We now reach the mass of theatrical and philosophical writings on opera, drama, and, indeed, art generally.  I need do nothing more than give the fundamental basis of them all, the one point which he argues in a thousand ways through them all.  Wagner would have it, then, that just about the time he came into the world, or a little later, all—­nothing less than all—­the arts had gone as far as they could separately, each alone.  Art in ancient days, before there were arts, was a fusion of music, dancing, poetry, statuary and painting—­the old drama.  That each form of art might develop its full possibilities, they separated and each went its own way.  Wagner was mainly concerned with music and with drama (poetic drama).  Music reached its apogee with Beethoven.  Regardless of the fact that after Beethoven had introduced words in the Choral Symphony, he went on composing music of unequalled depth and splendour without words, Wagner insisted that he felt the impossibility of doing more without words.  We hear, said Wagner, all these sounds going on, this stream of melody, and it is very delightful to the ear; but unfortunately the highly organized brain of modern man steps in and insists on knowing what is the matter.  What is the meaning of it all? asks the inquisitive intellect.  Words are necessary to satisfy the intellect.  On the other hand, poetic drama, in its endeavour to express pure feeling, could go no further than Goethe and Schiller without becoming mere gush—­a sort of music that was not music.  Wherefore music must be added.  But this combination of music and poetry was insufficient; we must have the thing in visible form before the eye—­the acted music-drama.  Then the actors must understand statuesque poses and get into them; they must understand painting and contrive to form themselves, together with the scenic background and accessories, into pictures.  So once again we should have the perfect fusion of all the arts, and live happily ever after.

To me there is almost more lunacy in this than in Wagner’s political tenets.  It is a pack of fallacies.  Here is my answer—­

(i) As to an Art which was a perfect fusion of all the arts, it was never done and never at any time attempted.

(ii) The finest music yet created has no words to it:  the meaning is perfectly clear without words.

(iii) The highest poetic drama needs no music.  Without verging on gush, it affords expression to the deepest and most intense feeling.

(iv) Fine poetry has been written in the dramatic form, though it will not bear acting and was not intended to be acted.  But we may cheerfully concede that genuine drama ought to be acted.

(v) The function of scenery is to suggest atmosphere and nothing more.  It cannot be a picture; it can only be an imitation of a picture.

(vi) An actor who tried to look like a statue going through a variety of poses would only make the audience laugh; or we should think he had been taken ill.