THE RISE AND GROWTH OF ENGLISH DRAMA

Abstract

The earliest history of English drama holds great importance to an understanding of how the instinct for dramatic expression makes itself felt in human communities. It could also make for interesting study of the workings of popular imagination and equally enlighten us on the evolution of themes and conventions prevalent in later and more mature drama. The origin of the drama is deep-rooted in the religious predispositions of mankind. The ancient Greek and Roman dramas were mostly concerned with religious ceremonials of people, which resulted in the development of drama. As the Bible was in Latin, common people could not understand its meanings. That’s why the clergy tried to find out some new methods of teaching and expounding the teachings of Bible to the common people. For this purpose, they developed a new method, wherein the stories of the Gospel were explained through the living pictures.