1. English theater
History and figures
Prepared by: Amal Soliman

2. Introduction
Literature, like art in general, is an expression of "aesthetic effect",
visions, experiences, attitudes, and beliefs. It is way for helping in
identify the human being, and doubled awareness. Literature is an
expression and an intensification of the sense of goodness, truth, love
and beauty. Literature Activity closely related to the life and civilization,
there is no civilization without ethics or arts in spite of the delay literary
renaissance in England than in other European countries, but it is full of
masterpieces.
Here I will define the term English Literature. it is the oldest Western
literatures, a rich literature in various genres. Shakespeare is one of the
most important British writers who contributed to feeding the world
literature. He is one of the first who apply classical rules authoring
dramatist. The theater genre expresses the reality of society through the
ages. Theater is father’s art .It is distinctive type of literature that reflects
culture of the community and its limits of knowledge. perhaps the
continuation of this art and its development demonstrates the depth of
the English culture . In this paper I try hardly to identify the English
theater, and the stages of its evolution through a simplified presentation
of the history fields and figures.
“All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players”
"William Shakespeare"[1]
William Shakespeare poet (classified as the greatest writer in the English language) and playwright (The playwright senior)
English, always called "national poet" and "poet Avon epic" His works which consist of 38 plays and 158 Sonnet and two poetic
stories and some poems, his plays have been translated into every living language and his works have been performed far more
than Molvat any other playwright

3. Theater
We received a prolific theater of Greek and Greek eras. It is believed to
be due to the ancient Egyptian era (Ancient Egyptians). The most
important plays representative to the inauguration of the Pharaohs is the
pharaoh as a son of God. The play is a certain genre tells story through
the people (representatives) and represent their actions during the events
of the play.
The elements of the play:
Plot or node: is the general framework in which you talk about the play.
Characters: representing the story and the dialogue scenes.
Dialogue: What representatives say to express the story.
Theater: the place held by the play.
Theatrical types:
Tragedy: The story revolves around a person suffering a major failure in
his emotional and personal life. The end of the play and the story is
always sad.
Avenue Theatre: similar to the former kind of sad, but with a happy
ending for all.
Melodrama: representing persons with bad harming some of the poor
and vulnerable people sympathize with them. The public hates the evil
category. It is characterized by violence and exaggeration in her scenes,
focusing on the conflict between good and evil .it has happy ending
where good triumphs over evil end.
Comedy: one of the most popular types. That characterized amusing and
funny positions, which aims to delight the public and entertainment
them, but in the designed to deliver a certain idea through comedy.
The history of the English theater
The first appearance of ethical Plays in England was during the
fifteenth century. These plays were photographed personalities
representing abstract properties such as good and evil. However, these

4. plays, were not less realistic than the previous plays, was aim to teach
moral the viewer lessons.
English literature is divided into time periods according to the dominant
type.
1. Old English Literature (500-1100 AD) where he scored antique
literature in English or Anglo-Saxon and the epic poem Beowulf is the
first major work in English literature.
2. Intermediate English Literature (m.1100-1485) Geoffrey Chaucer is
considered the greatest writer in the English intermediate through
writing short stories called Canterbury, a group of comic stories aimed.
Travelers tells these stories to pass the time while on their way from
London to a religious temple, called Canterbury. Chaucer has died
without being supplemented.
3. The beginning of the modern English (m. 1603) James Burbage first
established a theater in England in 1576, it called English Renaissance
theatre. The plays before that represent the streets and houses, palaces
and universities English. The theater had built by Burbage incentive to
build other theaters. This helped to increase the spread of the play.
Elizabethan theatrical was Famous of vitality and focus on emotion.
Thomas Kyd play was called The Spanish Tragedy (1580) one of the
oldest Elizabethan plays. It is filled with scenes of violence and
madness, has developed a model for topics assassination and revenge in
subsequent plays. There was a group of Elizabethan theater book called
“University Talented” they studied at the England Universities, Oxford
and Cambridge. Among them were Robert Green, Christopher Marlowe
and George Bell. Christopher Marlowe was the most important
playwright of these "talented". He wrote tragedies revolve around strong
personalities called Tamburlaine (1587) and the date of Dr. Faustus
(m.1588).
William Shakespeare is greatest playwrights, who could not any English
writer simulation wonderful poetry or his superior ability on the
characters analysis. Shakespeare was adopted in the construction of his
plays on the improvisational comedy, blending between tragedy and
comedy, as mixing between the scene, the dancing and singing. It was
held in an extended dramatic between place and space. Shakespeare

5. inducted history rather than superstition. The English comedy used
magic and non-mental elements.
-1660) appeared so-1603m.(the Parliamentariansnd. Stuart family a4
called the play Jacob, as it is written in the reign of James the First.
Jacob plays reflected Elizabethan theater especially with respect to
violence, Spectator and the subject of revenge was reversed. Webster's
The Duchess Malfi, (1613) is Considered masterpiece of dramas
revenge. This period is also known satirical comedies dealing with
exchange a variety of topics. For example, Francis Beaumont in his play
The Knight of the Burning Pestle harnesses old romances and heroes.
This play also attacked the merchant class newborn. Ben Jonson's plays
reflect the impact of the ancient Romanian theater. Mocking comedy
like Volpone (1606) and The Alchemist (1610) represented
shortcomings of human, such as: greed, ignorance and superstition.
hadh theaterthe quality of the EnglisAfter the death of James
to claim that the)1642(theaters inclosedParliamentarians.deteriorated
theater evil. This caution has been in effect for eight years until the year
1660.
5. Play in the era of property return (1660-1700). After Charles II
became king in (1660) theaters re-opened and began the task of English
life in the play period. plays dominated in two types according to the
theaters period property return:
1. Comedy (comedy moral) 2. Heroic play
Moral comedy: The theme of this comedy between smart, cynical and
pornography. The plot dealt with love and romance in a way tainted
swab light laugh.
Heroic tragedy: This play was characterized by complex plot which
dealt with the contrast between love and honor. Most of the events took
place in a distant land. It did not focus only on a few incidents on the
stage, characters using also flowery epic that shows the elevation of
place. Flowery epic is a form of poetry is composed of two verse
rhymed.
Dryden is the most famous literary figure in the era of return Royalism
after the death of Milton in 1674. He wrote poetry, literary criticism and

6. popular plays. The best plays of Dryden comedy Marry on the Modern
Way (1672), the tragedy is It All for Love (1677). In addition, Dryden
wrote some of the most beautiful literary criticism in English literature,
and his article about the theatrical poetry (1668), which contains a super
analysis of Shakespeare’s works. Dryden has written a number of heroic
tragedies such as the opening of Granada (1670-1671)and Orange -
Zippy (1675m).
6. August Age (1700-1750)theater has not been given special attention.
7. Johnson era (1750-1784)Goldsmith is one of the most famous writers
of this age. He has wonderful books: A novel Priest Wakefield (1766). It
tells us about the misfortune good cleric and his family. The poem is
The Deserted Village (1770) for the deterioration of life in the English
village. As for his play “She Stoops to Conquer” are wonderful classic
play (1773).
8. Romantic literature (1784-1832pm) did not mention anything about
the play during this era.
9. Victorian literature (1832-1901m)has written the play again at the
end of the Victorian era, as there were no significant plays in England
since the late eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century
centuries. However, in the beginning of the twentieth century, number of
writers returned life into the English theater by producing realistic plays
about the social problems. Oscar Wilde recalled the era of moral comedy
glittering by his play Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), An Ideal Husband
(1895). George Bernard Shaw wrote his plays, however, he was
interested primarily detects flaws he saw in the community. Include the
best work produced by the end of the nineteenth century were Arms and
wrotePineroWing(1894) and Candida (1895). Sir Arthurthe Man
number of Comedies and melodrama. But he built his reputation on his
play The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1893) and other social dramas.
10. In twentieth century tow plays The Lady's Not For Burning is a play
by Christopher Fry (1948) and The Cocktail Party is a play by T. S. Eliot
were interested in the play poetic briefly. Osborne wrote forbidden
Guide (1964), and many other plays that revolve around a central
figures. Harold Pinter was one of the most important playwrights in the

7. post-war period where the comedy that looks normal on the surface
while in fact involve an implicit dangerous meaning. The early famous
of his plays were The Birthday party (1958).
11. English theater today is medley. The most important writers is
Harold Pinter who wrote a very powerful theatrical plays like The Trial
(1993) and Betrayal (1978). Critics have praised Tom Stoppard because
of the oral smart style, complex plots of his plays and philosophical
themes. Considered Jumpers (1972) and Arcadia (1994) are among the
most originality of business in the modern English theater. In the
theatrical exuberance (1978) David Hare wrote strongly about
decadence which he saw in English society in the postwar period.
Among the most famous of his works is The Absence of War (1993).
Simon Gray has created animated of a group of rational anxious in his
play Butley (m.1971). Wrote Peter Shaffer Amadeus (1979) is a
complex play about the famous musician Mozart. Caryl Churchill mixed
the past with the present in her play Cloud IX (1981), also she written
Top Girls (1982) as a fictional play in women's literature.
Dennis Potter is one of the giants of playwrights at the present time.
Potter writes for TV in the main, has been working his intelligence and
imagination successfully through this media outlet. Among the most
important works Potter pennies from heaven (1978, published 1981) The
Singing Detective (1986). Among the most famous playwrights who are
notorious writings of TV David Mercer. Alan Bennett has successfully
written for theater, radio, television from his works Habeas Corpus
(1973) The Madness of George III (1992).