nished at the end of the fourth act; and in the first scene of the following act, a messenger relates to Thefeus the whole particulars of the death of Hippolytus by the fea-monster: this remarkable event must have employ'd many hours; and yet in the representation it is confined to the time employ'd by the chorus upon the song at the end of the 4th act. The inconfiftency is ftill greater in the Iphigenia in Tauris*: the fong could not exhauft half an hour; and yet the incidents fuppofed to have happened in that time, could not naturally be tranfacted in less than half a day.

The Grecian artifts are forc'd not lefs frequently, to tranfgrefs another rule, derived alfo from a continued reprefentation: the rule is, that as a vacuity, however momentary, interrupts the representation, it is neceffary that the place of action be constantly occupied. Sophocles, with regard to this rule as well as to others, is generally correct. But Euripides cannot bear fuch reftraint he often evacuates the ftage, and leaves it empty for others in fucceffion. Iphige-. nia in Tauris, after pronouncing a foliloquy in the first scene, leaves the place of action, and is fucceeded by Oreftes and Pylades: they, after fome converfation, walk off; and Iphigenia reenters, accompanied with the chorus. In the Alceftes, which is of the fame author, the place.

* A& 5. fc. 4.

of

of action is void at the end of the third at. It is true, that to cover this irregularity, and to preferve the representation in motion, Euripides is extremely careful to fill the ftage without lofs of time but this is ftill an interruption, and a link of the chain broken; for during the change of the actors, there must be a space of time, during which, it cannot be faid that the ftage is occupied by either fet. It makes indeed a more remarkable interruption, to change the place of action as well as the actors; but that was not practicable upon the Grecian ftage.

It is hard to fay upon what model Terence has formed his plays. Having no chorus, there is a ceffation in the representation at the end of every act but advantage is not taken of this ceffation, even to vary the place of action; for the street' is always chofen, where every thing paffing may be seen by every perfon; and by this choice, the most sprightly and interesting parts of the action, which commonly pass within doors, are excluded; witness the laft act of the Eunuch. He hath fubmitted to the fame flavery with refpect to time. In a word, a play with a regular chorus, is not more confined in place and time than his plays are. Thus a zealous fectary follows implicitly ancient forms and ceremonies, without once confidering whether their introductive caufe be still fubfifting. Plautus, of a bolder genius than Terence, makes good ufe of the liberty afforded by an interrupted representation: he varies the place

of action upon all occafions, when the variation fuits his purpose.

The intelligent reader will by this time underftand, that I plead for no change of place in our plays but after an interval, nor for any latitude in point of time but what falls in with an interval, The unities of place and time ought to be strictly obferved during each act; for during the reprefentation, there is no opportunity for the smallest deviation from either. Hence it is an effential requifite, that during an act the stage be always occupied; for even a momentary vacuity makes an interval. Another rule is not lefs effential: it would be a grofs breach of the unity of action, to exhibit upon the ftage two feparate actions at the fame time; and therefore to preferve this unity, it is necessary that each perfonage introduced during an act, be linked to thofe in poffeffion of the ftage, fo as to join all in one action. Thefe things follow from the very conception of an act, which admits not the flighteft interruption: the moment the reprefentation is intermitted, there is an end of that act; and we have no other notion of a new act, but where, after a pause or interval, the reprefentation is again put in motion. French writers, generally fpeaking, are extremely correct in this particular: the English, on the contrary, are fo irregular as fcarce to deferve a criticism: actors not only fucceed each other in the fame place without connection; but what is ftill worse, they frequently fucceed each

other

other in different places. This change of place in the fame act, ought never to be indulged; for, befide breaking the unity of the act, it has a difagreeable effect: after an interval, the mind can readily accommodate itself to any place that is neceffary, just as readily as at the commence- . ment of the play; but during the reprefentation, the mind rejects change of place. From the foregoing cenfure must be excepted the Mourning Bride of Congreve, where regularity concurs with the beauty of fentiment and of language, to make it one of the most complete pieces England has to boast of. I must acknowledge, however, that in point of regularity, this elegant performance is not altogether unexceptionable. In the four firft acts, the unities of place and time are strictly obferved: but in the laft act, there is a capital error with respect to unity of place; for in the three first scenes of that act, the place of action is a room of state, which is changed to a prifon in the fourth fcene: the chain alfo of the actors is broken; as the perfons introduced in the prifon, are different from those who made their appearance in the room of ftate. This remarkable interruption of the reprefentation, makes in effect two acts instead of one: and therefore, if it be a rule, that a play ought not to confift of more acts than five, this performance is fo far defective in point of regularity. I may add, that even admitting fix acts, the irregularity would not be altogether removed, without a longer

Dd4

longer pause in the representation than is allowed in the acting; for it requires more than a momentary interruption, to enable the imagination readily to accommodate itself to a new place, or to prorogation of time. In The Way of the World, of the fame author, unity of place is preferved during every act, and a ftricter unity of time during the whole play than is necessary.

CHAP.