These limitations have been handled in widely varying manners: three systems of presentation have been employed, the ancient, the medieval, and the modern, all of which are to be seen at the present day, thanks to the revival of Greek plays in the stadiums and amphitheaters of our colleges and likewise to the revival of the Elizabethan drama during the past ten years.
The ancient or Greek drama was presented in a stone amphitheater against a background of marble, constructed in the form of a palace or temple; the semicircular space occupied by the orchestra seats in our theaters contained an altar in the center and was used by the actors as a part of the stage; the chorus in particular used this space for their stately dances and stood at one side during the progress of the action, commenting on the course of events in odes which they chanted. The lack of movable scenery, and other limitations, resulted in the restrictions known as the three 'unities,' of action, time, and place. No play, according to the unity of action, should introduce incidents that were not a part of the main action; the plot must be absolutely simple. Thus the story of Jessica and Lorenzo, in "The Merchant of Venice" would be barred by this convention, as it does not contribute to the development of the main story of Antonio and Shylock. The unity of time required that the action should not represent the occurrences of more than a day at the very outside, and the unity of place held the action to one spot. These latter conventions were to increase the impression of truth and actuality on the minds of the spectators, heightening the effect of complete naturalness and leaving their imaginations free to grasp the problems of the plot without the additional effort of supposing lapses of time and changes of scene to have occurred. The number of actors was small; usually two, or at most three, were permitted to take part at one time in a portion of the dialogue. These conventions produce a simplicity that was not bare and dull, but just the reverse; the attention is focused directly upon the leading character and his fate from beginning to end. The effect is single and direct, there is no complexity or intricacy to puzzle the audience or distract its interest in the crisis which is so obviously approaching. The grandeur of this type of drama is like that of a great hymn, such as "Old Hundred," sung by a vast congregation.
The medieval plays, which reached their height in Shakespeare's time, were very different from those of the ancients. The stage was almost as bare and scenery was not used, but changes of locality were frequent, indicated by hanging out a sign with the words, "This is a garden" or "A Street in Venice" and so on. In the same way there was no restriction upon time; years might be supposed to have passed between one act and the next. The imagination of the audience was expected to take care of such matters, and indeed it did so with the utmost ease. The plot could be supplemented with all sorts of incidents whether they directly concerned it or not. For example, the wrestling scene at the beginning of "As You Like It" was inserted to satisfy the Elizabethan love of sport, not because it could be of use in advancing the progress of the story, as it did nothing of the kind. The Greek unities were disregarded completely; however, the most impressive of Shakespeare's tragedies do adhere to the principle of the unity of action,—"Macbeth," for example, deals with the consequences of unscrupulous ambition, each event in the play leads directly on to the catastrophe without a pause, there are no minor events or plots.
The modern play differs from both the earlier forms of the drama in its appeal to the eye. The use of scenery, which came in at the beginning of the Age of Classicism, has led to an elaboration of stage effects which sometimes is injurious to the success of a production. Much of the modern stage-craft is concerned with scenic effects and therefore does not come into this discussion. The chief distinction to-day lies in the treatment of problems of everyday life in an everyday manner. Neither the ancient nor the Shakespearian playwrights handled tragedy in the setting of ordinary life. The Greeks portrayed famous heroes and princes and so did the Elizabethans, but rarely, except in comedy, was there any presentation of the life of the middle classes of that time. Sheridan and Ibsen, in common with most of the modern playwrights, take the life of the mass of the people and draw their illustrations of success and failure direct. The audience of to-day sees itself walking and talking on the stage, playing the fool or the hero.
Each style has its merits and its faults, each is powerful in the hands of a genius and each fails when used by incompetents. The average drama depends largely upon the actors for its success, it can hardly be classed among literary efforts. Only the plays wrought by masters of thought as well as of speech can be given a place in the realm of literature.
Æschylus
Calderon
Euripides
Goethe
Ibsen
Jonson
Lessing
Marlowe
Molière
Racine
Rostand
Schiller
Shakespeare
Sheridan
Sophocles