,how to ,write a ,play ,,contents ,introduction by ,william ,gillette ,letter from mile ,augier ,letter from ,thodore de ,banville ,letter from ,adolphe ,dennery ,letter from ,alexandre ,dumas ,fils ,letter from ,edmond ,gondinet ,letter by ,eugne ,labiche ,letter by ,ernest ,legouv ,letter from douard ,pailleron ,letter from ,victorien ,sardou ,letter from mile ,zola ,notes by ,b4,m4 #aiaf ,by ,dramatic ,museum of ,columbia ,university ,,introduction ,the impression has always prevailed with me that one who might properly be classed as a genius is not precisely the person best fitted to expound rules and methods for the carrying on of his particular branch of endeavor4 ,i have rather avoided looking the matter up for fear it might not turn out to be so after all4 ,but doesn't it sound as if it ought to be8 ,and isn't a superficial glance about rather confirmatory8 ,we do not--so far as ,i know--find that ,shakspere or ,milton or ,tennyson or ,whitman ever gave out rules and regulations for the writing of poetry2 that ,michael ,angelo or ,raphael was addicted to formulating instructive matter as to the accomplishment of paintings and frescoes2 that ,thackeray or ,dickens or ,meredith or ,george ,sand were known to have answered inquiries as to ',how to write a ,novel'2 or that ,beethoven or ,wagner or ,chopin or ,mendelsohn paused in the midst of their careers in order to tell newspaper men what they considered the true method of composing music4 ,these fortunate people--as well as others of their time--could so easily be silent and thus avoid disclosing the fact that they could not--for the lives of them--tell about these things2 but in our unhappy day even geniuses are prodded and teased and tortured into speech4 ,in this case we may be more than grateful that they are1 for the result is most delightful reading--even tho it falls a trifle short of its purpose as indicated by the rather far-reaching title4 ,there are no workable rules for play-writing to be found here--nor1 indeed1 any particular light of any kind on the subject1 so the letters may be approacht with a mind arranged for enjoyment4 ,i would be sorry indeed for the trying-to-be dramatist who flew to this volume for consolation and guidance4 ,i'm sorry for him any way1 but this additional catastrophe would accelerate my sympathy1 making it fast and furious4 ,any one sufficiently inexperienced to consult books in order to find out how to write a play will certainly undergo a severe touch of confusion in this case1 for four of the letter-writers confess quite frankly that they do not know--two of these thereupon proceeding to tell us1 thus forcibly illustrating their first statement4 ,one author exclaims1 ,have instinct6--another1 ,have genius6 ,where these two necessaries are to be obtained is not revealed4 ,equally discouraging is the ,dumas declaration that ,some from birth know how to write a play and the others do not and never will4 ,that would have killed off a lot of us--if we had seen it in time4 ,one approaches the practical when he counsels us to ,take an interesting theme4 ,certainly a workable proposition4 ,many dramatists have done that--wherever they could find it4 ,the method is not altogether modern4 ,two insist upon the necessity of a carefully considered plan1 while two others announce that it is a matter of no consequence what one does2 and another still wants us to be sure and begin work at the end instead of the beginning4 ,gondinet--most delightful of all--tells us that his method of working is simply atrocious1 for all he asks when he contemplates writing a play is whether the subject will be amusing to him4 ,tho that scarcely touches the question of how to write it1 it is a practical hint on favoring conditions1 for no one will dispute that one's best work is likely to be preformed when he him self enjoys it4 ,sardou comes nearest to projecting a faint ray of practical light on the subject when he avers that there is no one necessary way to write a play1 but that a dramatist must know where he is going and take the best road that leads there4 ,he omits1 however1 to give instructions about finding that road--which some might think important4 ,the foregoing indicates to some extent the buffeting about which a searcher for practical advice on play-writing may find himself subject in this collection of letters4 ,he had better go for mere instruction to those of a lower order of intellect1 whose imaginative or creative faculties do not monopolize their entire mental area4 ,but that will hardly serve him better1 for the truth is that no one can convey to him--whether by written words or orally--or even by signs and miracles--the right and proper method of constructing a play4 ,a few people know1 but they are utterly unable to communicate that knowledge to others4 ,in one place and one only can this unfortunate person team how to proceed1 and that is the theatre2 and the people to see about it there are situated in front of the foot-lights and not behind them4 ,a play or drama is not a simple and straight-told story2 it is a device--an invention--a carefully adjusted series of more or less ingenious traps1 independent yet inter-dependent1 and so arranged that while yet trapping they carry forward the plot or theme without a break4 ,these traps of scene1 of situation1 of climax1 of acts and tableaux or of whatever they are1 require to be set and adjusted with the utmost nicety and skill so that they will spring at the precise instant and in the precise manner to seize and hold the admiration--sympathy--interest--or whatever they may be intended to capture1 of an audience4 ,their construction and adjustment--once one of the simplest--is now of necessity most complicated and intricate4 ,they must operate precisely and effectively1 otherwise the play--no matter how admirable its basic idea--no matter how well the author knows life and humanity1 will fail of its appeal and be worthless--for a play is worthless that is unable to provide itself with people to play to4 ,the admiration of a few librarians on account of certain arrangements of the words and phrases which it may contain can give it no value as drama4 ,such enthusiasm is not altogether unlike what a barber might feel over the exquisite way in which the hair has been arranges on a corpse2 despite his approval it becomes quite necessary to bury it4 ,the play-writer's or playwright's work1 then1 supposing that he possesses the requisite knowledge of life as it is lived to go on with1 is to select or evolve from that knowledge the basic idea1 plot or theme1 which1 skillfully displayed1 will attract2 and then to invent1 plan1 devise1 and construct the trap wherein it is to be used to snare the sympathies1 etc41 of audiences4 ,but audiences are a most undependable and unusual species of game4 ,from time immemorial their tastes1 requirements1 habits1 appetites1 sentiments and general characteristics have undergone constant change and modification2 and thus continues without pause to the present day4 ,the dramatic trap that would work like a charm not long ago may not work at all to-day2 the successful trap of to-day may be useless junk tomorrow4 ,it must be obvious1 then1 that for light and instruction on the judicious selection of the bait1 and on the best method or methods of devising the trap wherein that bait is to be displayed 7that is to say the play7 but one thing can avail2 and that one thing is a most diligent and constant study of the habits and tastes of this game which it is our business to capture--if we can4 ,to go for information about these things to people sitting by their firesides dreaming of bygone days1 or1 indeed1 to go to anyone sitting anywhere1 is merely humorous4 ,the information which the dramatist seeks cannot be told--even by those who know4 ,for the gaining of such knowledge is the acquirement of an instinct which enables its possessor automatically to make use of the effective in play-writing and construction and devising1 and automatically to shun the ineffective4 ,this instinct must be planted and nourisht by more or less 7more if possible7 living with audiences1 until it becomes a part of the system--yet constantly alert for the necessary modifications which correspond to the changes which the tastes and requirements of these audiences undergo4 ,an education like this is likely to take the dramatist a great deal of time--unless he is so fortunate as to be a genius4 ,perhaps the main difference between the play-writing genius and the rest of us is that he can associate but briefly with audiences and know it all1 whereas we must spend our lives at it and know but little4 ,i have never happened to hear of a genius of this description2 but that is no argument against the possibility of his existence4 ,as to the talented authors of these letters1 they know excellently well--every one of them--how to write a play--or did while still alive--even tho some of them see fit to deny it2 but they cannot tell us how to do it for the very good reason that it cannot be told4 ,their charming efforts to find a way out when cornered by such an inquiry as appears to have been made to them are surely worth all their trouble and annoyance--not to speak of their highly probable exasperation4 ,william ,gillette 7,may1 #aiaf7 99 99 99 99 99 ,how to ,write a ,play ,i4 ,from mile ,augier4 ,my dear ,dreyfus3 ,you ask me the recipe for making comedies4 ,i don't know it2 but ,i suppose it should resemble somewhat the one given by the sergeant to the conscript for making cannon3 ,you take a hole and you pour bronze around it4 ,if this is not the only recipe1 it is at least the one most followed4 ,perhaps there should be another which would consist in taking bronze and making a hole thru the center and an opening for light at the end4 ,in cannon this hole is called the core4 ,what should it be called in dramatic work8 ,find another name1 if you don't like that one4 ,these are the only directions ,i can give you4 ,add to them1 if you wish1 this counsel of a wise man to a dramatist in a difficulty3 ,soak your fifth act in gentle tears1 and salt the other four with dashes of wit4 ,i do not think that the author followed this advice4 ,cordially yours1 ,e4 ,augier 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii4 ,from ,thodore de ,banville4 ,my dear friend3 ,like all questions1 the question of the theater is infinitely more simple than is imagined4 ,all poetics1 all dramatic criticism is contained in the admirable dictum of ,adolphe ,dennery3 ,it is not hard to succeed in the theater1 but it is extremely hard to gain success there with a fine play4 ,to see this clearly you must consider two questions which have no relation to each other3 #a4 ,how should one set about composing a dramatic work which shall succeed and make money8 #b4 ,how shall one set about composing a dramatic work which shall be fine and shall have some hope of survival8 ,reply to the first question3 ,nothing is known about it2 for if anything were known every theater would earn six thousand francs every evening4 ,nevertheless1 a play has some chance of succeeding and earning money if1 when read to a naf person1 it moves him1 amuses him1 makes him laugh or weep2 if it falls into the hands of actors who play it in the proper spirit2 and if at the public performance the leader of the claque sees no hitch in it4 ,reply to the second question3 ,to compose a dramatic work which shall be fine and shall live1 have genius6 ,there is no other way4 ,in art talent is nothing4 ,genius alone lives4 ,a poet of genius combines in himself all poets past and future1 just as the first person you meet combines in himself all humanity past and present4 ,a man of genius will create for his theater a form which has not existed before him and which after him will suit no one else4 ,that1 my friend1 is all that ,i know1 and ,i believe that anything further is a delusion4 ,those who are called men of the theater 7that is1 in plain words1 unlettered men who have not studied anywhere but on the stage7 have decreed that a man knows the theater when he composes comedies according to the particular formula invented by ,m4 ,scribe4 ,you might as well say that humanity began and ended with ,m4 ,scribe1 that it is he who ate the apple with ,eve and who wrote the ',legendes des ,sicles1' ,good ,luck6 ,yours truly1 ,thodore de ,banville 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iii4 ,from ,adolphe ,dennery4 ,take an interesting theme1 a subject neither too new nor too old1 neither too commonplace or too original1--so as to avoid shocking either the vulgar-minded or the delicate-souled4 ,adolphe ,dennery4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iv4 ,from ,alexandre ,dumas ,fils4 ,my dear fellow-craftsman and friend3 ,you ask me how a play is written4 ,you honor me greatly1 but you also greatly embarrass me4 ,with study1 work1 patience1 memory1 energy1 a man can gain a reputation as a painter1 or a sculptor1 or a musician4 ,in those arts there are material and mechanical procedures that he can make his own1 thanks to ability1 and can attain to success4 ,the public to whom these works are submitted1 having none of the technical knowledge involved1 from the beginning regard the makers of these works as their superiors3 ,they feel that the artist can always reply to any criticism3 ,have you learned painting1 sculpture1 music8 ,no8 ,then don't talk so vainly4 ,you cannot judge4 ,you must be of the craft to understand the beauties1 and so on4 ,it is thus that the good-natured public is frequently imposed on1 in painting1 in sculpture1 in music1 by certain schools and celebrities4 ,it does not dare to protest4 ,but with regard to drama and comedy the situation is altered4 ,the public is an interested party to the proceedings and appears1 so to speak1 for the prosecution in the case4 ,the language that we use in our play is the language used by the spectators every day2 the sentiments that we depict are theirs2 the persons whom we set to acting are the spectators themselves in instantly recognized passions and familiar situations4 ,no preparatory studies are necessary2 no initiation in a studio or school is indispensable2 eyes to see1 ears to hear--that's all they need4 ,the moment we depart1 ,i will not say from the truth1 but from what they think is truth1 they stop listening4 ,for in the theater1 as in life1 of which the theater is the reflexion1 there are two kinds of truth2 first1 the absolute truth1 which always in the end prevails1 and secondly1 if not the false1 at least the superficial truth1 which consists of customs1 manners1 social conventions2 the uncompromising truth which revolts1 and the pliant truth which yields to human weakness2 in short1 the truth of ,alceste and that of ,philinte4 ,it is only by making every kind of concession to the second that we can succeed in ending with the first4 ,the spectators1 like all sovereigns--like kings1 nations1 and women--do not like to be told the truth1 all the truth4 ,let me add quickly that they have an excuse1 which is that they do not know the truth2--they have rarely been told it4 ,they therefore wish to be flattered1 pitied1 consoled1 taken away from their preoccupations and their worries1 which are nearly all due to ignorance1 but which they consider the greatest and most unmerited to be found anywhere1 because their own4 ,this is not all2 by a curious optical effect1 the spectators always see themselves in the personages who are good1 tender1 generous1 heroic whom we place on the boards2 and in the personages who are vicious or ridiculous they never see anyone but their neighbors4 ,how can you expect then that the truth we tell them can do them any good8 ,but ,i see that ,i am not answering your question at all4 ,you ask me to tell you how a play is made1 and ,i tell you1 or rather ,i try to tell you1 what must be put into it4 ,well1 my dear friend1 if you want me to be quite frank1 ,i'll own up that ,i don't know how to write a play4 ,one day a long time ago1 when ,i was scarcely out of school1 ,i asked my father the same question4 ,he answered3 ,it's very simple2 the first act clear1 the last act short1 and all the acts interesting4 ,the recipe is in reality very simple4 ,the only thing that is needed in addition is to know how to carry it out4 ,there the difficulty begins4 ,the man to whom this recipe is given is somewhat like the cat that has found a nut4 ,he turns it in every direction with his paw because he hears something moving in the shell--but he can't open it4 ,in other words1 there are those whom from their birth know how to write a play 7,i do not say that the gift is hereditary72 and there are those who do not know at once--and these will never know4 ,you are a dramatist1 or you are not2 neither will-power nor work has anything to do with it4 ,the gift is indispensable4 ,i think that every one whom you may ask how to write a play will reply1 if he really can write one1 that he doesn't know how it is done4 ,it is a little as if you were to ask ,romeo what he did to fall in love with ,juliet and to make her love him2 he would reply that he did not know1 that it simply happened4 ,truly yours1 ,a4 ,dumas fils4 99 99 99 99 99 ,v4 ,from ,edmond ,gondinet4 ,my dear friend3 ,what is my way of working8 ,it is deplorable4 ,do not recommend it to any one4 ,when the idea for a play occurs to me1 ,i never ask myself whether it will be possible to make a masterpiece out of it2 ,i ask whether the subject will be amusing to treat4 ,a little pleasure in this life tempts me a great deal more than a bust1 even of marble1 after ,i am gone4 ,with such sentiments one never accomplishes anything great4 ,besides1 ,i have the capital defect for a man of the theater of never being able to beat it into my head that the public will be interested in the marriage of ,arthur and ,colombe2 and nevertheless that is the key to the whole situation4 ,you simply must suppose the public a trifle naf1--and be so yourself4 ,i should be so willingly1 but ,i can't bring myself to admit that others are4 ,for a long time ,i imagined that the details1 if they were ingenious1 would please the public as much as an intrigue of which the ultimate result is usually given in the first scene4 ,i was absolutely wrong1 and ,i have suffered for it more than once4 ,but at my age one doesn't reform4 ,when ,i have drawn up the plan1 ,i no longer want to write the piece4 ,you see that ,i am a detestable collaborator4 ,say so1 if you speak to me1 but don't hold me up as a model4 ,edmond ,gondinet4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vi4 ,,from ,eugne ,labiche4 ,everyone writes in accordance with his inspiration and his temperament4 ,some sing a gay note1 others find more pleasure in making people weep4 ,as for me1 this is my procedure3 ,when ,i have no idea1 ,i gnaw my nails and invoke the aid of ,providence4 ,when ,i have an idea1 ,i still invoke the aid of ,providence1--but with less fervor1 because ,i think ,i can get along without it4 ,it is quite human1 but quite ungrateful4 ,i have then an idea1 or ,i think ,i have one4 ,i take a quire of white paper1 linen paper--on any other kind ,i can imagine nothing--and ,i write on the first page3 ,,plan4 ,by the plan ,i mean the developed succession1 scene by scene1 of the whole piece1 from the beginning to the end4 ,so long as one has not reached the end of his play he has neither the beginning nor the middle4 ,this part of the work is obviously the most laborious4 ,it is the creation1 the parturition4 ,as soon as my plan is complete1 ,i go over it and ask concerning each scene its purpose1 whether it prepares for or develops a character or situation1 and then whether it advances the action4 ,a play is a thousand-legged creature which must keep on going4 ,if it slows up1 the public yawns2 if it stops1 the public hisses4 ,to write a sprightly play you must have a good digestion4 ,sprightliness resides in the stomach4 ,eugne ,labiche4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vii4 ,from ,ernest ,legouv4 ,you ask me how a play is made4 ,by beginning at the end4 ,a novel is quite a different matter4 ,walter ,scott1 the great ,walter ,scott1 sat down of a morning at his study-table1 took six sheets of paper and wrote ',chapter ,one1' without knowing anything else about his story than the first chapter4 ,he set forth his characters1 he indicated the situation2 then situation and characters got out of the affair as best they could4 ,they were left to create themselves by the logic of events4 ,eugne ,sue often told me that it was impossible for him to draw up a plan4 ,it benumbed him4 ,his imagination needed the shock of the unforeseen2 to surprize the public he had to be surprized himself4 ,more than once at the end of an instalment of one of his serial stories he left his characters in an inextricable situation of which he himself did not know the outcome4 ,george ,sand frequently started a novel on the strength of a phrase1 a thought1 a page1 a landscape4 ,it was not she who guided her pen1 but her pen which guided her4 ,she started out with the intention of writing one volume and she wrote ten4 ,she might intend to write ten and she wrote only one4 ,she dreamed of a happy ending1 and then she concluded with a suicide4 ,but never have ,scribe1 or ,dumas pre1 or ,dumas fils1 or ,augier1 or ,labiche1 or ,sardou1 written ,scene ,one without knowing what they were going to put into the last scene4 ,a point of departure was for them nothing but an interrogation point4 ,where are you going to lead me8 they would ask it2 and they would accept it only if it led them to a final point1 or to the central point which determined all the stages of the route1 including the first4 ,the novel is a journey in a carriage4 ,you make stops1 you spend a night at the inn1 you get out to look at the country1 you turn aside to take breakfast in some charming spot4 ,what difference does it make to you as a traveler8 ,you are in no hurry4 ,your object is not to arrive anywhere1 but to find amusement while on the road4 ,your true goal is the trip itself4 ,a play is a railway journey by an express train--forty miles an hour1 and from time to time ten minutes stop for the intermissions2 and if the locomotive ceases rushing and hissing you hiss4 ,all this does not mean that there are no dramatic masterpieces which do not run so fast or that there was not an author of great talent1 ,molire1 who often brought about his ending by the grace of ,god4 ,only1 let me add that to secure absolution for the last act of ',tartuffe' you must have written the first four4 ,ernest ,legouv4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,viii4 ,from douard ,pailleron4 ,you ask me how a play is made1 my dear ,dreyfus4 ,i may well astonish you1 perhaps1 but on my soul and honor1 before ,god and man1 ,i assure to you that ,i know nothing about it1 that you know nothing1 that nobody knows anything1 and that the author of a play knows less about it than any one else4 ,you don't believe me8 ,let us see4 ,here is a capable gentleman1 a man of the theater1 a dramatist acclaimed a score of times1 at the height of his powers1 in full success4 ,he has written a comedy4 ,he has bestowed upon it all his care1 all his time1 all his ability4 ,he has left nothing to chance4 ,he has just finisht it1 and is content4 ,according to the consecrated expression1 it is certain to go4 ,but as he is cautious1 he does not rely entirely upon his own opinion4 ,he consults his friends--fellow-workers1 skillful as he1 successful as he4 ,he reads to them his piece4 ,i will not say that they are satisfied--another word is needed--but at any rate1 with more reason than ever1 it is certain to go4 ,he seeks out a manager1 an old stager who has every opportunity for being clear-headed1 because of his experience1 and every reason for being exacting1 because of his self-interest4 ,he gives him the manuscript1 and as soon as the manager gets a fair notion of the piece1 this ,napoleon of the stage1 this strategist of success1 is seized by a profound emotion1 but one easy to comprehend in the case of a man who is convinced that five hundred thousand francs have just been placed in his hand4 ,he exults1 he shouts1 he presses the author in his arms1 he rains upon him the most flattering adjectives1 beginning with sublime and mounting upward4 ,he calls him the most honied names3 ,shakspere1 ,duvert and ,lauzanne1 ,rossini1 ,offenbach--according to the kind of theater he directs4 ,he is not only satisfied1 he is delighted1 he is radiant--it is certain to go4 ,wait6 ,that is not all4 ,it is read to the actors--the same enthusiasm6 ,all are satisfied1 if not with the play--they have not heard it yet--at least with their parts4 ,all are satisfied6 ,it is certain to go4 ,thereupon rehearsals are held for two months before those who have the freedom of the theater1 who sit successively in the depths of the dark hall and show the same delirium4 ,even the sixty firemen on duty who1 during these sixty rehearsals1 have invariably laught and wept at the same passages4 ,yet it is well known that the fireman is the modern ,lafort of our modern ,molires1 as ,m4 ,prud'homme would say1 and that when the fireman is satisfied--it is certain to go6 ,the dress rehearsal arrives4 ,a triumph6 ,bravos6 ,encores6 ,shouts6 ,recalls6 ,all of the signs of success--and note that the public on this evening of rehearsal with the exception of a small and insignificant contingent1 will be the public of the first performance the next night4 ,it is certain to go1 ,i tell you6 ,certain6 ,absolutely certain6 ,on this next night the piece is presented4 ,it falls flat6 ,well1 then8 ,if the author knows what he is doing1 if he is the master of his method1 explain to me then why1 after having written twenty good pieces1 he writes a bad one8 ,and don't tell me that failure proves nothing--you would pain me1 my friend4 ,i do not intend to deny1 you must understand1 the value of talent and skill and experience4 ,they are1 philosophically speaking1 important elements4 ,but in what proportions do they contribute to the result8 ,that's what1 let me repeat1 nobody knows1 the author as little as anybody else4 ,the author in travail with a play is an unconscious being1 whatever he may think about himself2 and his piece is the product of instinct rather than of intention4 ,believe me1 my dear ,dreyfus1 in this as in everything1 the cleverest of us does what he can1 and if he succeeds1 he says that he has done exactly what he tried to do4 ,that's the truth4 ,in reality an author knows sometimes what he has tried to do1 rarely what he has done2--and as to knowing how he did it1 ,i defy him6 ,then if it is good1 let him try again6 ,i cannot recede from this view4 ,in our craft1 you see1 there is an element of unrebeginnable which makes it an art1 something of genius which ennobles it1 something of the fatally uncertain which renders it both charming and redoubtable4 ,to try to pick the masterpiece to pieces1 to unscrew the ideal1 to pluck the heart out of the mystery1 after the fashion of the baby who looks for the little insect in the watch1 is to attempt a vain and puerile thing4 ,ah6 if ,i had the time--but ,i haven't the time4 ,so it's just as well1 or better1 that ,i stop4 ,to talk too much about art is not a good sign in an artist4 ,it is like a lover's talking too much about love2 if ,i were a woman ,i should have my doubts4 ,well1 do you wish me to disengage the philosophy of this garrulity8 ,it is found whole and entire in an apolog of my son--he too a philosopher without knowing it4 ,he was then seven4 ,as a result of learning fables he was seized with the ambition of writing one1 which he brought to me one fine day4 ,it is called the ',donkey and the ,canary4' ,the verses are perhaps a trifle long1 but there are only two4 ,that's the compensation4 ,here they are4 ,the canary once sang2 and the ass askt him how he could learn this to do8 ,i open my bill1 said the bird2 and ,i say you1 you1 you6 ,well1 the ass1 that's you--don't get angry4 ,the canary1 that's ,i4 ,when ,i sing ,i open my bill and ,i say1 you1 you1 you6 ,that's all that ,i can tell you4 douard ,pailleron4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ix4 ,from ,victorien ,sardou4 ,my dear friend3 ,it's not so easy to answer you as you think4 444,there is no one necessary way of writing a play for the theater4 ,everyone has his own1 according to his temperament1 his type of intellect1 and his habits of work4 ,if you ask me for mine1 ,i should tell you that it is not so easy to formulate as the recipe for duck la rouennaise or spring chicken au gros sel4 ,not fifty lines are needed1 but two or three hundred1 and even then ,i should have told you only my way of working1 which has no general significance and makes no pretense to being the best4 ,it's natural with me1 that's all4 ,besides1 you will find it indicated in part in the preface to ',la ,haine' and in a letter which ,i wrote to ,la ,pommeraye about ',fdora4' ,in brief1 my dear friend1 tho there are rules1 and rules that are invariable1 precise1 and eternal for the dramatic art1 rules which only the impotent1 the ignorant1 blockheads1 and fools misunderstand1 and from which only they wish to be freed1 yet there is only one true method for the conception and parturition of a play--which is1 to know quite exactly where you are going and to take the best road that leads there4 ,however1 some walk1 others ride in a carriage1 some go by train1 ,x hobbles along1 ,hugo sails in a balloon4 ,some drop behind on the way1 others run past the goal4 ,this one rolls in the ditch1 that one wanders along a cross-road4 ,in short1 that one goes straight to the mark who has the most common sense4 ,it is the gift which ,i wish for you--and myself also4 ,victorien ,sardou4 99 99 99 99 99 ,x4 ,from mile ,zola4 ,my dear ,comrade3 ,you ask how ,i write my plays4 ,alas6 ,i should rather tell you how ,i do not write them4 ,have you noticed the small number of new writers who take their chances in the theater8 ,the explanation is that in reality1 for our generation of free artists1 the theater is repugnant1 with its cookery1 its hobbles1 its demand for immediate and brutal success1 its army of collaborators1 to which one must submit1 from the imposing leading man down to the prompter4 ,how much more independent are we in the novel6 ,and that's why1 when the glamor of the footlights makes the blood dance1 we prefer to exercise it by keeping aloof and to remain the absolute masters of our works4 ,in the theater we are asked to submit to too much4 ,let me add that in my own case ,i have harnessed myself to a group of novels which will take twenty-five years of my life4 ,the theater is a dissipation which ,i shall doubtless not permit myself until ,i am very old4 ,after all1 if ,i could indulge in the theater4 ,i should try to make plays much less than is the custom4 ,in literature truth is always in inverse proportion to the construction4 ,i mean this3 ,the comedies of ,molire are sometimes of a structure hardly adequate1 while those of ,scribe are often ,parisian articles of marvellous manufacture4 ,very cordially yours1 mile ,zola4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,abraham ,,dreyfus 7#ahdg-7 was the author of half a dozen ingenious little plays1 mostly confined to a single act4 ,one of them1 ',un ,crane sans un ,tempte1' adapted into ,english as the ',silent ,system1' was acted in ,new ,york by ,coquelin and ,agnes ,booth4 ,dreyfus was also the author of two volumes of lively sketches lightly satirizing different aspects of the ,french stage1--',scnes de la vie de thtre' 7#ahhj7 and ',l',incendie des ,folies-,plastiques' 7#ahhf74 ,in the ,spring of #ahhd he delivered an address on the art of playmaking before the ,cercle ,artistique et ,littraire of ,brussels4 ,this lecture was entitled ',comment se fait une pice de thtre2' and it was printed privately in an edition limited to fifty copies1 7,paris3 ,a4 ,quantin1 #ahhd74 ,in the course of this address he read letters received by him from ten or twelve of the most distinguisht dramatists of ,france in response to his request for information as to their methods of composition4 ,it was to these letters that the lecture owed its interest and its value4 ,what ,m4 ,dreyfus contributed himself was little more than a running commentary on the correspondence that he had collected4 ,this commentary was characteristically clever1 brisk1 bright and amusing2 but its interest was partly personal1 partly local1 and partly contemporary4 ,the interest of the letters themselves is permanent2 and this is the reason why it has seemed advisable to select the most significant of them and to present them here unincumbered by the less useful remarks of the lecturer4 mile ,augier 7#ahbj-ahhi7 disputes with ,alexandre ,dumas the foremost place among the ,french dramatists of the second half of the nineteenth century4 ,the ',gendre de ,m4 ,poirier' 7which he wrote in collaboration with ,jules ,sandeau7 is the masterpiece of modern comedy1 a worthy successor to the ',tartuffe' of ,molire and the ',marriage of ,figaro' of ,beaumarchais4 ,thodore de ,banville 7#ahbc-ahia7 was a poet rather than a playwright4 ,altho he composed half-a-dozen little pieces in verse1 the only one of his dramatic efforts which really succeeded in establishing itself on the stage1 was ',gringoire1' a one-act comedy in prose2 and this met with a more fortunate fate than its more fantastic companions only because ,banville revised and strengthened his plot in accordance with the skilful suggestions of ,coquelin1 who created the part of the starving poet4 ,adolphe ,dennery 7#ahaa-ahii7 was the most adroit and fertile of melodramatists in the midyears of the nineteenth century4 ,perhaps his best play was ',don ,csar de ,bazan'2 and perhaps his most popular play was the ',two ,orphans4' ,alexandre ,dumas fils 7#ahbd-ahie7 was the son of the author of the ',three ,guardsmen'2 and he inherited from his father the native gift of playmaking1 which he declared in this letter to be the indispensable qualification of the successful dramatist4 ,his ',dame aux ,camlias' has held the stage for more than sixty years and has been performed hundreds of times in every modern language4 ,edmond ,gondinet 7#ahbh-ahhh7 was the author of a host of pleasant pieces1 mostly comedies in from one to three acts1 and mostly written in collaboration4 ,he believed that he preferred to write alone and that only his good nature kept tempting him into working with others4 ,it was probably to warn away those who wanted to bring him their manuscripts for expert revision that led him to assert in this letter that he was a detestable collaborator4 ,ernest ,legouv 7#ahjg-aijc7 was the collaborator of ,scribe in the composition of ',bataille de ,dames' and ',adrienne ,lecouvreur4' ,in his delightful recollections1 ',soixante ,ans de ,souvenirs' he has a chapter on ,scribe in which he describes the methods of that master-craftsman in dramatic construction2 and in one of his ',confrences ,parisiennes' he sets forth the successive steps by which another dramatist1 ,bouilly1 was able to compound his pathetic piece1 the ',abb de l',epe'2--two papers which deserve careful study by all who wish to apprehend the principles of playmaking4 ,eugne ,labiche 7#ahae-ahhh7 was the most prolific of the comic dramatists of ,france in the nineteenth century and the most richly endowed with comic force4 ,most of his pieces are frankly farcical1 but not a few of them rise to the level of true comedy4 ,the solid merit of his best work is cordially recognized in the luminous preface written by ,augier for the complete collection of ,labiche's comedies4 douard ,pailleron 7#ahcd-ahii7 was a comic dramatist of more aspiration than inspiration2 and yet he succeeded in writing one of the most popular pieces of his time2--the ',monde o l'on s'nnuie4' ,victorien ,sardou 7#ahca-aijh7 was probably the ,french playwright who was most widely known outside of ,france4 ,in the course of fifty years he was successful in almost every kind of playwriting1 from lively farce to historic drama4 ,his first indisputable triumph was with ',pattes de ,mouche1' known in ,english as the ',scrap of ,paper' and as widely popular in our language as in the original4 mile ,zola 7#ahdj-aijb7 was a novelist who repeatedly sought for success as a dramatist1 attaining it only in the adaptations of his stories made by professional playwrights4 ,yet one of his earlier pieces1 ',thrse ,raquin' is evidence that he might have mastered the art of the playwright1 if he had not allowed himself to be misled by his own unfortunate theory of the theatre as set forth in his severe studies of ',nos ,auteurs ,dramatiques' 7#ahha74 ,in the ',anne ,psychologique' for #ahid the distinguisht physiological psychologist1 the late ,alfred ,binet1--to whom we are indebted for the useful ,binet tests--publisht a series of papers dealing with the psychology of the playwright1 in the preparation of which he was aided by ,m4,j4 ,passy4 ,the two investigators had a series of interviews with ,sardou1 ,dumas fils1 ,pailleron1 ,meilhac1 ,daudet1 and ,edmond de ,goncourt4 ,altho ,daudet and ,goncourt had written plays they were essentially novelists with no instinctive understanding of the drama as a specific art4 ,nor did either ,pailleron and ,meilhac make any contribution of importance4 ,but ,dumas and ,sardou were both of them born playwrights of keen intelligence1 having a definite understanding of the principles of playmaking2 and what they said to ,m4 ,binet and his associate was interesting and significant4 ,dumas declared that he made no notes for any of his plays and that he never composed a detailed scenario4 ,he thought of only one piece at a time1 brooding over it for long months sometimes1 and then throwing it on paper almost at white heat1 if it dealt with passion4 ,if1 on the other hand1 it was a comedy of character1 a study of social conditions1 the actual composition was necessarily more leisurely and protracted4 ,he had carried in mind for six or seven years the theme of ',monsieur ,alphonse2' and he had actually put it on paper in seventeen days4 ,he had written the ',princesse ,georges' in three weeks and the ',etrangre' in a month2 and the second act of the ',dame aux ,camlias' had been penned in a single session of four hours4 ,but he had toiled seven or eight hours a day for eleven months over the ',demi-,monde1' the second act alone costing him two months labor4 ,he rarely modified what he had written by minor corrections2 but sometimes1 when his play was completed1 he discovered that it was weak in its structure or inadequate in its motivation1 in which case he reconstructed one or more acts1 or even the whole play1 writing it all over again4 ,m4 ,dumas admitted that he took little interest in the setting of his plays or in the manifold details of stage-management4 ,he indicated summarily the kind of room that he desired2 and he put down in his manuscript only the absolutely necessary movements of his characters4 ,the rest he left to the manager and the stage-manager4 ,here--as indeed everywhere1--,dumas revealed himself in the sharpest contrast with ,sardou1 who designed his sets himself and placed his furniture precisely where he needed it for the action of his play1 sometimes finding that a given scene seemed to him to lose half its effect if it was acted on the left side of the stage instead of the right4 ,he was a constant note-taker1 putting down suggestions for single scenes or for striking suggestions1 as these might occur to him2 and as a result of this incessant cerebral activity he had always on hand more or less complete plots for at least fifty plays4 ,when he decided to write one of these pieces1 he assembled his scattered notes1 set them in order1 amplified and strengthened them2 and when at last he saw his way clear he made out an elaborate and detailed scenario1 containing the whole story1 with ample indication of all the changes of feeling which might take place in any of the characters in any scene4 ,then when he felt himself in the right mood1 he feverishly improvized the play1 laughing over the jokes1 weeping over the pathetic moments and objurgating the evil deeds of the more despicable characters4 ,but this was only a first draft of the play2 and it had to be gone over three or four times1 altered1 condensed1 sharpened1 tightened in effect4 ,the first version was always too long2 and the successive revisions reduced it to scarcely more than a half of its original length4 ,sometimes he was able to compact into a single pregnant phrase the substance of a speech of many lines4 ,and as the play slowly took on its final form ,sardou not only heard every word which every character had to speak1 he also saw every one of the movements which would animate the action4 ,m4 ,binet reminded him that when ,scribe and ,legouv were collaborating on ',adrienne ,lecouvreur1' ,scribe asserted that he visualized all that the actors would do1 while ,legouv heard all that they would say2 and ,sardou then claimed that he was fortunate in possessing the double faculty of both seeing and hearing4 ,of course1 ,sardou stage-managed his plays himself1 teaching the performers carefully1 and going upon the stage1 if need be1 to act the scene as he wanted it to be acted1 indicating the expression1 the intonation and the gesture which he felt to be demanded by the situation4 ,he was equally meticulous in designing the scenery and the costumes2 and he was inexorable in insisting on the carrying out of his wishes4 ,he had a lively interest in painting1 in sculpture and in architecture2 and1 in fact1 he confest1 that if he had not been a playwright he would like to have been an architect4 ,this1 it may be noted1 is conformation of the statement that there is a strong similarity between the art of architecture and the art of the drama1 due to the fact that both arts are under the necessity of providing a solid structure to sustain the fabric and to support the decoration4 ,b4,m4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,of ,,this ,,book ,,three ,,hundred ,,and ,,thirty-,,three ,,copies ,,were ,,printed ,,from ,,type ,,by ,,corlies1 ,,macy ,,and ,,company ,,in ,,september2 ,,mcmxvi