DRA'MA, (from the Greek word 6pripa, on action or thing done ; derived from the verb epee), I ant or do,) has been de fined a species of poem in which the action or narrative is not related but represent ed. The invention of the drama. is one of those which should seem to proeeed most naturally from the ordinary cus toms and feelings of men. There is a species of dramatic action which seems almost instinctive ; we naturally imitate the tone and gestures of others in reciting their sayings or adventures, or even in adopting their sentiments. Yet sonic na tions appear never to have taken the far ther step of doing, methodically and with design, what all to involuntarily. In the accounts which we possess of the ancient Egyptians, for example, we have no trace of their having possessed dramatic repre sentation. But among a great number of tribes, wholly independent or each other, we find something approaching to the dramatic art intermingled with their common or solemn customs, and generally connected with religious observance. This was especially the case in Greece, whence the name mind substance of the drama have been chiefly derived by the modern Eu ropean nations. The history of the devel opment of the dramatic art in Greece is well known ; its elements were found in the religious festivals colebrated from the earliest ages in that country. The feasts of Bacchus in particular had sorrel choruses or odes ; these were afterwards intermixed with episodic narrations of events in mythological story, recited by an actor in the festival with gesticula tion ; thence again, the next step was to introduce two actors with alternate reci tation ; and thus were produced tragedy (epay edoi. the sung of the goat, from the animal which was led about in those fes tive processions:) and emnedy, (Km...8j, the village song,) which differed from the former in that the dialogue of the in terlocutors was satirical, and not mythn• logical. The early Greek tragedy was a dramatic representation of some scenes or events recorded in the national tra ditions, the actors personating those who played a part in these events, together with a chorus or band of singers, repre senting such persons as might naturally be supposed to have been bystanders at the occurrence (captive women, old men, or counsellors, Ac.,) who sang at inter vals, during the representations, hymns to the gods, or songs appropriate to rho scenes passing in representation ; whilo the Attic comedy, in its first invention, must be regarded as is parody on tragedy, in which the personages were either real characters introduced for the purpose of satire, or ludicrous personifications. .:Es chylus, the oldest tragic writer, with the ! exception of Phryniehns, his contempo rary, carried the Greek drama at once to nearly its highest state of perfection. Sophoeles and Euripides introduced ad ditional actors into the dialogue, which, at first, admitted only two at the same time, and turned the naked recitals of events which form the substance of the plays of Xsehylus into something in we nearly resembling the modern idea of a plot, with contrasted character and inci dents leading to the accomplishment of a main action. Many tragic writers, the whole of whose works have been lost, flourished after Euripides in Athens and Alexandria ; but they do not seem to have altered the character of the art which they received from their predues . Fors. The fate of comedy was different ; the old Attie comedy was a political or philosophical satire in action, which in form was a burlesque on the tragedy. Afterwards, passing through the inter vening stage of the middle comedy, of which we know little, the art acqnired in the new comedy of Nenander and Phile mon, a elm re eter somewhat approaching to that in which it is at present culti vated; it narrative in representation of scenes and incidents in ordinary life of a light or ludicrous character. The dra
matic art among the Greeks nimed itt producing :in impression upon the spec tators by three different intnts; which, according to modern phraseology, we may denominate poetical effect, dramati cal effect, and theatrical effect. The poetry of the Greek drama was of the highest order ; but it forms a t-opic to be considered apart. Dramaticai effect is the proper subject of the dramatic art ; and, in judging of the efforts of the Greek mind in this direction, we are assisted not only by the study of the dramatic poems which we passess, but by the rules of criticism delivered to us by Greek an thers, and esti::laity by Aristotle. From these it appears that the parts or charac teristics of a tragedy, essentially divi ded, were held to be the fable or story, tire manners, the style, the sentiment, the music, and the diction ; that the fable should consist of an entire action, namely one principal event and the auxiliary events; and that the proper emotions to be excited by the action are terror and pity ; that its parts of quan tity, according to the division of form, were the prologue, being that part of the tragedy which precedes the parode or first entry of the chorus; the episode, being all those several parts which are included between the several choral odes ; the exode, the part which fellows the last choral ode; and the chorus itself, or the intervening odes, which also admit of various subdivisions. Formally consid ered, the arrangement of the old comedy nearly resembled that of tragedy; in the new. the chorus was altogether omitted. The unity of action was a remarkable characteristic of the Greek drama, al though widely different from that pecu liar quality, which modern critics have characterized by the name ; it should rather be termed unity of subject, inas much as in many of our remaining trage dies, and especially those of }Eschylus, there is little or no trace of what we term a plot, i. e. a main incident, at which we arrive through subordinate incidents tending to its accomplishment. The unity of time,—viz. that the imaginary duration of the action should not exceed twenty-four hours; and that of place, namely, that the scene in which the events occur should he the same through out, are inventions of French critics, not warranted by the remains of Greek art, in which both arc not unfreqnently vio lated ; hut, although not rules of Grecian discovery, they are easily rendered ap plicable to the simple and severe form of the Greek tragedy. In considering the theatrical effect of the Greek drama, we must remember that the tragedies were originally religious solemnities; the theatre, a vast building open at the top, calculated for the accommodation of several thousand spectators; the scene, SLc. proportionably large. Dramatic rep resentations were, at Athens, the offer ing of wealthy men to the people ; he who contributed the expenses of the en tertainment was said iamyrtr, to bring in the play ; the poet who produced it, didirrsur, to teach it, i. e. teach the actors to perform it. A complete representa tion consisted of four pieces by the same author ; a triology, or three tragedies, narrating successive events in the same series of mythological tradition ; and a fourth piece, termed a satyric drama, of which the chorus consisted of satyrs, and the mythological subject was treated in a manner approaching to burlesque.