It is a mistake to suppose that "literary merit" can be imparted to
drama by such flagrant departures from nature; though some critics have
not yet outgrown that superstition. Let the playwright take to heart an
anecdote told by Professor Matthews in his _Inquiries and Opinions_--an
anecdote of a New England farmer, who, being asked who was the architect
of his house, replied: "Oh, I built that house myself; but there's a man
coming down from Boston next week to put on the architecture." Better no
style at all than style thus plastered on.
* * * * *
What is to be said of the possibilities of blank verse as a dramatic
medium? This is a thorny question, to be handled with caution. One can
say with perfect assurance, however, that its possibilities are
problematical, its difficulties and dangers certain.
To discuss the question whether drama in verse is in its very nature
nobler than drama in prose would lead us away from craftsmanship into
the realm of pure aesthetics.
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