pure antique or Spanish metres, attempted in vain to free themselves
from the restraint of form, the great danger of which consisted in its
similarity to common-place sentence construction, so that the verse
ran the risk either of becoming prosaic, or else, in trying forcibly
to avoid this, of growing bombastic. An escape was provided by
inserting, in moments of emotion, a metre of a more lyrical quality
into the uniform structure of the usual vehicle of dramatic dialogue,
particularly when partaking of the nature of a monologue; as Goethe
did, for example, in the "Song of the Fates" in _Iphigenia_, that most
metrically perfect of all German dramatic poems, and as Schiller
continued to do with increased boldness in the songs introduced into
_Mary Stuart_. Perhaps the greatest perfection in such use of the
principle of the "free rhythm" as applied to the drama, was reached by
Franz Grillparzer in the _Golden Fleece_, on the model of certain
fragments by Goethe, such as the _Prometheus_. On the other hand, the
interesting experiments in the _Bride of Messina_ are of more
importance for the development of the opera into a work of art
complete in itself, than for that of the drama. In general, however,
it is to be remarked as a peculiarity of modern German drama, that it
seeks to escape from monotony, which the French classical theatre
hardly ever succeeded in avoiding, by calling in the aid of the other
arts. Plastic art is often employed for scenic arrangement, and music
to produce effects on and behind the stage. Both were made use of by
Schiller; and it was under his influence that they were tried by
Goethe in his later period--though we find a remarkable sporadic
appearance of them even as early as _Götz_ and _Klavigo_. The mastery
which Grillparzer also attained in this respect has been striven after
by his fellow countrymen with some degree of success: as, for example,
by Ferdinand Raimund, by Ludwig Anzengruber, and also by Friedrich
Halm and Hugo von Hofmannsthal.