| OCR Text |
Show THE COMPOSITION OF BALLETS. 147 the catastrophe, by unknown ways, which continually excite interest as they develop themselves. At the end he surprises by the force of the sensations, whether they be of the terrible or gentler kind, according as the subject may demand ; a fertile fancy, enlightened by the study of good authors, and, above all, by that of nature, will easily discover means for producing the necessary effect. Thus the approach and completion of the catastrophe cannot be too much attended to; studying deeply the eonduct of some sublime dramatic production, such as the Orestes of Alfieri. The plan and progress of this piece, with its final catastrophe, are constructed with admirable art; the interest goes on, gradually increasing, till at last the poet astonishes the audience by a catastrophe as terrible as it is unexpected. On such works as these we should continually meditate. Than the tragedies of this Sophocles of Italy, I know nothing in modern times more classic-more correct. The catastrophe, says Marmontel, to be unexpected, must proceed from uncertain means which lead to an unalterable conclusion. The fate of persons concerned in the plot is, during the course of the action, like a vessel tossed in a storm, which is at last terribly wrecked or happily conducted to a port, and this is the catastrophe. |
