"Dramatic," in the eyes of writers
of this school, has become a term of reproach, synonymous with
"theatrical." They take their cue from Maeterlinck's famous essay on
"The Tragic in Daily Life," in which he lays it down that: "An old man,
seated in his armchair, waiting patiently, with his lamp beside
him--submitting with bent head to the presence of his soul and his
destiny--motionless as he is, does yet live in reality a deeper, more
human, and more universal life than the lover who strangles his
mistress, the captain who conquers in battle, or the husband who
'avenges his honour.'" They do not observe that Maeterlinck, in his own
practice, constantly deals with crises, and often with violent and
startling ones.
At the same time, I am far from suggesting that the reaction against the
traditional "dramatic" is a wholly mistaken movement. It is a valuable
corrective of conventional theatricalism; and it has, at some points,
positively enlarged the domain of dramatic art.
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