A Philosophic Basis for Drama, Including the Comedia

A PHILOSOPHIC BASIS FOR DRAMA, INCLUDING THE COMEDIA Gerald E. Wade, University of Tennessee, Emeritus I. Some Introductory Words In earlier articles I proposed elements of a philosophic basis for the elucidation of comedy, its meaning and function .1 As was made evident on those occasions, there was no effort toward a formulation of any judgment of mine meant to be final on what the essence of comedy is. It is clear that an impregnable definition of a theory of comedy would at this time be impossible ; indeed, it is possible that the last word on the subject will never be written. The critic of drama thus makes do with what he now has in his understanding of the area called the comic. The two articles of reference above, then, were meant to be exploratory of a limited segment of the vast subject, in the hope that they might open it up to the consideration of students of literature, especially of drama, and even more especially of the Golden Age Comedia. The present study has the same purpose in mind. For the student of the Comedia who may deplore the "intrusion" of philosophy (metaphysics) into the area of literary criticism, it is pertinent to recall that philosophy has always been a part of that area of speculation, and that it will always have to be. Every critic thinks and expresses himself out of his own philosophy, whatever that may be, and he does so regardless of the extent to which, knowingly or without a conscious effort to formulate a philosophic system, he may have fabricated it. In the words of James Feibleman , who will have copious discussion below, "Philosophy is ultimately [no more than] the product of how we think and feel about what happens to us."2 Because of the nature of his craft, the literary critic is quite thoroughly entrapped within the labyrinth of aesthetics and ethics, both of which are parts of the vast domain labeled philosophy . So his aesthetics and his ethics form a large part of the critic's own person, of the very fiber of his being. Inasmuch as few critics are professional philosophers, it is helpful for them to turn to these scholars, if not for guidance in every detail, at least for help in the formulation of meaningful and usable elements of the critics' professional armament. To ignore the aid of the professional philosopher is really not possible. Not that he can provide definitive solutions to the major problems that plague critics of literature, for he too is always seeking answers to the questions that perplex him. But when he is so inclined, trained to his task, he can offer a logical and reasoned presentation of some of the principal elements of his thinking that enter into literary criticism. At his best, the philosopher who does this can be very helpful to the literary critic who is himself not professionally philosophical. What, then, the present article wishes to do, as was done in the articles of reference above, is to present an elucidation of comedy by a philosopher of repute, although he has had little attention from Hispanists. The elucidation will be followed by an effort to apply the philosopher's theory to Golden Age Comedy. A similar discussion will follow for tragedy. The philosopher is James K. Feibleman , named above. His book In Praise 59 of Comedy, published in 1938, seems to have attracted only minor attention at that time, but recently it has been thought significant enough to have had another printing.3 In The American Schohr for Summer, 1973, pages 476-83, the philosopher Huntington Cairns gives high praise to Feibleman. After an explication of this philosopher's system — Cairns 'essay is called "James Feibleman 's Two-Story World" — Cairns ends with the suggestion that although it is yet too early to assess the impact of Feibleman's influence on the course of world philosophy, "one thing must be admitted: [his] is the most comprehensive speculative effort in philosophy of our generation." Of special interest to students of drama is Cairns' statement on the final page of his article to the effect that "one reflection of the strength of...