The Growth of English Drama

A thorough yet accessible guide, this work walks listeners through the birth of English drama, beginning with the modest liturgical tableaux of the early church and moving toward the bustling stages of the Elizabethan era. It combines clear explanations of plot and character with vivid examples of verse, giving a concrete sense of how medieval miracle plays, morality interludes, and early comedies evolved into the richer tragedies and farces that would later dominate the stage.

The author balances scholarly insight with a helpful roadmap, offering separate entries for well‑known works like Hick Scorner and Gammer Gurton's Needle while also shedding light on lesser‑remembered playwrights such as Heywood and Udall. Readers gain an appreciation for the cultural forces that shaped the period, and they are equipped to form their own judgments about the key figures who defined the transition from religious pageantry to secular performance.