_Initial Incident_: In the first few months of the war there comes to
a small English village a refugee from Alsace-Lorraine, a monument
carver.
_Steps toward the Dramatic Climax_: He refuses to go into shelter
from the frequent air-raids and learns from watching the planes that
they pass a certain point before turning toward London.
_Dramatic Climax_: Acting upon his information the gunners bring down
a German plane.
_Steps toward the Climax of Action_: The carver finds himself a
hero. It is decided to erect a tombstone over the dead aviator, with
the inscription “Here lies a fallen German.” The stone-cutter is
deputed to carve the inscription. The relics of the raid are exposed
for view in the little museum. The personal effects of the aviator
consist largely of a young, fair-haired woman--“Meine Mutter.” The
stone-cutter goes out to buy a chisel and to visit the museum. On his
return he seems ill but goes to work on the inscription.
_Climax of Action_: He dies before completing the epitaph.
_Dénouement_: The dead aviator was his son, as the picture had
revealed to him, and as the unfinished inscription, “Bis patriæ m--,”
revealed to the Dean.
PRESENTATION. Mr. Humphrey has seen fit to present this tale as a
rehearsed one. In so doing, he has secured mellowness--consistent
with utmost economy, sympathy for the stone-cutter, and an excellent
apology for the Latin phrases. He evidently had in mind, whether at
the beginning or later, the resemblance between a fallen aviator
and the luckless Icarus. To emphasize the relation, he needed to
requisition classical atmosphere as well as classical fact. This he has
accomplished through the stone-cutter’s interest in “Phœnix-Latin,” and
the Oxford Dean, who lectures on Latin poetry.
CHARACTERIZATION. The reserve of the refugee stone-cutter is used to
advantage in conserving economy and in suggesting facts, rather than
stating them, to the reader. The Frenchman tells almost nothing of
his past life, of which much is nevertheless revealed through the
illuminating high lights of the action.
SETTING. Why is an indefinite English village the best locale?