Voltaire reworked the structure of the play in order to fit the classical model of French drama . " L'Orphelin de la Chine " adheres to the theory of three unities, which codified that dramas should conform to the unity of action, unity of time, and unity of place.
32.
No dramatic critic has ever dissented from this " unity of action "; but the unities of time and place were in fact read into the " Poetics " by theoreticians of the New Learning ( Jean de La Taille ) and other writers ( Jean Vauquelin de la Fresnaye and Jean Mairet ).
33.
The early years of the century were marked by a revival of classicism and classical-inspired tragedies, often with themes of national sacrifice or patriotic heroism in keeping with the spirit of the Revolution, but the production of Victor Hugo's " dramatic unities of time and place were abolished, tragic and comic elements appeared together and metrical freedom was won.
34.
Voltaire praised the Confucian morality of " The Orphan of Zhao ", However, the play was still considered problematic by him as it violated the conventions of the unities of time, action, and place, likening it to some of Shakespeare and Lope de Vega's " monstrous farces " as " nothing but a heap of incredible stories ".
35.
Unity of Time : " Talking to Terrorists " involve actual dialogues from actual people that occur in a constant flow of real time, essentially meaning that all of the stories happen in real time, rather than the course of several days, thus creating the impression on the audience that all of the events are unfolding before them in the course of two hours.
36.
By contrast to the stage history, in literary criticism there was no lag time, no temporary preference for other dramatists : Shakespeare had a unique position at least from the neo-classical " rules " for the drama and the three classical unities of time, place, and action, those strict rules had never caught on in England, and their sole zealous proponent Thomas Rymer was hardly ever mentioned by influential writers except as an example of narrow dogmatism.
37.
They decided upon four key elements for the game : " Unity of time and place ", with the game taking place over twenty-four hours within the palace of Azad; " Acrobatics ", referring to the gameplay and how the setting was constructed around this concept; " Combat ", with the palace being filled with monsters to give the game and story a fast-paced feeling; and " Rewind ", the ability to turn back and manipulate time.
38.
As nothing is essential to the fable, but unity of action, and as the unities of time and place arise evidently from false assumptions, and, by circumscribing the extent of the drama, lessen its variety, I cannot think it much to be lamented, that they were not known by him, or not observed : Nor, if such another poet could arise, should I very vehemently reproach him, that his first act passed at Venice, and his next in Cyprus.
39.
�tienne Jodelle's " Cl�op�tre captive " ( 1553 ) & mdash; which tells the impassioned fears and doubts of Cleopatra contemplating suicide & mdash; has the distinction of being the first original French play to follow Horace's classical precepts on structure ( the play is in five acts and respects more or less the unities of time, place and action ) and is extremely close to the ancient model : the prologue is introduced by a shade, there is a classical chorus which comments on the action and talks directly to the characters, and the tragic ending is described by a messenger.
40.
Pug has not done well through all these developments : beaten, manipulated, and generally abused, he ends up confined to Newgate Prison at the end of the day . ( Jonson, true to the Aristotelian unities of time and place, stages all this action in a single day . ) Pug appeals to Satan to take him back to Hell with whatever punishment the lord of the underworld chooses for nothing in hell compares " to a lady of fashion . " Satan, triumphant in his prediction that 1616 London was more than Pug could handle, arrives to spirit Pug away, blasting a wall out of Newgate in the process, and leaving the thief's body behind.
