CHAPTER XVII.

_ANCIENT AND MODERN TRAGEDY._

Greek Tragedy and the Rites of Dionysus.--A Sketch of its Origin and History.--The Attic Theatre.--The Actors and their Masks.--Relation of Sculpture to the Drama in Greece.--The Legends used by the Attic Tragedians.--Modern Liberty in the Choice of Subjects.--Mystery Plays.--Nemesis.--Modern Tragedy has no Religious Idea.--Tragic Irony.--Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy.--Modern Tragedy offers no #katharsis# of the Passions.--Destinies and Characters.--Female Characters.--The Supernatural.--French Tragedy.--Five Acts.--Bloodshed.--The Unities.--Radical Differences in the Spirit of Ancient and Modern Art. Page 145