story and relax the strain of at-
tention from time to time, without
interrupting the progress of the nar-
rative. There are heroes whose
figures stand out in the long story
with great distinctness, but we are
interested much more in what they
do than in what they are; for in the
epic, character is subordinate to
action. In the dramas of Shake-
speare, on the other hand, while
action is more constantly employed
and is thrown into bolder relief, our
deepest interest centres in the actors;
the action is no longer the matter
of first importance; it is significant
mainly because it involves men and
women not only in the chain of ex-
ternal consequences, but also in the
order of spiritual sequences. We
are deeply stirred by our perception
of the intimate connection between

[[242]]

p241 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p242w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p243

v?