ts the foibles of individuals, the manners of society, and the
humorous phases of life. The name _tragi-comedy_ is applied to a drama
in which tragic and comic scenes are intermingled. A _farce_ is a short
comedy distinguished by its slight thought and ridiculous caricature or
extravagance. A _melodrama_ is a drama with a romantic story or plot,
and sensational situations and incidents. An _opera_ is a musical drama,
the higher forms of which are known as _grand opera_, and the lower or
farcical forms as _opera bouffe_.

The laws of the drama are substantially the same for all forms. There
should be unity of dramatic action; that is, the separate scenes and
incidents should contribute in some way to the development of the plot
and to the final result or _denouement_. A collection of disconnected
scenes, no matter how interesting in themselves, would not make a drama.

In addition to unity of action, which is obviously the one indispensable
law of the drama, two other unities were prescribed by ancient
authorities. The one is unity of time, which requires that the action
fall within the limits of a single day; the other is unity of place,
which requires that the action occur in the same locality. While
evidently artificial and dispensable, these latter unities conduce to
clear and concise treatment. Among the Greeks and Romans the three
unities, as they are called, were strictly observed; they have been
followed also by the older French drama; but the English stage, breaking
away in the days of Elizabeth from every artificial restriction,
recognizes unity of action alone.

The action of the drama should exhibit movement or progress, in which
several stages may be clearly marked. The _introduction_ acquaints us,
more or less fully, with the subject to be treated. It usually brings
before us some of the leading characters, and shows us the
circumstances in which they are placed. After the introduction follows
the _growth_ or _development_ of the action toward the climax. From the
days of Aristotle this part of the drama has been called "the tying of
the knot," and it needs to be managed with great care. If the
development is too slow, the interest lags; if too rapid, the climax
appears tame.

The interest of a drama depends in a large measure upon the successful
arrangement of the _climax_, or the point in which the opposing forces
immediately confront each other. In our best dramas it usually occurs
near the middle of