EPIC AND DRAMATIC POETRY
+59. The Epic.+ The _epic_ is a long poem celebrating in stately verse
some important and heroic event of the past. It may be based either on
history or tradition, though in our greatest epics there is a
commingling of the two. The method of the epic is chiefly narrative and
descriptive. The theme is generally stated in the beginning, and the
narrative, frequently interspersed with episodes, pursues an even
course. Homer thus begins the "Iliad":
"Of Peleus' son Achilles, sing, O Muse,
The direful wrath, which sorrows numberless
Brought on the Greeks, and many mighty souls
Of youthful heroes, slain untimely, sent
To Pluto's dark abode, their bodies left
A prey to dogs and all the fowls of heaven."
Vergil begins the "Æneid" in a similar manner, and the opening lines of
"Paradise Lost" follow classic models.
The structure of the epic may be determined from the fundamental
conception of its nature. As a narrative of an important and heroic
event, it should be simple, direct, and dignified in its treatment. The
incidents should be introduced in a natural order, and their prominence
should be regulated according to their relative importance. In an epic
poem, as in every other creation of art, the law of symmetry should be
observed.
But the epic admits of episode. The poet may stop the flow of his
narrative for a time to dwell upon some incident connected with or
growing out of the main theme. Such an episode is the story of the
destruction of Troy in the second and third books of the "Æneid." The
episode may be employed to throw light on existing conditions or to add
interest to the general narrative. In the "Æneid" it serves both
purposes to an eminent degree.
The epic makes extensive use of dialogue, and thus, in a measure,
partakes of the nature of the drama. The introduction of the dialogue
serves a double purpose: first, it lends greater vividness to the
narrative; and second, it lends variety to the story, enabling the
ancient minstrel, and in a less degree the modern reader, to do a little
acting. Often the dialogue is highly dramatic, as in the quarrel between
Achilles and Agamemnon in the first book of the "Iliad." A large part of
our greatest epics is in dialogue.
The great epics of the world are all heroic. They celebrate great
events--the Trojan war, the founding of Rome, the loss of Paradise--and
bring before us a large number of heroes, divinities, and angels. The
"Iliad" is made up chiefly of battle scenes, in which mighty heroes and
Olympian deities take part. Æneas is the hero of the "Æneid"; but back
of the tribulations through which he passes, we recognize the agency of
contending divinities. And in "Paradise Lost" Milton introduces the
mighty beings of heaven and hell. The epic is thus the stateliest and
grandest form of poetry.
There are minor varieties of the epic, which occupy an important place
in modern poetry.
(1) The principal of these varieties is the _metrical romance_, of which
Scott's "The Lady of the Lake" or Owen Meredith's "Lucile" may be taken
as the type. It differs from the grand or heroic epic in confining
itself to lowlier themes, and in introducing the passion of love. The
metrical romance lends itself readily to every form of romantic story.
In Scott it introduces the scenes and characters of mediæval Scotland.
Byron, in "The Giaour," "The Siege of Corinth," "The Bride of Abydos,"
and others, works up oriental legends. Moore's "Lalla Rookh" is a
beautiful oriental romance. Owen Meredith's "Lucile" is a modern love
story, while Morris's "Story of Sigurd" is derived from Scandinavian
legends.
(2) The _metrical tale_ may be distinguished from the metrical romance
by the absence of romantic love and adventure. It is naturally briefer
in form. Byron's "Prisoner of Chillon" and Burns's "Tam O'Shanter" may
be taken as types of the metrical tale. On the one side it approaches
the metrical romance, and on the other the lyrical ballad. Since the
days of Gower and Chaucer the metrical tale has added to English poetry
some of its choicest pieces.
(3) The _mock epic_ is, as the name suggests, a burlesque. It narrates
trivial incidents in a stately manner. It is not to be taken seriously,
and may be employed either to satirize or to amuse. Butler's "Hudibras"
is a mock heroic satire, while Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" was
intended to amuse with its pleasant conceits and to effect a
reconciliation between two alienated families among the nobility. Here
are the opening lines of Canto III:
"Close by those meads, forever crowned with flowers,
Where Thames with pride surveys his rising towers,
There stands a structure of majestic frame,
Which from the neighboring Hampton takes its name.
Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom
Of foreign tyrants, and of nymphs at home;
Here thou, great Anna, whom three realms obey,
Dost sometimes counsel take--and sometimes tea."
+60. The Drama.+ The drama is a composition in prose or verse usually
intended to be acted on the stage. Representation takes the place of
narration. In order to add to the reality and interest of the
representation, the accessories of dress and scenery are carefully
employed. Whether in prose or verse, the laws of dramatic structure are
the same.
The two principal divisions of the drama are _tragedy_ and _comedy_.
Tragedy represents an important and serious action, which usually has a
fatal termination; it appeals to the earnest side of our nature, and
moves our deepest feelings.
Comedy consists in a representation of light and amusing incidents; it
exhibits the foibles of individuals, the manners of society, and the
humorous phases of life. The name _tragi-comedy_ is applied to a drama
in which tragic and comic scenes are intermingled. A _farce_ is a short
comedy distinguished by its slight thought and ridiculous caricature or
extravagance. A _melodrama_ is a drama with a romantic story or plot,
and sensational situations and incidents. An _opera_ is a musical drama,
the higher forms of which are known as _grand opera_, and the lower or
farcical forms as _opera bouffe_.
The laws of the drama are substantially the same for all forms. There
should be unity of dramatic action; that is, the separate scenes and
incidents should contribute in some way to the development of the plot
and to the final result or _dénouement_. A collection of disconnected
scenes, no matter how interesting in themselves, would not make a drama.
In addition to unity of action, which is obviously the one indispensable
law of the drama, two other unities were prescribed by ancient
authorities. The one is unity of time, which requires that the action
fall within the limits of a single day; the other is unity of place,
which requires that the action occur in the same locality. While
evidently artificial and dispensable, these latter unities conduce to
clear and concise treatment. Among the Greeks and Romans the three
unities, as they are called, were strictly observed; they have been
followed also by the older French drama; but the English stage, breaking
away in the days of Elizabeth from every artificial restriction,
recognizes unity of action alone.
The action of the drama should exhibit movement or progress, in which
several stages may be clearly marked. The _introduction_ acquaints us,
more or less fully, with the subject to be treated. It usually brings
before us some of the leading characters, and shows us the
circumstances in which they are placed. After the introduction follows
the _growth_ or _development_ of the action toward the climax. From the
days of Aristotle this part of the drama has been called "the tying of
the knot," and it needs to be managed with great care. If the
development is too slow, the interest lags; if too rapid, the climax
appears tame.
The interest of a drama depends in a large measure upon the successful
arrangement of the _climax_, or the point in which the opposing forces
immediately confront each other. In our best dramas it usually occurs
near the middle of the piece. From this point the action proceeds to the
close or _dénouement_. The knot is untied; the complications in which
the leading characters have become involved are either happily removed
or lead to the inevitable catastrophe. Avoiding every digression, the
action should go forward rapidly, in order not to weary the patience and
dissipate the interest of the spectator. The _dénouement_ should not be
dependent upon some foreign element introduced at the last moment, but
should spring naturally from the antecedent action.
In addition to the five principal parts just indicated--introduction,
rise or tying of the knot, climax, fall or untying of the knot, and
_dénouement_--there are three other elements or factors that need to be
pointed out. The first is the cause or exciting impulse of the dramatic
action, and naturally stands between the introduction and the rise or
tying of the knot. The second is the cause or tragic impulse of the
counteraction, and stands between the climax and the fall or untying of
the knot. The third is the cause or impulse that sometimes holds the
action in check for a moment before reaching its final issue, and stands
between the fall and the _dénouement_.
The structure and eight component parts of a complete or ideal drama may
be represented in a diagram as follows.
_C_ A = Introduction.
/ \ B = Rise or tying of knot.
/ _\__b C = Climax.
/ \ D = Fall or untying of knot.
/ B \ E = _Dénouement._
/ \ D a = Cause or exciting impulse.
/ \ b = Tragic impulse.
_/__a _\__c c = Impulse of last suspense.
/ \
_/__A __\__E
+61. Characters and Manners.+ Apart from the plot or story the interest
of a drama depends to a large extent on the _dramatis personae_. In the
classic drama the characters are few and dignified; in the romantic
drama, as first developed in the age of Shakespeare, the characters are
numerous and drawn from every class of society. The same difference is
found in the classic school of France, represented by Corneille,
Molière, and Racine, and the romantic school founded by Victor Hugo.
The characters should be clearly drawn and sufficiently differentiated.
Each one should have his peculiar individuality, and be reasonably
consistent with himself in all parts of the dramatic action. The whole
world of mankind is at the service of the dramatist, and there is no
type of humanity that may not be brought upon the stage. The ancient
world of history or of tradition may be represented, or the stage may
hold up the mirror to contemporary manners and society.
The drama should be true to the time and locality in which the action is
placed. The dress and manners should be in keeping with the conditions
assumed, and the tone of thought and expression should not do violence
to time or place. A Carthaginian nobleman, for example, should not
ascertain the time of day by means of a gold watch, nor should an
unlettered rustic speak in strains of eloquent poetry. A violation of
the truth in time is called an _anachronism_. But "in some dramas, and
in some species of drama," as Ward has said, "time and place are so
purely imaginary and so much a matter of indifference that the adoption
of a purely conventional standard of manners, or at least the exclusion
of any definitely fixed one, is here desirable." This is shown in
Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
The drama should be moral both in tone and teaching. We may apply to the
drama, as to every other species of composition, Pope's well-known
couplet:
"Immodest words admit of no defense,
For want of decency is a want of sense."
Indecent language and grossly immoral situations should be excluded from
the stage. When this is not done, as is frequently the case, the drama,
instead of uplifting, degrades humanity. This fact has brought the stage
into disrepute with many excellent people. In its close or _dénouement_
the drama should not let vice triumph over virtue, nor should it make
the impression that wickedness ever escapes unpunished. Such teaching
places the stage in contravention with the moral order of the world,
according to which, even when the punitive consequences are not openly
manifest, wickedness is inevitably accompanied with some form of
internal or external retribution.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What is an epic? On what may it be based? What is the method of the
epic? Where is the theme stated? Illustrate. What should be the
structure of the epic? What is meant by symmetry? What is an episode?
Why may it be introduced? Illustrate. What is said of the use of
dialogue? What is the nature of the great epic? What is meant by
_heroic_ here? Illustrate. What is a metrical romance? How does it
differ from the grand epic? What is said of the adaptability of the
metrical romance? Illustrate. What is a metrical tale? Name an example
or two. What is a mock epic? For what ends may it be used? Mention a
mock epic.
2. What is a drama? What is said of the laws of the drama? Name the two
chief divisions. Define tragedy; comedy. What is tragi-comedy? farce?
melodrama? opera? What is the difference between _grand opera_ and
_opera bouffe_? What is meant by unity of action? What other two unities
are there? What is meant by unity of time? What is meant by unity of
place? Where are the three unities strictly observed? Which is observed
on the English stage? Mention the successive steps of dramatic action.
What is the function of the _introduction_? What follows the
introduction? What name did Aristotle give it? What is the _climax_?
What is said about the arrangement of the climax? What is the fall or
untying of the knot? Why should it not be protracted? What is meant by
the _dénouement_? What are the three other dramatic elements? What is
meant by the _cause_ or _exciting impulse_? What is meant by the _tragic
impulse_? By the _impulse of last suspense_?
3. On what does the interest largely depend? What is the difference in
the characters of the classic and the romantic drama? What is said of
each character? Whence may the drama draw its characters? Where may the
dramatist get his materials? To what should the drama be true? What is
an _anachronism_? Illustrate. Is conformity to time and place always to
be adhered to? What is said of the moral tone of the drama? What is
Pope's opinion? In what two ways should the stage be moral?
NOTE
In place of the illustrative and practical exercises, as heretofore
given, it is recommended that the student be referred to representative
epic and dramatic productions. Besides the great epics mentioned in the
text, some of the following works might be used: Scott's "The Lady of
the Lake" or "Marmion," Tennyson's "Elaine" or "Enoch Arden," Dryden's
"Palamon and Arcite," Byron's "Bride of Abydos" and "Prisoner of
Chillon," Burns's "Tam O'Shanter," Pope's "Rape of the Lock,"
Goldsmith's "She Stoops to Conquer," Sheridan's "Rivals," and
Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice," "Julius Cæsar," and "Hamlet." To
show the difference between the classic and the Shakespearian drama the
student should read one or more of the plays of Euripides, Corneille,
and Molière in good translations. Victor Hugo's "Ruy Blas" is
recommended as an excellent type of the romantic drama of the nineteenth
century.
Apart from the criticism of diction, sentence, and figure, the pieces
assigned should be studied with the view of answering such questions as
the following: To what division of the epic or drama does the work
belong? What is its source? Is it legend or history? What is the story?
Has it a beginning, middle, and end? Is it symmetrical in structure?
What episodes are introduced? Is the treatment in keeping with the
subject? Is it true to fact and character? Does it faithfully portray
an age or country? What customs are reflected? What is the state of
society? Describe the leading characters. What is the rank of the piece?
What other productions resemble it? Is it classic or romantic? Are there
autobiographic elements? What light is thrown on the author? How is
nature treated? What fundamental views of life are reflected? What is
the moving impulse in the drama? What constitutes the introduction?
Where is the climax? Is the _dénouement_ natural and satisfactory? Trace
the tying and the untying of the knot. What furnishes the "tragic
impulse"? Is there an "impulse of last suspense"? What unities are
observed? What is the length of time consumed? What is the ethical
teaching of the piece?