Steve Waters

The well-behaved play

a rage of invention, a poetic fury, e

For a scene to remain a scene rather than a short play, it must yield something partial and unresolved, opening a door onto what follows as much as closing it on what’s transpired.

Because a scene is not a play it does not achieve completion; even if the transformation promised is locally achieved, it cannot generate a complete equilibrium – change here generates new circumstances which necessitate further changes to come: Horatio’s new-found conviction impels him to acquaint Hamlet with the Ghost; Edmond’s departure generates questions about how he will fare with his new-found appetite for living; Aaronow’s apparent acceptance of his implication in the crime commits him to participate in it; Carol’s broken-off confession implies a new phase in her assault on John.

Then why do critical events in an act tend to occur about five minutes before its close? Because we need time to register the climax, feel ourselves to be within the spell of the narrative still and then to be taken out of it.