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1Contact Us :Website : |Email : [email protected]|Call Us : 98294895921. Introduction Drama has been part of human civilization since time immemorial and has been presenting the human sensibilities to human beings in artistic way so as to make them realize essential human truths.The English drama had its origin in religion: it grew out of Liturgy (a religious ceremony) of the church.The early religious plays were broadly of two types, the Mysteries and the Miracles.The best of the extant groups of Miracle and Mystery plays belong to the 15th century.Abraham and Issacis one of the most remarkable of these early plays.The early drama was cast under the strict control of church.It was mainly written by the clergy and acted by the clergy within the church and its language was Latin of the church service.As the popularity leaked out of the church, the performance was first shifted to the church porch and then to some village field. Laymen now began to take part in the performances and then write the plays whereas the Latin language was replaced by English, the native tongue. The increase in the number of fairs, the increase in wealth, power, prestige of the merchant-guilds, did much for the development of the drama.In this unit, we will be tracing the history of the British English drama from the medieval age to talkabout the evolution of drama and dramatic techniques. 2. Historical Background of Drama It is generally noticed that drama was not part of the Old English period. The earliest evidences of dramatic composition are supposed to belong to the thirteenth century. Bringing out the elements that helped in the development of English Drama is not possible as still ecclesiastical and public life could be considered two forces to shape the dramatic development in the initial stages.The theatrical seeds came with the entry of Normans in 1066 in England who brought many clerical people carrying with them the ideas of mimetic rituals that were shown with the help of dramas.These members performed certain episodes from the lives of Saints, the events from the Bible and even in glorification of the martyrdom.It was only in 16th century that drama came to its fullest growth and Elizabethan age was the golden one for its proliferation. Let’s understand the history of drama through some points: The word drama was not used in English until the sixteenth century nor the work theatre was applied to medieval stage. A series of plays came to be produced at Dunstable between 1170 and 1182 highlighting the miracle of saints and passions of holy martyrs. The plays about holy men’s and women’s lives were performed by clerics and religious officials were aimed at general peoples’ moral edification rather than entertainment.
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