That would have been a tragic situation; but the
author had carefully avoided it. From the very first--before Andrea had
ever seen Ilaria--it had been impressed upon us that he had no priestly
vocation. There was no struggle in his soul between passion and duty;
there was no struggle at all in his soul. His struggles are all with
external forces and influences; wherefore the play, which a real
obstacle might have converted into a tragedy, remained a sentimental
romance--and is forgotten.
* * * * *
What, then, is the essence of drama, if conflict be not it? What is the
common quality of themes, scenes, and incidents, which we recognize as
specifically dramatic? Perhaps we shall scarcely come nearer to a
helpful definition than if we say that the essence of drama is _crisis_.
A play is a more or less rapidly-developing crisis in destiny or
circumstance, and a dramatic scene is a crisis within a crisis, clearly
furthering the ultimate event.
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