A Study Of The History Plays Of The English Renaissance

History Plays dealing with non-legendary English history flourished for a short time in Renaissance England. These plays boomed in the 1590s and began to decline after entering the 17th century. They had turned out of fashion long before the close of theatres in 1642. The reopening of theatres in 1660 didn’t have their popularity retrieved.On the contrary, History Plays have always accounted for a high share of the traditional Chinese drama ever since drama came into being. Some of the History Plays can still be put on show. Nowadays Films and TV series dote on history as of old. Modern drama is of no exception. History Plays have never lost their attractions for the Chinese.With the traditional Chinese History Plays as the main frame of reference, this dissertation aims at a close study of the short-lived History Plays of the English Renaissance. By comparing and contrasting English and Chinese History Plays, this dissertation analyses the little heed given by the former to the legitimacy of princes and the decline of kingship reflected therein; the way in which thriving merchant figures entered English History Plays and their substitution for the royal protagonists; the clash of different ideologies due to the decline of kingship and the emergence of bourgeoisie; and the replacement of English History Plays replete with royal figures by the everyman-oriented literature.