STAGING, like acting, is an art of illusion, but its illusion,
unlike that of acting, deals not with being but with time
and space. In the manipulation of time, it has long been recog-
nized that Shakespeare is a master. An oft-cited example of his
mastery occurs in the guard scene in Othello (II, iii). During
the course of the action a night is made to pass. At the begin-
ning of the scene, the time is not yet "ten o' the clock" (15). At
the conclusion, Iago remarks, "By th' mass, 'tis morning!" (384).
In the midst of the alarum. Othello speaks of night and Iago
agrees that Cassio should see Desdemona "betimes in the morn-
ing" (335). Here, as elsewhere, Shakespeare creates his own illu-
sion of time corresponding neither to actual chronology nor to
agreed convention, but solely to narrative demands.

It has also been generally recognized that Shakespeare may
utilize more than one time scheme within a single play. For
example, after Edmund has shown "Edgar's" letter to his father,
the Duke of Gloucester, he assures him that he will seek out
Edgar as quickly as he can,

convey the business as I shall find means, and
acquaint you withal.

[I, ii, 109-111]

In Act II, scene i, three scenes later, he expedites his plot, pre-
sumably without delay, for the action picks up where it had left
off. In the intervening scenes, however, Lear spends sufficient

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