In constructing the plot and working it out with the
proper diction, the poet should place the scene, as
far as possible, before his eyes. In this way,
seeing everything with the utmost vividness, as if
he were a spectator of the action, he will discover
what is in keeping with it, and be most unlikely to
overlook inconsistencies. The need of such a rule
is shown by the fault found in Carcinus. Amphiaraus
was on his way from the temple. This fact escaped
the observation of one who did not see the situation.
On the stage, however, the piece failed, the audience
being offended at the oversight.
Again, the poet should work out his play, to the best
of his power, with appropriate gestures; for those
who feel emotion are most convincing through natural
sympathy with the characters they represent; and one
who is agitated storms, one who is angry rages, with
the most life-like reality. Hence poetry implies
either a happy gift of nature or a strain of madness.
In the one case a man can take the mould of any character;
in the other, he is lifted out of his proper self.
As for the story, whether the poet takes it ready
made or constructs it for himself, he should first
sketch its general outline, and then fill in the episodes
and amplify in detail. The general plan may be
illustrated by the Iphigenia. A young girl is
sacrificed; she disappears mysteriously from the eyes
of those who sacrificed her; She is transported to
another country, where the custom is to offer up all
strangers to the goddess. To this ministry she
is appointed. Some time later her own brother
chances to arrive. The fact that the oracle for
some reason ordered him to go there, is outside the
general plan of the play. The purpose, again,
of his coming is outside the action proper. However,
he comes, he is seized, and, when on the point of
being sacrificed, reveals who he is. The mode
of recognition may be either that of Euripides or of
Polyidus, in whose play he exclaims very naturally:—’So
it was not my sister only, but I too, who was doomed
to be sacrificed’; and by that remark he is saved.
After this, the names being once given, it remains
to fill in the episodes. We must see that they
are relevant to the action. In the case of Orestes,
for example, there is the madness which led to his
capture, and his deliverance by means of the purificatory
rite. In the drama, the episodes are short, but
it is these that give extension to Epic poetry.
Thus the story of the Odyssey can be stated briefly.
A certain man is absent from home for many years;
he is jealously watched by Poseidon, and left desolate.
Meanwhile his home is in a wretched plight—–suitors
are wasting his substance and plotting against his
son. At length, tempest-tost, he himself arrives;
he makes certain persons acquainted with him; he attacks
the suitors with his own hand, and is himself preserved
while he destroys them. This is the essence of
the plot; the rest is episode.
