LANDSCAPE IN LITERATURE 



literature. Into one group we could put 

 all those that have the outdoor feeling; 

 into the other would fall those descriptive, 

 scientific, technical, inexpressive works 

 which have no atmosphere and no land- 

 scape. 



The drama is a species of literature 

 which confessedly depends largely on stage 

 settings; that is (in many cases), on land- 

 scape. The careful playwright gives de- 

 tailed attention to this part of his piece, 

 and one of his best allies is the scene 

 painter. We can all remember, for ex- 

 ample, the spectacular production of "Ben 

 Hur," seen in some of our largest theaters 

 a few years ago; and certainly we would 

 say, without disparagement to the play, 

 that the beautiful landscape settings for the 

 various scenes have over-lived the lines 

 and the acting in our memories. 



The situation is somewhat different 

 with the plays of Shakespeare. Our 

 familiarity with the lines, and our in- 

 structed enjoyment of them, make us, to a 

 large extent, independent of stage settings. 

 We can do without the concrete back- 

 ground. The plays were produced orig- 

 inally, by Shakespeare and his fellows, 



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