To use symbol, and not to use it in the surprising and inevitable
way of the poet, is to fall into the dry, impotent sin of allegory.
III. "THE NEW IDOL"
It was an interesting experiment on the part of the Stage Society to
give a translation of "La Nouvelle Idole," one of those pieces by which
M. Francois de Curel has reached that very actual section of the French
public which is interested in ideas. "The New Idol" is a modern play of
the most characteristically modern type; its subject-matter is largely
medical, it deals with the treatment of cancer; we are shown a doctor's
laboratory, with a horrible elongated diagram of the inside of the human
body; a young girl's lungs are sounded in the doctor's drawing-room;
nearly every, character talks science and very little but science. When
they cease talking science, which they talk well, with earnestness and
with knowledge, and try to talk love or intrigue, they talk badly, as if
they were talking of things which they knew nothing about. Now,
personally, this kind of talk does not interest me; it makes me feel
uncomfortable. But I am ready to admit that it is justified if I find
that the dramatic movement of the play requires it, that it is itself an
essential part of the action.
Pages:
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114