If there are any which can
fittingly be steeped in a lyric atmosphere, they are to be sought on the
outskirts of history, or in the debatable land between history and
legend. The formula of Schiller can no more be revived than the formula
of Chapman or of Rowe. That a new historic drama awaits us in the
future, I have little doubt; but it will be written in prose. The idea
that the poetry of drama is to be sought specifically in verse has long
ago been exploded by Ibsen and Maeterlinck and D'Annunzio and Synge. But
there are, no doubt, themes which peculiarly lend themselves to
lyrico-dramatic treatment, and we shall all welcome the poet who
discovers and develops them.
One warning let me add, in no uncertain voice. If you choose to write a
blank-verse play, write it in blank verse, and not in some nondescript
rhythm which is one long series of jolts and pitfalls to the sensitive
ear. Many playwrights have thought by this means to escape from the
monotony of blank verse; not one (that I ever heard of) has achieved
even temporary success.
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