INTRODUCTION
Karel Capek was born in 1890 in Northern Bohemia. His literary work comprises plays, poems, criticism and short stories. Of his plays the earliest is "The Robber," which was begun as early as 1911, but was not completed until after the war. It may be described as an allegorical comedy. The anonymous central figure, from whom the title of the play is derived, represents the victorious and energetic spirit of youth, seizing all it covets, and ridiculing the sober and law-abiding logic of old age. As a play, it suffers from a lack of uniformity in its texture, in which lyrical romanticism alternates with the elements of farce and melodrama.
"The Robber" was followed by "R. U. R." which it is hardly necessary to discuss here in detail. The same applies to "The Life of the Insects," written by Capek in collaboration with his brother Josef, and performed in New York under the title, "The World We Live In." This curious satire on human society relies more upon scenic effects than does "R. U. R." Nevertheless the devastating third act, even from a purely literary point of view, must be regarded as a masterpiece of con-
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