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VOL. 10, ISSUE 1 (2024)
Didacticism in Elizabethan drama
Authors
Amit Kumar Rath
Abstract
This paper explores the prevalence of
didacticism in the drama of the Elizabethan age: originating from traditional
liturgical practices and culminating in a dramatization of contemporary
sociocultural events. Throughout history, people have turned to literature for
guidance and have, in turn, inherited generational wisdom. It is only through
literature that man uttered ubi sunt and reached out to his ancestors
for respite from the cruelties of life. The early dramas of the Medieval age
were primarily of three types mystery, miracle, and morality play. Miracle
plays were strictly based on the lives of the saints from Biblical stories and
greatly used allegories. Morality plays also discussed the teachings of the
Bible and the Church but they were more pragmatic in nature and tested these
teachings by putting characters in situations of temptations where the choice
had to be made between virtue and vice. Despite a departure from these
theological methods of instruction, didacticism is maintained in the Elizabethan
age in three forms of plays: tragedies, comedies, and histories. Tragedies
dealt with characters of noble birth or inspiring virtue who face struggles and
despair because of their singular tragic flaw. Comedies dealt with human
follies, errors, and vanity. History plays were stories that were based on real
events that occurred in history and usually derived from the biography of a
great person’s life. They were very similar to miracle plays based on the lives
of saints. In this paper, the didactic nature of Elizabethan drama, the
dispatch of its instructive function, and its evolution are studied beside an
observation of resultant social changes that precipitated.
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Pages:18-24
How to cite this article:
Amit Kumar Rath "Didacticism in Elizabethan drama". International Journal of English Research, Vol 10, Issue 1, 2024, Pages 18-24
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