The difference between a live play and a dead one
is that in the former the characters control the plot, while in the
latter the plot controls the characters. Which is not to say, of course,
that there may not be clever and entertaining plays which are "dead" in
this sense, and dull and unattractive plays which are "live."
A great deal of ink has been wasted in controversy over a remark of
Aristotle's that the action or _muthos_, not the character or _ethos_,
is the essential element in drama. The statement is absolutely true and
wholly unimportant. A play can exist without anything that can be called
character, but not without some sort of action. This is implied in the
very word "drama," which means a doing, not a mere saying or existing.
It would be possible, no doubt, to place Don Quixote, or Falstaff, or
Peer Gynt, on the stage, and let him develop his character in mere
conversation, or even monologue, without ever moving from his chair. But
it is a truism that deeds, not words, are the demonstration and test of
character; wherefore, from time immemorial, it has been the recognized
business of the theatre to exhibit character in action.
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