t each was truly in love
with the other. The inevitable revelation of this error would produce a
shock of surprise that would utterly scatter their attention; and while
they were busy making over their former conception of the situation, they
would have no eyes nor ears for what was going on upon the stage. In a
novel, the true character of a hypocrite is often hidden until the book is
nearly through: then, when the revelation comes, the reader has plenty of
time to think back and see how deftly he has been deceived. But in a play,
a rogue must be known to be a rogue at his first entrance. The other
characters in the play may be kept in the dark until the last act, but the
audience must know the secret all the time. In fact, any situation which
shows a character suffering from a lack of such knowledge as the audience
holds secure always produces a telling effect upon the stage. The
spectators are aware of Iago's villainy and know of Desdemona's innocence.
The play would not be nearly so strong if, like Othello, they were kept
ignorant of the truth.

In order to economise attention, the dramatist must centre his interest in
a few vividly drawn characters and give these a marked preponderance over
the other parts. Many plays have failed because of over-elaborateness of
detail. Ben Jonson's comedy of _Every Man in His Humour_ would at present
be impossible upon the stage, for the simple reason that _all_ the
characters are so carefully drawn that the audience would not know in whom
to be most interested. The play is all background and no foreground. The
dramatist fails to say, "Of all these sixteen characters, you must listen
most attentively to some special two or three"; and, in consequence, the
piece would require a constant effort of attention that no modern audience
would be willing to bestow. Whatever may be said about the disadvantages of
the so-called "star system" in the theatre, the fact remains that the
greatest plays of the world--_Oedipus King_, _Hamlet_, _As You Like It_,
_Tartufe_, _Cyrano de Bergerac_--have almost always been what are called
"star plays." The "star system" has an obvious advantage from the point of
view of the dramatist. When Hamlet enters, the spectators know that they
must look at him; and their attention never wavers to the minor characters
upon the stage. The play is thus an easy one to follow: attention is
economised and no effect is lost.

It is a wise plan to use familiar and convent