Rotrou was the first who ventured to introduce several persons in the
same scene; before his time they rarely exceeded two persons; if a third
appeared, he was usually a mute actor, who never joined the other two.
The state of the theatre was even then very rude; the most lascivious
embraces were publicly given and taken; and Rotrou even ventured to
introduce a naked page in the scene, who in this situation holds a
dialogue with one of his heroines. In another piece, "_Scedase, ou
l'hospitalité violée_," Hardi makes two young Spartans carry off
Scedase's two daughters, ravish them on the stage, and, violating them
in the side scenes, the spectators heard their cries and their
complaints. Cardinal Richelieu made the theatre one of his favourite
pursuits, and though not successful as a dramatic writer, his
encouragement of the drama gradually gave birth to genius. Scudery was
the first who introduced the twenty-four hours from Aristotle; and
Mairet studied the construction of the fable, and the rules of the
drama. They yet groped in the dark, and their beauties were yet only
occasional; Corneille, Racine, Molière, Crebillon, and Voltaire
perfected the French drama.

In the infancy of the tragic art in our country, the bowl and dagger
were considered as the great instruments of a sublime pathos; and the
"_Die all_" and "_Die nobly_" of the exquisite and affecting tragedy of
Fielding were frequently realised in our popular dramas. Thomas Goff, of
the university of Oxford, in the reign of James I., was considered as no
contemptible tragic poet: he concludes the first part of his Courageous
Turk, by promising a second, thus:--

If this first part, gentles! do like you well,
The second part shall _greater murthers_ tell.