Witness the imitation by Shakespeare in _The
Comedy of Errors_, IV. 4, and in spirit by modern farce; for instance, in
_A Night Off_, when the staid old Professor feels the recrudescence of his
youthful aspirations to attend a prize-fight, he simulates madness as a
prelude to dashing wildly away.
The following from _Rud._ (160 ff.) is theatrical but tremendously
effective and worthy of the highest type of drama. Sceparnio, looking
off-stage, spies Ampelisca and Palaestra tossed about in a boat. He
addresses Daemones:
"SC. But O Palaemon! Hallowed comrade of Neptune ... what scene meets my
eye?
DAE. What do you see?
SC. I see two poor lone women sitting in a bit of a boat. How the poor
creatures are being tossed about! Hoorah! Hoorah! Fine! The waves are
whirling their boat past the rocks into the shallows. A pilot couldn't
have steered straighter. I swear I never saw waves more high. They're safe
if they escape those breakers. Now, now, danger! One is overboard! Ah, the
water's not deep: she'll swim out in a minute. Hooray! See the other one,
how the wave tossed her out! She is up, she's on her way shoreward; she's
safe!"
Sceparnio clasps his hands, jumps up and down, grasps the shaking Daemones
convulsively and communicates his excitement to the audience. It is a
piece of thrilling theatrical declamation and must have wrought the
spectators up to a high pitch.
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