Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/481

LEFT DRAMA 419 DRAMA Old Testament, for example, in Job and the Song of Solomon; and ancient India and China both developed a dramatic literature of their own. The European drama had its origin in Greece. Both forms, tragic and comic, took their rise in the celebration of the Greek festivals of Dionysus (Bacchus), at which hymns and chants were sung by choruses in honor of the god, and the chorus con- tinued to be a prominent feature of the old Greek drama. Greek comedy began about 580-560 B. c. with Susarion, but it was long in attaining regular form. Of the old Greek comedy the chief repre- sentatives were Cratinus, Eupolis, Phe- recrates, and Aristophanes — the last the greatest. The invention of tragedy is generally ascribed to Thespis about 530 B. c., who was followed by Phrynichus; but the true creator of tragedy was ^schylus, in whose works and those of Sophocles and Euripides it found its most perfect expression. Thespis had only one actoi*, who from time to time relieved the chorus by declamation. ^schylus changed this representation into real action by making use of two actors in addition to the chorus. jEschylus also introduced masks; and by means of a long gown and the cothurnus, or buskin, the lofty stature of the heroes was imi- tated. A third actor was first intro- duced by Sophocles. The regular drama among the Romans was borrowed from the Greeks. Plautus and Terence were imitators of the Greek comedy, Livius Andronicus (240 B. C.) of the Greek tragedy. Of the Roman tragedy, the dramas of Seneca are the only speci- mens extant. In most modern European countries the regular drama took its rise in the mysteries, miracle-plays, and moralities of the Middle Ages. In Italy, however, it began with a reproduction in Latin of classical models. The earliest tra- gedy in Italian is Trissino's "Sofonisba" (1502). Regular comedies in Italian were written by Ariosto, Aretino, Ma- chiavelli, and others; and to the same period (15th and 16th centuries) be- longs the Italian Pastoral drama, which sprang from the ancient idylls, and aimed at a fanciful delineation of Arca- dian and mythological scenes. Among the pastoral dramatists of this period are Poliziano, Tasso, and Guarini. The pastorals gave birth to the opera, early masters of which, so far as it may be included in the poetic drama, are Zeno and Metastasio. The Italian drama waned in the 17th century, but in the 18th genuine comedy and classic tragedy were restored, the former by Goldoni, the latter by Alfieri. Monti, Manzoni, Niccolini, Giacometti and D'Annunzio are among the later writers of tragedy. The other European nations culti- vated the dramatic art much later than the Italians. The English and Span- iards devoted their attention to it almost at the same time; the former reaching their acme in Shakespeare, the latter in Lope de Vega and Calderon. The his- tory of the English theater and the drama is naturally divided into two parts, the first of which begins with the reign of Elizabeth and ends with the reign of Charles I. The rapid develop- ment of the drama during the reign of Elizabeth was entirely unhampered by foreign influence. Lyly, Peele, Greene, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont, and Fletcher, Chapman, Webster, Middleton, Marston, Ford, and Massinger are among the chief names connected with the brilliant period of Che English drania. During the Com- monwealth the Puritans prohibited all kinds of plays, and the thealers were shut up for 13 yearv. With Charles II. the drama reappeared, and exhibited a licentiousness hardly equaled by that of any other Christian nation. Among the chief names belonging to this period are Dryden, Otway, Lee, Shadwell, Wycherly and Etherege. From the close of the 17th to that of the 18th century British comedy was cultivated with much suc- cess by Gibber, Farquhar, Congreve, Sheridan, and others. During the 19th century many writers were conspicuous by their dramas. Among the chief of these may be noted Byron, Coleridge, Landor, Shelley, Maturin, Talfourd, Mil- man, Sir Henry Taylor, the first Lord Ljrtton, Knowles, R. H. Home, Arnold, Browning, Swinburne, and Tennyson. Among other 19th century writers for the stage, who, however, may be called playwrights rather than drama- tists, may be named Douglas Jerrold, Tom Taylor, Charles Reade, Thomas Robertson, W. G. Wills, Henry Byron, Robert Buchanan, Dion Boucicault, W. S. Gilbert, Stephen Phillips, Henry Arthur Jones, Arthur W. Pinero; and among Americans Bronson Howard, Au- gustus Thomas, William Gillette, Clyde Fitch, Edward Knoblock, Avary Hop- wood, etc. The French drama was in a miserable state before Corneille (1606-1684), who indeed is looked on as the founder of the drama in Finance. Racine, Moliere, Vol- taire, and in later times Hugo, are some of the other distinguished French dra- matists. Since about 1820 a new dramat- ic school was formed in France, which, departing from the ancient strictness of what is called the classic, approaches more and more to the German or British,