PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 281 



adventures, like those of romances, and novels ; sometimes probable, 

 sometimes supernatural. 



Dramatic poetry, in prose or verse, is that kind in which 

 various persons are introduced as speakers and actors : it being 

 designed for rehearsal on the stage ; and its name being derived from 

 a Greek word signifying action. A Tragedy, is a dramatic poem or 

 play, of a grave character, and usually having a fatal termination : 

 but a Comedy, is a more sportive play, designed for amusement or 

 satire. A Melodrama, is a dramatic performance in which songs are 

 introduced ; and a farce, is a minor play, usually performed after 

 one of a graver cast, for the sake of diversion and variety. The 

 prologue is the introduction to a play; and the epilogue, is the 

 concluding address. An Opera, is a drama set to music : and a 

 Comic opera, or opera buffa, is one of a sportive kind, in contra- 

 distinction from the opera seria. A pantomime, is a theatrical 

 performance consisting merely of action, without words.* A cantata, 

 is a diversified poem, intended to be sung. A sonnet, is a poem of 

 fourteen lines ; usually the amplification of some striking thought. 

 The first sonnets were those of Petrarch. A madrigal, is a short 

 poem, of variable length and construction, usually on some tender, 

 delicate, or simple subject. An epigram, is a brief expression of 

 some witty thought, often, though not always satirical. An acrostic 

 is a short poem, in which the first letters, syllables, or words, of the suc- 

 cessive lines, taken together, form a word or sentence by themselves. 



The name Romance, is applied sometimes to works of fiction 

 in general, sometimes to individual works of this class ; and some- 

 times it is used to express the spirit, taste, or style in which 

 such works are composed. It comes from the mixed Latin, or 

 Romance language, used by the troubadours, or minstrels, of Pro- 

 vence, in France ; whose compositions first received this appella- 

 tion. The word Novel, from the Italian novella, a tale or story, has 

 been more recently introduced in our language, as applied to works 

 of fiction. A romance, is properly one of the older or more extra- 

 vagant compositions ; and a novel is one of the more recent and 

 natural, relating usually to historical facts, or social life. The earliest 

 romances, narrating the exploits of Arthur and his knights, or of 

 Charlemagne and his peers, are full of supernatural agents and 

 events : those of intermediate date also deal largely in mystery and 

 extravagance ; but the better class of modern novels, a limited few, 

 are valuable, as giving the ideas of well informed writers concerning 

 men and manners, character and conduct, in the various phases and 

 emergencies of life. Some of these works are auxiliary to geogra- 

 phy and history ; presenting new views, or details, which more 

 systematic writers have omitted : but their statements are always to 

 be received with caution ; as they often take great liberties with the 

 facts of the case. The name of Tales, is now mostly applied to 

 brief novels or stories, such as those for children, and those which 



* Although, in the following pages, mention is made of the most prominent drama- 

 tic compositions ; it is with the conviction that the theatre, as at present conducted, 

 is far more injurious than beneficial to the best interests of society, or of those who 

 allow themselves to become its votaries. 



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