Date of Award

Spring 1933

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

Abstract

It shall be the purpose of this dissertation to present a picture of English Drama from the beginning up to the time of the Restoration, which the emphasis placed on the contribution of the schools and the universities to the development of that drama. For the sake of clarity and facility in handling, the thesis shall be divided into five groups; namely, group one, treating of the earlier native dramatic trends, such as the ceremonies and religious rituals which gave drama its birth; group two, which presents the topic of the schools, their curricula and the beginnings of dramatics in those institutions; group three will treat of the first comedies and tragedies, which were outgrowths of the school interest in drama; group four will present the contemporaries of Shakespeare and the influence the schools had on their dramatic endeavors; and group five will treat of the successors of Shakespeare. The part played by the lower schools in the development of English drama has been considered before by W. H. Vail Motter in School Drama in England, and F. S. Boas has adequately handled the contributions of the Universities in his University Drama in the Tudor Age. While these two texts have been guides in the preparation of this thesis, it has been the hope and the attempt to amplify on many portions and to clarify certain lightly treat phases.

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