Garçaõ also endeavoured to give a new direction to the dramatic poetry of Portugal. He did not possess sufficient dramatic invention to satisfy a public accustomed to all the extravagance of operatic and theatric pomp. But he exerted his utmost efforts to counteract the influence of that pomp, and of the general bad taste which seemed to have obtained a complete dominion over the national theatre. His theory, which will be further noticed in the next chapter, could only be promulgated within a narrow circle. As a dramatic poet, he first declared war against the rude opera taste, by writing a little comedy in the style of Terence, the title of which is:--_Theatro Novo, drama_, (The New Theatre, a drama). It is a mere dramatic trifle, with a very simple plot. An adventurer of fallen fortune conceives the idea of establishing a new theatre, in which speculation he is to be assisted by his two fair daughters and a rich Englishman, _Arthur Bigodes_, (a name formed from the English oath, “by God.”) He engages several other individuals in his scheme. Two love affairs, the one sincere and the other compulsory, impart comic interest and dramatic unity to the piece. The principal scene, to which the others merely serve as auxiliaries, is that in which each member of the dramatis personæ delivers a critical opinion respecting the kind of pieces which ought to be represented at the new theatre. But judicious and patriotic as the result of the deliberation might be, it was nevertheless very liable to be interpreted by the public of Lisbon to the prejudice of a reformer, who consigned the execution of his plan to a ruined adventurer. This was, however, the first step towards raising the dignity of Portuguese comedy, and restoring it to its former rank as a national drama. The Portuguese public was susceptible of patriotic sentiments, and Garçaõ understood how to touch the national feeling without having recourse to pedantry. Accordingly, he makes the manager of the new theatre, in a comic situation, say, that his beloved native country is not a little indebted to him for the trouble he has taken to rescue her from the abyss of ignorance in which she lay, miserable and infatuated, amidst wretched dramas.[385] He observes, that genuine comedy must again become the school of manners, as it had been to the ancients. In conclusion, he solemnly invokes the shades of Gil Vicente, Ferreira, and Saa de Miranda.[386] This little comedy is written in light and agreeable iambic verse, and is not destitute of dramatic spirit.