We are more willing
to accept a quiet, even an indecisive, ending.[11] Nevertheless it is
and must ever be true that, at a very early period in the scheming of
his play, the playwright ought to assure himself that his theme is
capable of a satisfactory ending. Of course this phrase does not imply a
"happy ending," but one which satisfies the author as being artistic,
effective, inevitable (in the case of a serious play), or, in one word,
"right." An obviously makeshift ending can never be desirable, either
from the ideal or from the practical point of view. Many excellent plays
have been wrecked on this rock. The very frequent complaint that "the
last act is weak" is not always or necessarily a just reproach; but it
is so when the author has clearly been at a loss for an ending, and has
simply huddled his play up in a conventional and perfunctory fashion. It
may even be said that some apparently promising themes are deceptive in
their promise, since they are inherently incapable of a satisfactory
ending.
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