The elements of dramatic criticism Author:William Cook Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: t CHAP. IV, Of the Mafts of the j THOUGH the Romans have pretended to have been the firft inventors of the mafk, and that it was one Rofcius Gall us, (a... more »ccording to Diomedes) who firft wore one on their ftage, to conceal the defects of fquinting ; the better, and more univerfal opinion gives it to jfifchylus, who introduced it into Greece, upon the firft eftablifhment of that drama ; this cuftom has been preferved in part on fome modern ftages, as a great many perfonages of the Italian comedy are ftill mafked ; and it is not a long while fince (according to L'Abbe du Bos) they were frequently ufed on the French ftage in the re- prefentation of comedies. The.antient players, as well in tragedy as comedy, had feveral forts of mafks, which they frequently changed ; for the people belonging to the ftage were of opinion, in thofe times, that a particular phyfiognomy was fo very eflential to the character, as to think it neceflary to give the figure of the mafic proper for the reprefentation, in order to communicate a more complete reprefentation. After C the the description, therefore, of each perfonage, fuch as they ufed to prefix to their theatrical pieces, under the title of gerfons of the drama, it was cuftomary for them to give the figure of the mafk, which appeared to them a ne- cefiary inftruction. But, as thefe ftage ornaments are not fo ea- fily reconcileable to modern cuftom, we fhall here give an account of their principal advantages on the antient ftage. The ufe of mafk prevented people from feeing an actor, advanced in years, play the part of a young lover; Hippolytus, Hercules, and Neftor, appeared always upon the ftage, with their heads diftinguifhable, by being fuited to their known characters; the vizard, under which the actor appeared, was always a...« less