"None, Malvina—none."
"Not even the vampire, he who quaffs the blood
Of life, that he may live in death?"
"Not I.
How do you know that tale?"
"I've read
In old romances——"
"Capital, capital," interrupted Varduk pleasantly. "I know that the play is written in a specific meter, yet you need not speak as though it were. If anything, make the lines less rhythmic and more matter-of-fact. Remember, you are young lovers, half bantering as you woo. Let your audience relax with you. Let it feel the verse form without actually hearing."
We continued, to the line where Aubrey tells of his travel-acquaintance Ruthven. Here the speech became definite verse:
"He is a friend who charms, but does not cheer,