The Theory of the Theatre, and Other Principles of Dramatic Criticism
BY
AUTHOR OF MATERIALS AND METHODS OF FICTION
NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
Published April, 1910
By CLAYTON HAMILTON
Second Printing
CONTENT: The New Art of Making Plays. The Pictorial Stage. The Decorative Drama. The Drama of Illusion. The Modern Art of Stage Direction. A Plea for a New Type of Play. The Period of Pragmatism. The Undramatic Drama. The Value of Stage Conventions. The Supernatural Drama. The Irish National Theatre. The Personality of the Playwright. Themes and Stories of the Stage. Plausibility in Plays. Infirmity of Purpose. Where to Begin a Play. Continuity of Structure. Rhythm and Tempo. The Plays of Yesteryear. A New Defense of Melodrama. The Art of the Moving-Picture Play. The One-Act Play in America. Organizing an Audience. The Function of Dramatic Criticism.
$1.50 net
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
NEW YORK
MENTOR AND FRIEND
Clayton Meeker Hamilton
THE THEORY OF THE THEATRE
AND OTHER PRINCIPLES OF DRAMATIC CRITICISM
PREFACE
CONTENTS
I
WHAT IS A PLAY?
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THEATRE AUDIENCES
THE ACTOR AND THE DRAMATIST
STAGE CONVENTIONS IN MODERN TIMES
ECONOMY OF ATTENTION IN THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES
EMPHASIS IN THE DRAMA
THE FOUR LEADING TYPES OF DRAMA
THE MODERN SOCIAL DRAMA
I
THE PUBLIC AND THE DRAMATIST
DRAMATIC ART AND THE THEATRE BUSINESS
THE HAPPY ENDING IN THE THEATRE
THE BOUNDARIES OF APPROBATION
IMITATION AND SUGGESTION IN THE DRAMA
HOLDING THE MIRROR UP TO NATURE
BLANK VERSE ON THE CONTEMPORARY STAGE
DRAMATIC LITERATURE AND THEATRIC JOURNALISM
THE INTENTION OF PERMANENCE
THE QUALITY OF NEW ENDEAVOR
THE EFFECT OF PLAYS UPON THE PUBLIC
PLEASANT AND UNPLEASANT PLAYS
THEMES IN THE THEATRE
THE FUNCTION OF IMAGINATION
BEULAH MARIE DIX'S
ALLISON'S LAD AND OTHER MARTIAL INTERLUDES
THE CONTINENTAL DRAMA OF TO-DAY
THREE MODERN PLAYS FROM THE FRENCH
THE ROAD TOGETHER
POSSESSION
EMBERS
TRADITION
NOWADAYS
NOTEWORTHY RECENT DRAMA BOOKS
Arthur Edwin Krows' PLAY PRODUCTION IN AMERICA
Richard Burton's BERNARD SHAW: THE MAN AND THE MASK
Constance D'Arcy Mackay's THE FOREST PRINCESS, etc.
Louise Burleigh and Edward Hale Bierstadt's PUNISHMENT
Percival Wilde's CONFESSIONAL and Other American Plays
SIXTH EDITION, ENLARGED AND WITH PORTRAITS
HALE'S DRAMATISTS OF TO-DAY
CHAPTERS OF OPERA