A very exacting technical
criticism might accuse Ibsen of verging towards the same fault in _An
Enemy of the People._ There the tension is practically resolved with Dr.
Stockmann's ostracism at the end of the fourth act. At that point, if it
did not know that there was another act to come, an audience might go
home in perfect content. The fifth act is a sort of epilogue or sequel,
built out of the materials of the preceding drama, but not forming an
integral part of it. With a brief exposition to set forth the antecedent
circumstances, it would be quite possible to present the fifth act as an
independent comedietta.
But here a point of great importance calls for our notice. Though the
tension, once started, must never be relaxed: though it ought, on the
contrary, to be heightened or tightened (as you choose to put it) from
act to act; yet there are times when it may without disadvantage, or
even with marked advantage, be temporarily suspended. In other words,
the stretching-forward, without in any way slackening, may fall into the
background of our consciousness, while other matters, the relevance of
which may not be instantly apparent, are suffered to occupy the
foreground.
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