Where such a spirit prevails there can be no national awakening.
If we put a play before the people, it must be with a hope of arresting attention, striking their imagination, giving them a grip of reality, and filling them with a joy in life.

Now, the propagandist play does none of these things; it has neither joy nor reality; its characters are puppets and ridiculous; they are essentially caricatures.

This is supposed to convert the unbeliever; but the intelligent unbeliever coming to it is either bored or irritated by its extravagant absurdity, and if he admits our sincerity, it is only at the expense of our intelligence.
III A propagandist play for a political end is even more mischievous--at least lovers of freedom have more cause for protest.

It makes our heroes ridiculous.

No man of imagination can stand these impossible persons of the play who "walk on" eternally talking of Ireland.