a continued reprefentation. Hence it appears, that a continued reprefentation without any pause, would be a bad contrivance; it would break the attention by overstraining it, and produce a total abfence of mind. In this refpect, the four paufes have a fine effect. By affording to the audience a feafonable respite when the impreffion of reality is gone, and while nothing material is in agitation, they relieve the mind from its fatigue; and confequently prevent a wandering of thought at the very time poffibly of the most interesting fcenes.

In one article indeed, the Grecian model has greatly the advantage: its chorus, during an interval, not only preferves alive the impreffions made upon the audience, but alto prepares their hearts finely for new impreffions. In our theatres, on the contrary, the audience, at the end of every act, are in a manner folicited to withdraw their thoughts from what has been paffing, and to trifle away the time the best way they can. Thus in the intervals betwixt the acts, every warm impreffion is banifhed; and the fpectators begin the next act cool and in

different,

different, as at the commencement of the play. Here is a grofs malady in our theatrical reprefentations; but a malady that luckily is not incurable. To revive the Grecian chorus, would be to revive the Grecian flavery of place and time. But I can figure a detached chorus coinciding with a pause in the reprefentation, as the ancient chorus did with a pause in the principal action. What objection, for example, can there lie against music betwixt the acts, vocal and inftrumental, adapted to the subject? Such detached chorus, befide admitting the fame latitude that we enjoy at present as to time and place, would have more than one happy effect: it would recruit the fpirits; and it would preferve entire, the tone, if not the tide, of paffion. The mufic that comes first, ought to accord with the tone of the preceding paffion, and be gradually varied till it accord with the tone of the paffion that is to fucceed in the next act. The mufic and the reprefentation would both of them be gainers by their conjunction; which will thus appear. Mufic that accords with the present tone N n 2

置

of

of mind, is, upon that account, doublyragreeable; and accordingly, though mufic fingly hath not power to raise any paffion, it tends greatly to fupport a paffion already raised. Further, mufic; though it cannot of itself raife a paffion, prepares us for the paffion that follows: by making chearful, tender, melancholy, or animated impreffions, mufic has power to dispose the heart to various paffions. Of this power, the firft scene of the Mourning Bride is a fhining inftance without the preparation of soft mufic in a melancholy strain, it would be extremely difficult to enter all at once into Almeria's deep diftrefs. In this manner, mufic and reprefentation fupport each other delightfully the impreffion made upon the audience by the representation, is a fine preparation for the mufic that fucceeds; and the impreffion made by the music, is a fine preparation for the representation that succeeds. It appears to me clear, that, by fome fuch contrivance, the modern drama may be improved, fo as to enjoy the advantage of the ancient chorus without its lavish limitation of place and time.

J

And as to

mufic in particular, I cannot figure any plan that would tend more to its improvement. Composers, thofe for the stage at least, would be reduced to the happy ne ceffity of studying and imitating nature; inftead of indulging, according to the prefent fashion, in wild, fantastic, and unnatural conceits. But we muft return to our fubject, and finish the comparison betwixt the ancient and the modern drama,

ot

The numberless improprieties forc'd upon the Grecian dramatic poets by the conftitution of their drama, are, of themfelves one should think, a fufficient reason - for preferring that of the moderns, even sabftracting from the improvement proposed. To prepare the reader for this article, it must be premised, that as in the ancient drama the place of action, never varies, a place neceffarily must be chofen to which every person may have accefs without any improbability. This confines the scene to fome open place, generally the court or area before a palace; which excludes from the Grecian theatre tranfactions within doors, though these commonly are the most

important,

important. Such cruel reftraint is of itself fufficient to cramp the most the most pregnant invens tion; and accordingly the Grecian writers, in order to preferve unity of place, are reduced to woful improprieties. In the Hippolytus of Euripides*, Phedra, diftreffed in mind and body, is carried without any pretext from her palace to the place of action, is there laid upon a couch unable to support herself upon her limbs, and made to utter many things improper to be heard by a number of women who form the chorus. What is ftill worse, her female at tendant uses the strongest intreaties to make her reveal the fecret caufe of her anguith; which at last Phedra, contrary to decency and probability, is prevailed upon to do in prefence of this very chorus Alceftes, in Euripides, at the point of death,is brought from the palace to the place of action, groaning and lamenting her untimely fate. In the Trachiniens of Sophocles | a fecret is imparted to Dejanira, the wife

*A&t 1. fc. 6.
‡ At 2. fc. I.

+ Act 2. sc. 2.
| A& 2.

of