"]
[Footnote 8: Here an acute critic writes: "On the whole I agree; but I
do think there is dramatic interest to be had out of curiosity, through
the identification, so to speak, of the audience with the discovering
persons on the stage. It is an interest of sympathy, not to be despised,
rather than an interest of actual curiosity."]
_CHAPTER X_
FORESHADOWING, NOT FORESTALLING
We return now to the point at which the foregoing disquisition--it is
not a digression--became necessary. We had arrived at the general
principle that the playwright's chief aim in his first act ought to be
to arouse and carry forward the interest of the audience. This may seem
a tolerably obvious statement; but it is worth while to examine a little
more closely into its implications.
As to arousing the interest of the audience, it is clear that very
little specific advice can be given. One can only say, "Find an
interesting theme, state its preliminaries clearly and crisply, and let
issue be joined without too much delay.
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