But, as we have already seen, logic is a gift which may easily be
misapplied. It too often leads such writers as M. Brieux and M. Hervieu
to sacrifice the undulant and diverse rhythms of life to a stiff and
symmetrical formalism. The conception of a play as the exhaustive
demonstration of a thesis has never taken a strong hold on the
Anglo-Saxon mind; and, though some of M. Brieux's plays are much more
than mere dramatic arguments, we need not, in the main, envy the French
their logician-dramatists.
But, though the presence of logic should never be forced upon the
spectator's attention, still less should he be disturbed and baffled by
its conspicuous absence. If the playwright announces a theme at all: if
he lets it be seen that some general idea underlies his work: he is
bound to present and develop that idea in a logical fashion, not to
shift his ground, whether inadvertently or insidiously, and not to
wander off into irrelevant side-issues. He must face his problem
squarely.
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