15. FRENCH DRAMATIC ART. Dra matic art occupies one of the foremost places, probably even the first place, in French litera ture. If, as has been said, the Frenchman "n'a pas la tete 4pique," it is none the less certain that he has a predilection for drama. To-day, as in the past, he is passionately devoted to his theatre, and French plays are more than ever translated and produced throughout the world.
Evolutions of the French There are six principal periods in the evolution of the French theatre; 1. The Middle was the tentative and experimental period. Dramatic art was rudimentary, allegorical and coarsely realistic in general. Despite the number and diversity of its productions it has left no remarkable work of a durable nature.
Z The the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th Greco Latin culture became more widely disseminated and the knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman literature engendered a taste for the classics. We were still in the experimental period, but poetical expression improved and tragedy made its appearance.
3. The Classical This marked the zenith of dramatic art in France. In it was discovered the mode of expression best harmon izing with the genius of the nation, which ap proached perfection in the great tragedies of Racine and Corneille, and in the foremost comedies of all times, those of Moliere.
4. The Eighteenth This represent ed for the theatre, as it did for political and social life, a transitory era. The literary output was poor, tragedy became inextant, comedy was transformed and diversified, and drama first made its appearance.
5. The Romantic This marked a renaissance in dramatic art which was decidedly brilliant but ephemeral. The theatre became epical, lyrical, even philosophical. The attempt had been a bold one but ended in failure.
6. The Realistic dates from the end of the last century and still predomi nates in the French theatre. The period was characterized by a return to nature, and to the portrayal of contemporary life and customs.
The French theatre originated from two dis tinct sources and from its inception has been developed in two different directions. On the
one hand, the religious theatre, with its mira cles and mysteries, was a natural development of the simple religious ceremonies; while the profane or secular theatre, of more humble origin, found its setting in the farcical exhibi tions at fairs and the vernacular of strolling players.
The Religious Theatre. Origin (from the 5th to 14th Church may be re garded as the first theatre. It was the only exhibition offered to the public during the early centuries. In order to attract the people the priests introduced variety into their services. They began by adding to the liturgies certain developments known as tropes (or metaphors). These were followed by religious chants, by psalms, as solos, and then the choir. Finally, for the celebration of religious festivals, sim ple dramas were composed, with a rough stag ing: for instance, at Christmas, the Manger, the Virgin and the Child, the Ass and the Ox, the Three Wise Men of the East; at Easter, the Holy Women at the Tomb of Christ. Emo tion was aroused both of a religious and theat rical nature, by striking the imagination and appealing to the visual as well as the oracular senses.
Up to the 12th century drama was played in churches only, at which time it left them. Devout laymen, organized into a brotherhood, erected a sort of stage on the spaces round the churches, and on the public highway. Compli cated scenery represented at one and the same time Heaven, Earth and Hell. Everything was confused. In the production of 'Adam' there parade, in turn, God in a long white cloak, Adam in a red tunic, Eve in a white robe. Then we have Satan and the demons and the prophets of Israel. In the 13th century, Jean Bode) produced at Arras the 'Jen de Saint Nicolas,' wherein a crusade is presented. We are transported successively from a Turkish palace to a Picardy tavern, from a battlefield in Palestine to a common prison. No distinc tion is made either in epochs or customs. Tragedy intermingles with comedy, and the purse-snatchers of the Rue Vide Gousset rub shoulders with the Mohammedan.