absona dicta,Romani tollent Equites, Peditesque cachinnum.Intererit multum Davusne loquatur, an Heros,Maturusne senex, an adhuc florente juventaFervidus, an matrona potens, an sedula nutrix,Mercatorne vagus, cultorne virentis agelli,Colchus, an Assyrius, Thebis nutritus, an Argis.But he whose Words and Fortune disagree,Absurd, unpitied, grows a public Jest.Observe the Characters of those that speak,Whether an honest Servant, or a Cheat;Or one whose Blood boils in his youthful Veins,Or a grave Matron, or a busy Nurse,Extorting Merchants, careful Husbandmen,ArgivesorThebans,AsiansorGreeks.Roscom.
[367]Si dicentis erunt fortunis absona dicta,Romani tollent Equites, Peditesque cachinnum.Intererit multum Davusne loquatur, an Heros,Maturusne senex, an adhuc florente juventaFervidus, an matrona potens, an sedula nutrix,Mercatorne vagus, cultorne virentis agelli,Colchus, an Assyrius, Thebis nutritus, an Argis.
But he whose Words and Fortune disagree,Absurd, unpitied, grows a public Jest.Observe the Characters of those that speak,Whether an honest Servant, or a Cheat;Or one whose Blood boils in his youthful Veins,Or a grave Matron, or a busy Nurse,Extorting Merchants, careful Husbandmen,ArgivesorThebans,AsiansorGreeks.Roscom.
The subject Matter of this Kind of Poem, is call'd theFabletho' it is often grounded upon true History; because the greatest Part of it is fabulous, tho' the Fiction be intermix'd with Matter of Fact. When it is not so, it ought to be styled rather aDramatical History, thanDrama; of which Sort are many of the Plays of our celebrated Countryman[368], who has crowded together the Annals of some of our Kings, without any Regard to the dramatical Rules of Time or Place. But in other Respects, he
[369]—Spirat tragicum satis, & feliciter audet.With happy Boldness draws a tragic Scene.
[369]—Spirat tragicum satis, & feliciter audet.
With happy Boldness draws a tragic Scene.
Yes, extremely happy, and intheseWorks, but more especially in his truer Tragedies, has deserv'd well of Posterity.
But often the Drama, properly so call'd, is built upon true History; as theOctaviaofSeneca, and many of our modern Tragedies, bothEnglishandFrench, (forComedyhas rarely such a Foundation; but is either rais'd from some private Fact, which, tho' true, is below History; or from Fiction only;) sometimes, indeed, it is built upon Fable, but such as is common, and well known; as theTrachiniæofSophocles,Oedipus, &c. the Author disposing of the Fable according to his own Fancy, and giving it a new Appearance: According to that ofHorace:
[370]Publica materies privati juris erit, siNec circa vilem, patulumque moraberis orbem,Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere, fidus Interpres.For what originally others writ,May be so well disguis'd, and so improv'd,That with some Justice it may pass for yours.Roscommon.
[370]Publica materies privati juris erit, siNec circa vilem, patulumque moraberis orbem,Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere, fidus Interpres.
For what originally others writ,May be so well disguis'd, and so improv'd,That with some Justice it may pass for yours.Roscommon.
Sometimes it is built upon the Poet's Invention only, who forms an entire Plot out of his own Head. Most of the Ancients, bothGreeksandRomans, form'd their Tragedies upon fabulous History; most of the Moderns either upon true History, or upon Fiction of their own Invention, or such as has been borrow'd from Romances of later Writers; which tho' they are fabulous, are not, however, trite and vulgar, like several of the Ancients; as theMedea, for Instance,Hercules,Iphigenia, and the like.
In the Foundation of the Drama,Horace's Rule, in the first Place, ought to be observ'd:
[371]Aut famam sequere, aut sibi convenientia finge,Scriptor.Follow Report, or feign coherent Things.Roscommon.
[371]Aut famam sequere, aut sibi convenientia finge,Scriptor.
Follow Report, or feign coherent Things.Roscommon.
If it is built either upon true or fabulous History, let nothing be introduc'd contrary to the Notices we have receiv'd from Fame or History, of the Persons concern'd in it. For, in this Case, the Faith of the one, and the Report of the other, would openly contradict the Fiction. A noble Critic of ours[372]has severely lash'd a certain Poet[373]for this Fault,viz.for representingHannibalsoft, effeminate, and languishing in the Blandishments of Love; andScipiopassionate, and head-strong. But if the whole is Fiction, let it be Fiction according to Probability.Let the Writer take care that the Parts don't disagree, and contradict each other. Here, again,Horace's Maxim is of Force:
[374]Si quid inexpertum scenæ committis, & audesPersonam formare novam; servetur ad imumQualis ab incepto processerit, & sibi constet.If your bold Muse dare tread unbeaten Paths,And bring new Characters upon the Stage,Be sure you keep them up to their first Height.Roscommon.
[374]Si quid inexpertum scenæ committis, & audesPersonam formare novam; servetur ad imumQualis ab incepto processerit, & sibi constet.
If your bold Muse dare tread unbeaten Paths,And bring new Characters upon the Stage,Be sure you keep them up to their first Height.Roscommon.
Tofollow Famein an honest Sense, and to form a good Poem out of History, requires much Art, and no small Invention. But a Poet that works wholly upon his own Stock, shews scarce less Art, but certainly more Invention. The latter is, in my Judgment, the more noble Task. As it is wholly new, it is sure to afford more Pleasure to the Audience, and Honour to the Writer: He may be said, in some Sense, tocreatehis Materials, and is, therefore, in the most proper one, aPoet.
I am well aware, that what I have here advanc'd, seems to contradict the following Opinion ofHorace:
[375]Difficile est proprie communia dicere; tuqueRectius Iliacum carmen deducis in actus,Quam si proferres ignota, indictaque primus.New Subjects are not easily explain'd,And you had better chuse a well-known Theme,Than trust to an Invention of your own.Roscom.
[375]Difficile est proprie communia dicere; tuqueRectius Iliacum carmen deducis in actus,Quam si proferres ignota, indictaque primus.
New Subjects are not easily explain'd,And you had better chuse a well-known Theme,Than trust to an Invention of your own.Roscom.
But not to insist that the Authority of the best of Poets and Criticks is not to supersede Reason and Experience; it is to be observ'd, that dramatical Invention has been much improv'd since the Times inwhichHoracewrit: And had he seen some of our late Tragedies, form'd upon Fiction only, he would, perhaps, have retracted his Opinion. It is a difficult Thing, I allow,to expressCommonThings in a proper Manner, that is, to change and heighten some noted,[376]stale Subject, so as to give it a new Appearance, and make it the Writer's own; and the Observation is of great Weight: But, all Things consider'd, whether we regard the Difficulty or the Elegance, the Judgment or Ingenuity of each Composition; greater Glory seems to be due to him that produces a new Plan of his own Invention, than that changes, and gives new Life to an old one.
According to the modern Criticks, every regular Play consists of three Unities,viz.ofTime,Place, andAction. I have already spoke of the last: The first, I would observe, is very improperly styled anUnity.PlaceandActionmay admit of Number; butTime, howsoever extended, does not cease to beone, with Respect to the Action which is continu'd by it. This Observation, I own, is but of little Moment, since all that make use of the Term, sufficiently understand the Meaning of it, however inaccurately express'd.
As toTime,Aristotle, and after him the greatVossius, and others, will not allow it above the Compass of one Day; for which Reason, theHeautontimoroumenosofTerenceis reckon'd faulty, because it takes up an entire Day, and part of another. But if we were to reduce Things to the greatest Exactness,the Action of the Drama ought not to be longer than Representation of it upon the Stage. This, no doubt, would be the compleatest Rule, could it be practis'd. But tho' it will rarely or never pass for a Probability, that so great Events should fall out in so short a Time, yet we ought to come as near to this Maxim as we can. To see the Ten YearsTrojanWar crowded into the narrow Limits of one Tragedy, about three or four Hours long, appears, at first View, not only improbable, but impossible, and will be rejected by the Audience as a monstrous Imposition on their Understanding.
The Unity ofPlaceought to be preserv'd, for the same Reason I before alledg'd for the Unity ofTime. The one supposes the other; for ifPlaceis varied,Timemust be so too. If the Action takes up but a few Hours, it is impossible it should be carried on in Places widely distant. On the other Hand, if it is transacted partly atLondon, and partly atOxford, a few Hours will not be sufficient. But there's another Reason, with Regard even to Place itself, why this Rule, concerning the Unity of it, ought to be observ'd. What an Absurdity is it, for a Spectator to suppose himself one Minute atRome, and the next atParis? We cannot but despise a Poet, who is such a Bungler at Fiction, as, in a different Sense from that ofHorace,
[377]—Modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis.Now places me atAthens, now atThebes.
[377]—Modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis.
Now places me atAthens, now atThebes.
It is beyond the Power of any Magic to transport us into different Places, not only at the same Time, but even while we are in the same Place. The usual Limits of the Drama are within the Compass of one Town or City: This some think too great, otherstoo narrow an Extent. Larger it certainly ought not to be: Nor is this probably too large. For tho' it may not seem very natural for the Audience to be carried from one End of the City to the other; yet it may be impossible, perhaps, to represent the Action itself, and some other Circumstances attending it, in less Compass; and, as we said before of Time, when we cannot come up to Truth, it must suffice to come as near to it as possible. For, asHoracesays, upon another Occasion,
[378]Est quadam prodire tenus, si non datur ultra.What if of farther Progress you despair,'Tis somewhat, surely, to have gone so far.Creech.
[378]Est quadam prodire tenus, si non datur ultra.
What if of farther Progress you despair,'Tis somewhat, surely, to have gone so far.Creech.
However, they are much more in the wrong, who confine the general Scene within one Room, or Chamber; for it is ridiculous to suppose, that Persons of most distant Circumstances should meet, or Actions of the most different Kind be perform'd, in the same Place, or in so narrow an one. Truth, then, seems to lie, as it generally does, between both Extremes; and one House, perhaps, may be said to be the just Extent of the dramatical Scene. It ought not to be of greater Extent, because Persons of all Ranks and Qualities are, in Reality, contain'd under one Roof, and Actions of all Kinds perform'd in that Compass. It ought not to be of a narrower; because the Spectators, whether they sit in the Pit, or Boxes, may very easily conceive different Parts of the same House represented in the Scenes, since the Theatre is large enough to contain one House entire, and both the Persons of the Drama, and the Spectators themselves, may be suppos'd to move from one Side of it to the other.
These Unities of Action, Time, and Place, ought very carefully to be observ'd. For tho' a Play, form'd upon the most regular Plans, will gain but little Applause, if it is destitute of the true poetic Spirit; so will it deserve as little, how much soever it may be set off with Decoration, if it offends against the Rules of the Drama. The former, with all its Regularity, is cold and lifeless; the latter, with all in Brightness, absurd and ridiculous. Let Rules be first the Basis of the Poem, and from a right Disposal of these, let the Ornaments arise naturally, and with Ease. Colouring in Painting, is, no doubt, an Excellence; but we are not to be so studious of it, as to neglect Proportion, and transgress the Laws of Optics. Besides, great Judgment and Caution must be us'd, that we don't adhere so close to one Rule, as to violate another.Horace's Observation is here undoubtedly just:
[379]In vitium ducit culpæ fuga, si caret arte.Thus Fear of Erring, join'd with want of Skill,Is a most certain Way of erring still.Roscom.
[379]In vitium ducit culpæ fuga, si caret arte.
Thus Fear of Erring, join'd with want of Skill,Is a most certain Way of erring still.Roscom.
A Misfortune, which, in this Case, it is very difficult to guard against.
To these three Unities, as they are usually reckon'd up, we may not improperly add a fourth: That ofCharacter, which I just mention'd before, but now design to explain more fully. By aCharacter, I understand, that Assemblage of Circumstances which discriminates one Man from another; such as Age, Fortune, Manners, and Inclination. In this Respect, then, let eachPersonbeonefrom Beginning to the End. Not that he is always to betray the same Sentiments, or one Passion; this would be as absurd as it is tedious; but that he should neverspeak, nor act repugnant to his ownfundamental Character. An old or young Man, for Instance, a King or Servant may, nay, ought, as Occasion serves, to shew the common Passions of Joy or Sorrow. But for an old Man to be introduced in the first Act; and to appear a young one in the second, is inverting Nature. Again, the Meek may sometimes sally into a Warmth, and the Breast of the Passionate be calm; a Change which often introduces in the Drama very affecting Variety: But if the naturalDispositionof the former was to be represented as boisterous, and that of the latter mild and soft, they would both act out of Character, and contradict their Persons. The Temper of a Man, I own, is sometimes entirely chang'd; a vicious Disposition may be reform'd, and a good one corrupted: But this is a Change which cannot be wrought in so short a Time as the Action of the Drama takes up. It may be much doubted, therefore whether the unravelling of the Plot inTerence'sAdelphiis agreeable to Truth and Nature, whereDemea, from an old Miser, turns, of a sudden, profuse, and lays aside his Moroseness, for Good-nature; andMicio, who had hitherto liv'd single, and dreaded the married State as the greatest of Sins, in his old Age, at last, by the Persuasion of his Brother and Nephew, marries an old Woman, without a Fortune.
Twenty-first Lecture.
TheEnglishDrama differs in nothing more from the ancient, than in Narration and Action. Of both these Heads,Horacedelivers himself thus:
[380]Aut agitur Res in scenis, aut acta refertur.Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem,Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus, & quæIpse sibi tradit spectator: Non tamen intusDigna geri promes in scenam; multaque tollesEx oculis, quæ mox narret facundia præsens.Nec pueros coram populo Medea trucidet,Aut humana palam coquat exta nefarius Atreus;Aut in avem Progne mutetur, Cadmus in anguem:Quodcunque ostendis mihi sic, incredulus odi.Some Things are acted, others only told;But what we hear, moves less than what we see:Spectators only have their Eyes to trust,But Auditors must trust their Ears and you;Yet there are Things improper for a Scene,Which Men of Judgment only will relate.Medeamust not draw her murd'ring Knife,And spill her Children's Blood upon the Stage;NorAtreusthere his horrid Feast prepare:Cadmus's andProgne's Metamorphosis,(She to a Swallow turn'd, he to a Snake)And whatsoever contradicts my Sense,I hate to see, and never can believe.Roscom.
[380]Aut agitur Res in scenis, aut acta refertur.Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem,Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus, & quæIpse sibi tradit spectator: Non tamen intusDigna geri promes in scenam; multaque tollesEx oculis, quæ mox narret facundia præsens.Nec pueros coram populo Medea trucidet,Aut humana palam coquat exta nefarius Atreus;Aut in avem Progne mutetur, Cadmus in anguem:Quodcunque ostendis mihi sic, incredulus odi.
Some Things are acted, others only told;But what we hear, moves less than what we see:Spectators only have their Eyes to trust,But Auditors must trust their Ears and you;Yet there are Things improper for a Scene,Which Men of Judgment only will relate.Medeamust not draw her murd'ring Knife,And spill her Children's Blood upon the Stage;NorAtreusthere his horrid Feast prepare:Cadmus's andProgne's Metamorphosis,(She to a Swallow turn'd, he to a Snake)And whatsoever contradicts my Sense,I hate to see, and never can believe.Roscom.
We then have more Action, and less Narration, than the Ancients, who, in this Particular, are imitated in Tragedy, by theFrench, and most other Nations. But if ourBritishWriters may presume to dissent from so great Authority, I would ask, Why may not Ladies of the first Rank be suppos'd to speak in Comedy; or Heroes sometimes combat, or even die upon the Stage, in Tragedy? There's no Absurdity in this; nothing contrary to Art or Nature; often much conducive to Terror or Compassion. No one, indeed, would bear to seeAtreusrepresented boiling human Flesh; it is too ghastly a Spectacle to be expos'd to View; and, instead of Pity, or Terror, would excite Detestation. For the same Reason,Medea, killing her Sons, should not be exhibited.But there are still some images of Death less shocking, which may be well adapted to the Stage. I own, however, we are apt to introduce some Things publickly, which had better have been sunk in Narration, and some in Silence, if Regard were had to the inviolable Rules of Modesty, Decency, and Virtue. Upon the whole, then, the Ancients brought too little into Action, and we too much.
Upon this Head, I would only observe farther, that I have one Scruple remaining from these Words,incredulus odi, in the Passage I above cited fromHorace. Things that are not at allincredible, may, for several other Reasons, be improper to be represented, tho' they may make a very becoming Narration: And what exceeds all Belief, we shall no more bear to hear, than behold. And even those Instances whichHoracementions as improper to be represented, have nothingincrediblein them, but uponother Accountsare not fit to be obtruded upon the Spectators. The Answer to this Objection is, that the Wordsincredulus odiare not to be taken separately, but jointly. Of the SightsHoracementions, some areodious, othersincredible; notincrediblein theNature of Things, for they are suppos'd to be Miracles exceeding all human Power; butincredibleintheatrical Representation. Such monstrous Changes, as ofProgneinto a Bird;Cadmusinto a Serpent; are too gross to be impos'd upon the Senses: They are Representations, therefore, not so muchodious, asridiculous.
There is one Fault which almost all the dramatic Writers, both Tragic and Comic, Ancient and Modern, have fallen into; that, I mean, of introducing a Person who has no other Business but to hold out a Dialogue, and hear a Story. This, to omit other Examples, is the Case, in two ofTerence's Comedies, theAndria, andPhormio. In the former ofwhich,Sofiais introduc'd, thatSimomay lay before him the whole Plot of the Play; afterwards we neither see him, nor hear a Word of him more. In the latter,Davusholds a Colloquy withGeta, only to hear the Amours ofPhædriaandAntipho, which he has nothing to do with: Then he goes off the Stage, and never sets Foot upon it more: Whereas, all that support a Dialogue of any Moment, ought, in some Measure, to be interested in the Business of the Play, from one End to the other. But these adventitious Persons destroy the Beauty and Symmetry of it; which ought not, like Gothick Buildings, to be disfigur'd with Props and Buttresses, and other superfluous Out-works; but form'd rather according to the Rules ofancientArchitecture, where all the Columns, and several Parts of the Fabrick, mutually support each other; where there's nothing but what is necessary, nothing but what is beautiful; and the whole therefore beautiful, because every Thing is necessary.
But farther; that all the Parts may rightly cohere together, some Reason should appear, why each Person goes out, and comes in. This is a Rule of great Moment, tho' generally over-look'd; and yet there is nothing in the whole Compass of the Drama, more elegant, or more difficult; nothing in which Art and Judgment are more nearly concern'd.Exitsuch an one, says the Poet;enteranother: But a Reason may often be ask'd, both for one, and the other. It is not enough to answer, it was necessary, for the Author's main Design, that it should be so. The Audience ought to be appriz'd of the Business for which the several Persons come in, and go out, and on what Account the Stay of any of them would have been improper. With these Notices, every Thing will appear to them easy and natural; but Otherwise, forc'd, and inconsistent.As a Play is divided into Acts, so are the Acts into Scenes. The former the more ancient Division of the two. The Act concludes, when the Stage is left entirely empty; and a new one begins, as soon as one or more Persons come on again; the intermediate Time being taken up with Dancing or Music. The Scene changes as every Actor comes in, or goes out, according to the general Opinion; but in mine, I think a Play had better be divided into Acts only, without any Distinction of Scenes between the Acts: For the Place, during one Act, is always the same, and without intermission of Persons or Discourse. Thus, I say, it is, in all Performances, that are writ according to the true Rules of the Drama. But if any one shall maintain, that the Scene ought to change with every Actor's coming in, or going out, I shall not contend much about it, since it is a Dispute about Words, rather than Things. This, however, is certain, that what we callbrokenScenes, ought to be totally avoided; those, I mean, where, in one and the same Act, the Play is disjointed, and the Stage, for some Time, left vacant. To omit the innumerable Instances I might give of this, among the Moderns, as well as Ancients, I shall mentionTerenceonly, and one only of his Plays, theEunuch. In the third Act,Thais,Thraso,Parmeno,Gnatho, andPythias, make up the second Scene; and at the Conclusion of it they all leave the Stage. In the third SceneChremesappears alone, and, for some Time, talks by himself; at length,Pythiascomes in to him, and, after a few Speeches, both go out together: In the next Scene entersAntipho, he again alone. In the first Scene of the fourth ActDoriascomes in alone; she goes out, and then comesPhædriaalone. This incoherent Connexion of the several Parts of a Play, is not less disagreeable than it would be in Architecture.The different Parts of a Fabrick are to be divided; but in an artful and commodious Manner. The several Acts in a Play resemble the Wings of a Building; but broken Scenes are like gaping, disjointed Walls.
This leads me naturally to say somewhat ofSoliloquies, too much in Use withTerence, and others. They are not, indeed, totally to be rejected, but very suitable to some sort of Matter, provided they are sparingly us'd; particularly, they serve to unload the Mind of too much Grief or Joy; but are of more especial Use in Speeches of the deliberative Kind. They are more adapted to Tragedy than Comedy; for it is most natural for Men to converse with themselves, when Matters of Moment and Concern lie heavy upon their Minds[381]. ButTerenceoften introduces a Person, not to deliberate about Difficulties, but to relate what has pass'd. In which Case, the Narration must be made to the Audience, or the Walls; and it is hard to say which of the two is the more absurd Supposition.
Donatus, speaking upon this Subject of the Drama, lays it down for a Rule, asVossiuscites him, thatno Person ought to go off the Stage, above five Times. AndVossius[382]himself says, immediately after:That this Rule, tho' it holds good in Tragedy, where the Persons, as they are grave, so are likewise few; yet in Comedy is not always regarded. No, say I, nor ought it to be regarded, either in Tragedy, or Comedy. And if I may be so bold as to dissent from so great a Name asHorace, I cannot see theReason of that Rule of his, pretty much to the same Purpose:
[383]—Nec quarta loqui persona laboret.And in one Scene no more than three shou'd speak.Roscommon.
[383]—Nec quarta loqui persona laboret.
And in one Scene no more than three shou'd speak.Roscommon.
What should hinder, but every one may go in or out above five, six, or even ten Times, either in Tragedy, or Comedy, if he pleases? Or where's the Impropriety of more than three Speakers upon the Stage at once? There are Maxims that have no Foundation in Truth, nor do they in the least promote the Order of the Drama, or the Pleasure of the Audience. They don't flow from the Nature of Things, but only from the arbitrary Will of the Directors. A Poet shackles himself to no Purpose, with these Fetters; and only makes his Performance appear stiff and lifeless, with the Severity of them. He might with as much Reason prescribe to himself the determinate Number of Lines his Play should consist of. In all these Things a Writer is left to his Liberty, and the only Rule that can be given is, to observe none.
As little do I see the Reason ofVossius's[384]Rule, in regard to the Number of Actors:That there should not be above fourteen. To be sure there ought not to be more; and, if we except the Mutes, concerning whom there's no Occasion to lay down any Rule, there ought not, perhaps, to be so many. But for the Reasons I before mention'd, I cannot see any for fixing a determinate Number. Every Thing of this Nature is to be left entirely to the Discretion of the writer.
Nor is there any Necessity, from theNatureoftheThing, that there should be just five Acts in a Play, according to that ofHorace,
[385]Neve minor, neu sit quinto productior actuFabula, quæ posci vult, & spectata reponi.Five Acts are just the Measure of a Play.Rosc.
[385]Neve minor, neu sit quinto productior actuFabula, quæ posci vult, & spectata reponi.
Five Acts are just the Measure of a Play.Rosc.
After him,Vossius, and others,In a Play there are neither more nor less than Five Acts. So, indeed, the Ancients have determin'd, and Custom has prevail'd; and this, no doubt, is a very proper Division; but there's no Foundation for it in Nature, and even the Acts are now, and always have been, of uncertain Length. AndVossius, in the same Discourse[386], observes,Some think a Play may consist only of four Acts, provided it be of a proper Length, such as may be seen with Pleasure, and understood with Ease. And 'tis a Remark ofLambinus's thatTully,and some others of the Ancients, mention the third and fourth as the last Act, without any Notice of the fifth; so that the fourth may be understood the last. Nay, in his first Epistle to his BrotherQuintus,the third seems to be the last Act. The Words are these: "Illud te ad extremum & oro, & hortor, ut tanquam poetæ boni, & actores industrii solent, sic tu in extrema parte & conclusione muneris, ac negotii tui, diligentissimus sis; ut hic tertius annus imperii tui, tanquam tertius actus, perfectissimus, atque ornatissimus, fuisse videatur.Lastly, I beg and intreat you to exert yourself in the Conclusion of your Office, as artful Poets, and good Actors use to do; that so this third Year of your Command, may be like the third Act of a Play, the most perfect and ornamental." UnlessTullymeant no more than that as Poets have a chief Regard to the last Act, you should have the same for your third Year; which is to you, your last Act.
I can by no means agree with the learned Author concerning the Distribution of the Business that is to be perform'd in each Act; who delivers himself in this Manner: "The first Act opens the Plot, but not the Event of it; because it would afford less Surprize, to be known before-hand. The second brings on the Design into Action. The third raises some Embarras. The fourth shews the Way by which all Difficulties may be remov'd. The last artfully removes them." I readily grant, the first Act ought toopen the Plot. But this may be partly done in the second; nor is it necessary thewholeof it should be laid open in the first. The first, likewise, as well as the second, mayproduce it into Action: The second, as well as the third, mayraise an Embarras; and the fourth no less than the other two. The fourth ought not openly to discover howDifficulties may be remov'd, the Business, rather, of the fifth, which does that, and somewhat more. In this Case, then, (as I said before in another) Rules are arbitrarily prescrib'd, without any Foundation in Nature; but all these Things are to be dispos'd according to the free Discretion of the Writer. Were it otherwise, the Audience would, in some Measure, know before-hand what they are to expect in every Act. There's no Necessity that one or the other Part of Action should be peculiar to this or that Act; nor are any Rules requir'd about it, except those which we are now coming to, that relate to what are term'dProtasis,Epitasis, andCatastrophe.