ABSTRACT
Drama and dramatic qualities are not confined to works written for the theatre, in the form of plays. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the possibility arose of a dramatic form capable of surpassing the drama of the theatre in depth and vitality. The dramatic function of dialogue, then, varies somewhat in the novel and the drama. Drama is essentially collaborative: it is a collaboration between the dramatist on the one hand and the players on the other; between the players themselves; and between the players and the audience. Most major dramatists have been increasingly alienated from the theatre which remained their only medium. The attempt to make the theatre once again a medium for the finest and most profound literary expression will no doubt continue to be undertaken, but the odds will remain fearsomely against success.
