The Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Write a Play, by Various

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Title: How to Write a Play
Letters from Augier, Banville, Dennery, Dumas, Gondinet,
Labiche, Legouve, Pailleron, Sardou, Zola

Author: Various

Editor: James Brander Matthews

Release Date: April 22, 2006 [EBook #18230]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO WRITE A PLAY ***

Produced by Chuck Greif

How to Write a Play

CONTENTS

Introduction by William Gillette
Letter from Emile Augier
Letter from Theodore de Banville
Letter from Adolphe Dennery
Letter from Alexandre Dumas Fils
Letter from Edmond Gondinet
Letter by Eugene Labiche
Letter by Ernest Legouve
Letter from Edouard Pailleron
Letter from Victorien Sardou
Letter from Emile Zola
Notes by B.M.

1916 By Dramatic Museum of Columbia University

INTRODUCTION

The impression has always prevailed with me that one who might properly
be classed as a genius is not precisely the person best fitted to
expound rules and methods for the carrying on of his particular branch
of endeavor. I have rather avoided looking the matter up for fear it
might not turn out to be so after all. But doesn't it sound as if it
ought to be? And isn't a superficial glance about rather confirmatory?
We do not--so far as I know--find that Shakspere or Milton or Tennyson
or Whitman ever gave out rules and regulations for the writing of
poetry; that Michael Angelo or Raphael was addicted to formulating
instructive matter as to the accomplishment of paintings and frescoes;
that Thackeray or Dickens or Meredith or George Sand were known to have
answered inquiries as to 'How to write a Novel'; or that Beethoven or
Wagner or Chopin or Mendelsohn paused in the midst of their careers in
order to tell newspaper men what they considered the true method of
composing music. These fortunate people--as well as others of their
time--could so easily be silent and thus avoid disclosing the fact that
they could not--for the lives of them--tell about these things; but in
our unhappy day even geniuses ar