The only conditions in which Shakespeare's adjuration would be
superfluous or impertinent would accompany the presentment in the
theatre of some circumscribed incident of life which is capable of so
literal a rendering as to leave no room for any make-believe or
illusion at all. The unintellectual playgoer, to whom Shakespeare will
never really prove attractive in any guise, has little or no
imagination to exercise, and he only tolerates a performance in the
theatre when little or no demand is made on the exercise of the
imaginative faculty. "The groundlings," said Shakespeare for all time,
"are capable of [appreciating] nothing but inexplicable dumb shows and
noise." They would be hugely delighted nowadays with a scene in which
two real motor cars, with genuine chauffeurs and passengers, raced
uproariously across the stage. That is realism in its nakedness. That
is realism reduced to its first principles. Realistic "effects,"
however speciously beautiful they may be, invariably tend to realism
of that primal type, which satisfies the predilections of the
groundling, and reduces drama to the level of the cinematograph.
IX
The deliberate pursuit of scenic realism is antagonistic to the
ultimate law of dramatic art.
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