"All the modern verse plays, they're terrible; they're mostly about the poetry. It's more important that the play is first"
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Denis Johnson’s remark delivers a sharp critique of certain contemporary verse plays, highlighting their tendency to prioritize the poetic form over the dramatic substance. By stating that modern verse plays are “terrible” because they're “mostly about the poetry,” Johnson is pointing to a common pitfall: when playwrights become preoccupied with style, particularly the beauty or complexity of language, the essential function of drama is often neglected. A play, after all, is not merely a collection of lyrical lines but a living, breathing act of storytelling designed to engage an audience through characters, conflict, and narrative progression.
Theatrical works are inherently collaborative and dynamic. They rely on the interplay between actors, audience, and script, demanding more than lush diction or artful meter. When poetry within a play overshadows its structure, character motivation, and thematic depth, the result can be a work that feels inert or self-indulgent. Johnson’s comment is a call for balance: the artistry of poetry should serve the drama, enriching the world and emotions evoked on stage rather than distracting from or replacing them.
Throughout literary history, great verse dramas, such as those by Shakespeare, have masterfully woven beautiful language into compelling dramatic arcs. Their poetry elevates the narrative, deepens character, and resonates emotionally, never existing apart from the play’s movement and stakes. What Johnson laments is a reverse process, where language itself becomes the chief concern and the dramatic engine stalls, leaving the audience unmoved or disconnected.
Ultimately, Johnson’s argument champions the primacy of theater’s function: to present a play. No matter how artful the language, it cannot supplant the need for meaningful action, tension, and transformation. Poetry should flow from and support the life of the play, not dominate it to the exclusion of story and human connection. For Johnson, what matters most is that the play itself comes first.
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