Date of Award

6-1926

Degree Type

Bachelors Essay

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Thomas P. Whelan

Second Advisor

John Danihy

Abstract

Human nature is a curious mixture of spiritual and material as. well as of tears and smiles. The humorous and the sublime jostle each other in every character, not only today, but from the very dawn of history. Perhaps that is why we find the theatre, the field of popular amusements, an outgrowth of the sublimity of divine worship. It has long been recognized that Greek drama originated in religious sacrificial rites, that it continued, indeed, throughout its history to be considered a part of religious worship. On the other hand it has not so long been acknowledged that English drama is not an off shoot of the ancient Greek and Roman theatre but a native growth with its roots in Christian worship, in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. But we find on investigation that the sturdy English drama, as well as that of western continental Europe developed from elaborations of the ceremonies of the Mass and we shall be able to trace its development from the Trope through the liturgical plays as performed in the Church, the great Cycles which contained the greatest specifically English contributions to dramatic evolution, the Renaissance contributions which made Seneca the model of -form until we come to the glorious flourish of the Elizabethan drams.

Comments

A Thesis Submitted, to Fulfill the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts College of Journalism, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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