{"product_id":"the-atlantic-book-of-modern-plays-gb-16435","title":"The Atlantic Book of Modern Plays","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Atlantic Book of Modern Plays\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe elder Dumas, who wrote many successful plays, as well as the\r\nfamous romances, said that all he needed for constructing a drama\r\nwas \"four boards, two actors, and a passion.\" What he meant by\r\npassion has been defined by a later French writer, Ferdinand\r\nBrunetire, as a conflict of wills. The Philosopher of Butterbiggens,\r\nwhom you will meet early in this book, points out that \"what you\r\nare all the time wanting\" is \"your own way.\" When two strong\r\ndesires conflict and we wonder which is coming out ahead, we say\r\nthat the situation is dramatic. This clash is clearly defined in\r\nany effective play, from the crude melodrama in which the forces\r\nare hero and villain with pistols, to such subtle conflicts,\r\nbased on a man's misunderstanding of even his own motives and\r\npurposes, as in Mr. Middleton's \"Tides.\"\nIn comedy, and even in farce, struggle is clearly present. Here\r\nour sympathy is with people who engage in a not impossible\r\ncombatagainst rather obvious villains who can be unmasked, or\r\nagainst such public opinion or popular conventions as can be\r\noverset. The hold of an absurd bit of gossip upon stupid people\r\nis firm enough in \"Spreading the News\"; but fortunately it must\r\nyield to facts at last. The Queen and the Knave of Hearts are\r\nsufficiently clever, with the aid of the superb cookery of the\r\nKnave's wife, to do away with an ancient and solemnly reverenced\r\nlaw of Pompdebile's court. So, too, the force of ancient loyalty\r\nand enthusiasm almost works a miracle in the invalid veteran of\r\n\"Gettysburg.\" And we feel sure that the uncanny powers of the\r\nBeggar will be no less successful in overturning the power of the\r\nKing in Mr. Parkhurst's play.\nAgain, in comedies as in mathematics, the problem is often solved\r\nby substitution. The soldier in Mr. Galsworthy's \"The Sun\" is\r\nable to find a satisfactory and apparently happy ending without\r\nachieving what he originally set out to gain. And the same is\r\ntrue of Jock in Mr. Brighouse's \"Lonesome-Like.\" Or the play\r\nwhich does not end as the chief character wishes may still prove\r\nnot too serious because, as in \"Fame and the Poet,\" the situation\r\nis merely inconvenient and absurd rather than tragic. Now and\r\nthen it is next to impossible to tell whether the ending is\r\ntragic or not; in the \"Land of Heart's Desire\" we must first\r\ndecide whether our sympathies are more with Shawn Bruin and with\r\nMaire's love for him, or with her keen desire to go\n\u003cb\u003e ......Buy Now (To Read More)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eProduct details\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEbook Number\u003c\/b\u003e: 16435 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor\u003c\/b\u003e: Bottomley, Gordon \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRelease Date\u003c\/b\u003e: Aug 4, 2005 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat\u003c\/b\u003e: eBook \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage\u003c\/b\u003e: English \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eContributors\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEditor\u003c\/b\u003e: Leonard, Sterling Andrus, 1888-1931 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Bottomley, Gordon,1874-1948 \/ eBook \/ English","offer_id":43217346134173,"sku":"gb-16435-ebook","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/products\/16435.jpg?v=1671425701","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/the-atlantic-book-of-modern-plays-gb-16435","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}