英语论文网

戏剧是一种文学形式，其中包括演员表演部分。Drama是一个希腊词，意思是行动。[ 1 ]西方戏剧起源于古希腊。戏剧很可能是从古希腊纪念狄俄尼索斯的节日中发展出来的，狄俄尼索斯是希腊神话中的神专门负责生育和酒。在中世纪，欧洲的戏剧很多都带有宗教特性。那时候的剧本主要是《圣经》，因而戏剧与基督教元素有很大的关联性。虽然基督教教会大力镇压戏剧表演，但戏剧确实是起源于教会。最著名神秘戏剧是The Second Shepherd's Play，它描绘了从创世到审判日的圣经故事。另一个从教堂的礼拜仪式[ 2 ]中演变而来的重要戏剧类型就是奇迹剧，它以圣徒般的生活为基础，而不再是圣经。奇迹剧在法国达到顶峰，而神秘剧则是在英国。然而，这两种类型的戏剧逐渐世俗化。The Second Shepherd's Play此剧尽管有宗教的严肃性，但最著名的还是它的现实主义和闹剧元素，而在法国的奇迹戏剧往往强调喜剧和冒险。三分之一类宗教剧是道德剧。道德剧主要关于宗教寓言，出现在第十五世纪初，最著名的道德剧是Everyman。

Introduction to drama

Drama is a literary form involving parts written for actors to perform; it is a Greek word which means action. [1] The origin of Western theatre is supposed to be found in Ancient Greece. Drama probably developed in Ancient Greece from the festivals, honouring Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility and wine. In the Middle Ages, drama in Europe dealt with religious characterizations. The plays were mainly Biblical, thus had substantial relevance to Christian elements. Although the Christian church did much to suppress the performance of plays, it is actually in the church that medieval drama began. Mystery plays, the most famous of which is The Second Shepherd's Play, depicted Biblical episodes from the Creation to Judgment Day. Another important type that developed from church liturgy [2] was the miracle play, based on the lives of saints rather than on Bible. The miracle play reached its peak in France and the mystery play in England. However, both types gradually became secularized. The Second Shepherds' Play, despite its religious seriousness, is most notable for its elements of realism and farce, while the miracle plays in France often emphasize comedy and adventure. A third type of religious drama is the morality play. The morality plays, which were mainly religious allegories, appeared early in the 15th century, the most famous being Everyman.

Drama has always been a target of the government and society. The reason why drama was criticized in Middle Ages was probably because actors were considered to be persons who were taking on other people's personalities, and were therefore thought either to be insane or possibly possessed by evil spirits. A second reason why drama was so often criticized might have been because theatre was considered immoral, blasphemous or subversive - we must note that theatrical performances were sometimes used as criticism of the government, able to awaken people. A third reason might have been religious since many of the medieval dramas were based on Christian church. Many of the plays were Biblical and were applicable to the Church.

Drama in England reached its peak during Queen Elizabeth's reign. Elizabethan drama '. . . has been called a great national utterance because in it spoke the spirit of England, despite all its imitations and borrowings from alien sources' and '. . . there has never been an age which so immediately responded to an artistic appeal' (Schelling xiii). We should notice the fact that '. . . [n]o plays closely resembling those of the great Elizabethans appeared before the last quarter of the sixteenth century, before the tragedies of Kyd and Marlowe and the comedies of Lyly and Greene' The public theatres were being built in 1576; and 'the first powerful plays appeared about 1587' (Wells 4).

Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. In 1642 The English Civil War broke out between the Par