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in poetic art : what tbe epic tells in a straightforward, nar- 

 rative form, varied by speeches of actors, the dramatic tells 

 entu-ely by speeches. Though the drama flourished so 

 marvellously in Athens, and such numerous specimens have 

 come down to us, yet the aid it has given to us has been 

 comparatively small. The rules with which it was fettered 

 by ancient authority or by the love of uniformity, prevented 

 it from being acceptable to our dramatists. We formed 

 our own drama, thoroughly independent of what Greece or Eome 

 could show us for examples, and through this independence it 

 has come about that in dramatic works rest the pride and chief 

 gloiy of our literature. What a nation can do for itself, without 

 relying on external aid, it generally does best. In the drama, 

 at least until the present time when complaints of borrowing 

 from the French are rife, we have been least indebted, and have 

 achieved accordingly the best results. But it might have been 

 otherwise. In the great educational revival of the Tudor period, 

 the ancient authors were brought forward for imitation, and 

 among others the plays of the Athenian jsoets, and more partic- 

 ularly those of the Roman Seneca, were taken as models. The 

 best known early instance of this attempt to transplant is 

 Gorboduc, or FeiTex and Porrex, a play written by Lord Buck- 

 hurst, a statesman of some eminence in the reigns of Elizabeth 

 and James I. It was acted in 1561 ; its chief points of resem- 

 blance to the ancient drama are Istly — the introduction of the 

 chorus, a body of men who take no part in the action, but help 

 by narrating events intermediate between the scenes, and moral- 

 izing on the conduct of the personages on the stage ; 2ndly — 

 the hmited number of actors on the stage at one time ; and Srdly 

 — the delaying of the action by too much philosophy. The story 

 reminds us of one of the favorite themes of antiquity, the 

 contest of two brothers for the throne : Ferrex and Porrex, two 

 characters from our mythical British histoiy, coiTespond to 

 Eteocles and Polynices of Theban stoiy : the brothers are both 

 lolled, as were the two in the Greek play. There are some 

 passages which would bear quoting, but my piu-pose is not to 

 show the beauties of the Enghsh play, but in what way it has 

 borrowed from ancient authors. Plays hke this might be 

 scholarly enough, but were not Ukely to be popular, and the 

 dawn of that period which gave us the plays of Shakspere, 

 Jonson, Marlowe, and their comedies, was necessarily the signal 

 for the withdrawal fi-om the stage of all plays which chose to 

 abide by old-fashioned restrictions. But Milton has shown us 

 another example, better known than the one I have referred to ; 

 his Samson Agonistes is written in strict conformity with classical 

 usage : here is the chorus again with its irregular versification, 

 commenting on all that is shown on the stage ; never are more 

 than two speakers on the stage at once ; and as the author him- 



