ore than with the expectation that their speech will carry a measure
through the House they are addressing.

Yet we will listen with pleasure to a fervid speaker whose earnestness
of manner carries the conviction of his sincerity, and even against our
will we are moved by elegant sentences and pleasing tones. The orator
will continue to be a power, though in a different way. Conditions have
changed, and the ponderous periods and elaborate figures that
characterized the orators of classic epochs are giving place to the
plain, lucid diction and the simple, true-hearted tones of the modern
speaker.

The drama is objective, the author keeping himself out of sight as much
as possible. His characters appear, speak their parts and vanish with no
explanatory words from him except the occasional stage direction limited
to the fewest possible words. There is no description, except when the
actors give an account of something that does not occur upon the stage.
There is little of narration, except to explain what does not appear
upon the scene or to give clearness to the action. Argument is not
infrequent, though it is usually in the form of a moving appeal to the
emotions rather than to the reason. The play often leads to exposition,
and many dramas are written with the evident intent of teaching a deep
and forceful lesson.

The drama shows man in action and develops his character before the
reader, but it is by acts and speech and not by direct description from
the author. It deals with all human interests and frequently
supernatural manifestations are introduced and become important factors
in the plot, particularly when they are believed in by the people who
appear in the drama. But in general it is a study of life and character.

Primarily the drama is to be heard, not read, and consequently its style
is usually clear and its meaning easily apprehended, but the complexity
of its incidents and the intricacies of its plot make it difficult to
follow. The rapidity of its action, the necessity of gathering the
meaning from a single hearing, and the intensity of feeling aroused
would all unite to confuse the hearer were it not for the skill of the
actor and the appropriateness of the stage settings. By the aid of
these, understanding is in most cases not difficult. The changing
scenery, the dress of the actors, their movements, the tones of their
voices, and the expression of their faces all aid the hearer. But the
interpretat