Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/467

 MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS 443 element, the song-element absolutely preponderated and the choral peculiarities threw into shade its mimetic qualities. And lastly, there were anomalous and grotesque elements init which at once indicated a partial absence of the dramatic sense and materially retarded its growth. All these naturally stood in the way of taking the yard out of its operatic structure and evolving the proper dramatic form and spirit ; but these at the same time helped to create by themselves a special nondescript species which cannot be confidently traced back to any known or recog- nised type of earlier times. But the ya/rz, in however crude and undeveloped form, contained within itself the germs of a regular drama. Although the principal theme was drawn from religion or mythology, the realities of scenery রি, ae and character were not absolutely ments. ignored. Itis true that there was hardly any action, and therefore there was little analysis or development of character. Even there was no scenic apparatus and all the details were left to the imagination of the audience. But all this was made up for by the gift of communicating life to the persons, the story, and the dialogues as well as by the rich operatic qualities of the performance. With the modern stage-actor or dramatist, the Yatrawala never enters into comparison ; he is working on a different scene, addressing a different audience and using different tools, colours and methods. Nevertheless within his limits, he could make his theme interesting and his characters lively by a natural gift of vivid representation. The makeshifts which he used were crude and, taken in detail, his methods were faulty, but he succeeded with all his rude resources in making the whole picture impressive and entertaining to his audience. It is, therefore, quite natural to find the