ABSTRACT
We have discussed the plot line as the succession of events which Shakespeare arranged so as to tell his story, or to make it move from beginning to end. We now come to the dramatic line, which serves to channel the audience’s response to the story and characters. This effect is achieved by the succession of incidents seen and heard on the stage, regardless of whether these incidents advance the plot. Many incidents operate equally on the plot line and the dramatic line. Indeed, virtually all scenes which contribute to the plot also exert a dramatic effect on the audience’s reaction to the story, so that the main line of the plot typically forms a part of the dramatic line. Some incidents, on the other hand, make little or no contribution to the structure of the plot, but nonetheless contribute to the total impact of the play and so are integral parts of its dramatic line. Whether or not a particular scene is on the plot line may be determined by asking whether it contributes directly to forwarding the plot. Even if it does not forward the plot, however, the scene may make a dramatic contribution and so be an important part of the dramatic structure of the play. Thus understood, plot line and dramatic line are not mutually exclusive categories.
