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A strongly sentimental note runs through Ardja, and sentimental situations are developed as nowhere else on the Balinese stage. 'Mere is something of the comedy of manners in its construction and traditional cast, and a strong tendency to caricature which is of course quite consistent with its sentimental strain. The plot is developed far more than in any other play. Whereas in Gamboeh a very small section of a story is ushered in and out again by an overwhelming dance ritual, and in Topeng an intense dramatic moment is set among a grand parade of dancing masks, Ardja generally shows the sequence of a play from beginning to end.
The accent in Ardja is on the intrigue, on the story, on the singing, instead of on the wonderful counterpoint of music and dance, which is so great a fascination in Baris and Topeng

The accent in Ardja is on the intrigue, on the story, on the singing, instead of on the wonderful counterpoint of music and dance, which is so great a fascination in Baris and Topeng. The gamelan, consisting of percussion and flute, plays the part of an accompaniment, its monotonous square pattern varied only by fluctuation of tempo and speed, and for long periods falling out altogether, in order that the comic dialogue may be audible.
One great reason for the popularity of Ardja is the nature of its themes. Besides the classical Javanese romances which we met in Gamboeh, and Kawi versions of themes from the Mahabharata, as in Parwa, it includes in its repertory modem Chinese tales of passion, which are full of human interest as well as of supernatural incidents, and pour beautifully into the mould of the traditional cast, which includes some human types peculiar to Ardja, and indispensable to the development of the intrigue; each of these types has his or her-peculiar style of movement and manner of singing.

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