The Analysis of Play Construction and Dramatic Principle (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from The Analysis of Play Construction and Dramatic Principle It is very easy to be misled as to one's own knowledge of the Art of Playwriting. I was told by a dramatist of the highest distinction that it was only after the production of his fourth play that he realized the exacting nature of the Art and 'saw that there were one or two principles the extent and use of which he had had little or no conception As a play reader for managers I have been in a posi tion for a score of years and more to note the beginning and progress of practically all the dramatic authors who have succeeded in that time. In most cases, the first manu scripts submitted by these authors revealed little or no dra matic instinct. There may have been abundant ability, there may have been very apt portrayal of character and scenes worked out with more or less effectiveness, but an all embracing Technique was invariably lacking. They have since learned the Art, and every honest dramatist among them will tell you that his experience began in comparative ignorance accompanied by self-confidence. If the Art is lacking and everything in a play, as a play, is wrong, what kind of instinct is that which instinctively does things wrong? If you have any idea that you have dramatic instinct and that it was born in you, get rid of it. I have a contempt that I cannot begin to express, although my vocabulary is not altogether meagre, for people who claim to have been' born with a knowledge of any Art. Art is a human thing. It has to be acquired. I would like to take hold of these people and have them do the exercise work required to bring them to their senses. Many of them think that analytical work is not necessary or that their minds are so constituted that they are not analytical but what they call creative. Get that out of your head. In playwriting, at least, there is no distinction between these qualities. You must be analytical or you will never write plays with any professional firmness of touch. The diffi culty of enforcing analytical exercise work, however, I have found to be so great that I require it only in the answers to the Question Sheets. Of course an infinite and serviceable amount of analytical work may be done in the analytical study of plays without committing the results to paper, but the habit of analytical thought should be gained. I do not recognize aptitude except as it comes from knowl edge, experience and training. You may have an ad-aptitude, but aptitude means skill. If one has been reared on or about the stage he may acquire it unconsciously, but this aptitude comes from having learned the Art in one way or another. Learning it primarily from the stage itself has its dangers, which will be explained later. It is easy enough to learn the Art superficially, but this is an Art that one must master completely if he has any self - respect or hopes for a career uninterrupted by deficiencies. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.