 Among all the different artistic manifestations, Schlegel considered dramatic poetry to be “the most entertaining of all diversions” (LDA: 12). The fundamental reason for dramatic poetry’s being so engaging, as Schlegel points out, lies in the mimicry that is always involved in theatrical representations. Schlegel maintained that all works of art, and in particular, all theatrical representations, are expression of the idiosyncrasies of the country where they are produced. And although he succinctly suggested that the existence of a theatrical tradition may be seen as a symbol of a special intellectual and political environment, he also indicated that the enjoyment of mimicry per se is somehow constitutive of human beings (Flaherty 1994: 195). For Schlegel, children’s delight in imitating their relatives is also expressive of man’s basic psychological predisposition to mimicry (LDA: 18); a disposition without which man would not be able to enter the linguistic, let alone the poetical and creative phases of his development (SW: VII, 117). Dramatic poetry, he argued, is the representation of an “important” action, namely an action that has been purged of the petty and unnecessary details of real life; it is the performance of a morally and intellectually exemplary action through dialogue. Schlegel’s placing of dramatic poetry in the highest rank amongst the arts hardly makes his position unique. What does render him quite distinctive, rather, is the argument he gives, namely that it produces the maximum enjoyment. This certainly contrasts with Schiller’s moralizing views. Schlegel was very aware of the necessity for a play to be interesting and exciting for the audience: the greatness of a play has to do with the way in which it creates a certain tension or conflict that involves the audience. But, what makes dramatic poetry different from a mere pantomime, what really elevates it above other human activities is, once again, its poetical element, i.e., its capacity to mirror an idea or eternal truth. Ultimately, this is also what determines the difference between tragedy and comedy. The tragic tone is given through a sincere melancholy, a longing for and accepting of a “destiny soaring above this earthly life”, whereas the main characteristic of comedy is its “forgetfulness of all discouraging considerations” (LDA: 24). For Schlegel, the aim of tragedy is not “to purify the passions by pity and terror” (LDA: 43), as Aristotle had said, but to elevate us “to the most dignified view of humanity” (LDA: 112). In fact, Schlegel’s analysis of Greek tragedy and his sharp rejection of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy were extremely influential. 