Currents in Twentieth-Century Verse Drama

Abstract

The general direction of twentieth-century verse drama is clear. While attempting to effect a reaction to realistic prose drama, they have brought their works close to realistic prose (Eliot) while at the same time treating subjects which are properly the province of poetry. Although close to prose, the plays are still poetry, if only in a technical sense. Again we must go to Eberhart, the first verse dramatist of note who attempts to join the best poetry he can write to his plays. In doing so, he has perhaps created plays which are not dramatic, but he has given some hint of the path verse drama will take in the years to come . The answer lies somewhere between Eliot and Eberhart; the verse must be on a higher plane than prose, yet it must somehow conform to accepted speech patterns. I cannot in good faith envision a renassence of verse drama. I do believe that if Eberhart and others at Poets' Theatre ever begin to write for a wider audience, we will see a great renewal of interest in verse drama. It would not be very surprising to see this revival take place first in the United States, the last major country to build a theatrical interest. For the time being, at least, we shall have to be content with the few excellent offerings we have. [From concluding section]