is especially true in the matter of composition and technique. The observance of the unities, the harmony of rhyme, the smoothness of rhythm, the maintenance of the chorus, the number and character of the dramatis personae, etc., were classic restrictions, which, to a certain extent, have stultified the higher and broader aspirations of many a dramatic genius. Among those who rebelled against these restrictions, in so far as they affected the English drama, were some of the immediate predecessors of Shakespeare Marlowe, Kyd, Green, and Lyly. These men opened the way for the sweeping innovations of Shakespeare, and for the half-hearted adoption of these innovations by Ben Jonson, who often apologized to his contemporaries for his temerity in disregarding the unities and other classic formulae. Since Shakespeare's time, or what is known as the period of the Elizabethan drama, no English dramatic literature, worthy of comparison with the work of that great master, has appeared. During the reign of James I., Massinger, Middleton, Shirley, and others wrote, but their art was only a weak imitation of their masters, Marlowe and Shakespeare. Addison, Steele, Goldsmith, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Tennyson, and others, have sought recognition on the dramatic stage, but with little or no success. So far America has produced nothing of a dramatic nature worthy of recognition, and judging from the dominance of the light, frivolous, vaudeville performances on the English and American stages, the drama as a popular entertainment has been laid to rest, and the day of its resurrection seems far distant. V. THE REPRESENTATION OF THE DRAMA IN SHAKESPEARE'S TIME The staging of the drama in Shakespeare's time was a very different matter from what it is today. The primitive theaters, or theatrical inns, were rude wooden structures, usually circular in form, with a covered stage and covered galleries, and an open pit exposed to the vicissitudes of wind and weather. These crude structures were usually located outside the city walls, and beyond the jurisdiction of the city authorities, for, at that time, all theatrical representations were held in disfavor by the Puritanical leaders in church and state. The gallants of the town occupied the stage with the players, and delighted in chaffing and interrupting the actors with irrelevant puns and clownish mimicry. The middle classes occupied the galleries and often enjoyed the spontaneous sallies of wit and repartee between the gallants and the players more than they enjoyed the play itself. The "tag-rag," or what then might have been regarded as we regard our present-day "gallery gods," occupied the pit, and when not dodging the not infrequent missiles hurled from the stage, or the snow or rain from the open firmament, they could appreciate a good comedy or a real drama as well as could the more favored occupants of the reserved places. The stage had no scenery, that being first introduced by Davenant after the Restoration. There were no rise and fall of a curtain to mark the opening and close of a scene. The entrance to the stage was strewn with rushes instead of being carpeted; the walls were hung with arras; a large board with names painted on it indicated where the scenes of the play being produced were laid. For tragedies the walls were hung with black tapestry; Shakespeare speaks of "Black stage for tragedies and murders fell" ("Lucrece"); and History, addressing Comedy, says: Look, Comedy, I mark'd it not till now, The stage is hung with black, and I perceive A Warning for Fair Women. Before the Restoration women's parts were acted by boys, and even among the audience no woman might appear unless masked. The union of the serious and the comic in the same play was common, and clowns were apt to thrust themselves upon the stage on all occasions, much to the annoyance of Shakespeare himself. (See Hamlet, III., ii., 43.) The costume and many other stage accessories were almost entirely lacking, and the few that were used were usually inappropriate. Thus the gorgeous stage setting of the present day which adds so much to the successful presentation of the drama had to be supplied by the keen imagination of the audience; and here we get a fair appreciation of the high degree of intelligence demanded from theater-goers of the Elizabethan period. VI. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DRAMA "A drama undertakes to tell a story by presenting a few episodes or situations from which the entire course of the action can be inferred. Inasmuch as these scenes are to be presented in rapid succession to an audience, they must be not only clear and easy to follow, but, to be interesting, they must also afford opportunity for striking, significant action on the part of the characters. Further, inasmuch as in a drama the author has no opportunity to tell his audience directly what he thinks of his characters, these latter must reveal their natures and purposes by their attitude toward one another, as manifested in speech or action. It is most important that every action in a drama be explained, prepared for, given a motive, by something which has already taken place, or some trait of character already indicated."-Robert Morss Lovett. JULIUS CESAR Julius Cæsar was not published until nine years after its author's death. It first appeared in a collection of Shakespeare's plays, known as the Folio of 1623. This Folio was published by a syndicate "at the charges of W. Jaggard, Ed. Blount, I. Smithweeke, and W. Aspley." It was printed for two of the poet's admirers and fellow-actors, Henry Condell and John Hemyng, and contained thirty-six plays and no poems. No other play of Shakespeare's was published with greater care and ability than was Julius Cæsar, and no other play presents fewer difficulties arising from inaccuracies in the original edition. The precise date of its composition is not known, but a conjecture relative thereto, amounting almost to certainty, may be made upon the following grounds: External Evidence 1. Julius Cæsar is not included in Meres** List of Shakespeare's Plays published in 1598. It is, therefore, presumed to have been published at a later date. 2. Weever'st Mirror of Martyrs, published in 1601, contains the following passage which evidently alludes to Julius Cæsar, and from which it may be argued that the play was written before 1601. The many headed multitude were drawn By Brutus' speech, that Cæsar was ambitious; When eloquent Mark Antony had shown His virtues, who but Brutus then was vicious? 3. Hamlet, written in 1601-2, has the following allusions, I did enact Julius Cæsar; I was killed in the capitol; Brutus killed me.—III. ii. In the most high and palmy state of Rome, A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead Did speak and gibber in the Roman streets.-I. i. From the evidence of these references as well as from the following internal evidence, commentators have concluded that Julius Cæsar was composed in 1600. * Meres, Francis, born 1565; died 1647. Weever, John. Born 1576; died 1632. An English divine and author. An English poet and antiquary. Internal Evidence The plays which are generally recognized as belonging to the years 1601-3 are: Hamlet, 1601-2; Twelfth Night, 1601; All's Well That Ends Well, 1601-2; and Measure for Measure, 1603. Of these plays Hamlet most closely resembles Julius Caesar in tone of thought, style, versification, plot, and in treatment of character. The apparent reasons for these similarities are: 1. Both plays are tragedies of thought rather than of action. 2. Each is the tragedy of an individual who feels that he has a duty to perform, but who finds himself unequal to the task. The thoughts of the noble Brutus tend too much toward idealism and abstract right; the sensitive and philosophic Dane turns his thoughts ever too much inward. 3. Much of the action and development of character in each play turns upon a murder-the murder of Hamlet's father, and the assassination of Cæsar-and in each tragedy the spirit of the murdered man plays an important part in unfolding the plot. 4. Revenge and Destiny, the mystery of life and death, superstition and religion, are dealt with in both plays. The opinion held by Malone,* Drake,† Skottowe, Fleay,§ Knight,|| and others that Julius Caesar was composed about the same time as were Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus, 1607-8, is not tenable, apparent internal evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. Just as every complete action has its cause, growth, height, consequence, and close, so a perfect drama has five component parts. These are the Opening Movement, Growth, Height or *Malone, Edmund. Born at Dublin 1741; died 1812. An Irish literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. † Drake, Nathan. Born 1766; died 1836. An English physician and author. Skottowe, Britiffe Constable. Born 1857. An English historian. Fleay, Rev. Frederick Gard. An English author; began writing in 1857. Knight, Charles. Born, England, 1791; died 1873. An English publisher and author. |