The Elizabethan Drama is the heyday of dramatic theater in England. It lasts from the beginning of the 90s of the XVI century to the 20s of the XVII century. In this rather long period, the formation and popularization of the theater as a full-fledged and original art form takes place. This period owes its name to Queen Elizabeth, who in particular brought a huge contribution to the development of culture and drama. “Elizabethan drama” is a combination of the incompatible, it came together with high comedy and low ridicule, subtle humor and rude farce, realism, and romanticism. Such a unique combination of characteristics gave a certain peculiarity to this era of drama.

The period of “Elizabethan drama” is associated with the work of the great Shakespeare. But it is worth emphasizing that his creations did not play a major role in the development of the whole theatrical art and English drama in particular. His not less talented playwrights-contemporaries had a huge impact on this period.

“Elizabethan drama” — changes in art and in society
Such rapid development of English dramatic creativity due to the diverse socio-political history of England in the period from the end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century. Such bright events and innovations could not be displayed on art, in particular, on drama. It must be said that this era is characterized by a high rise of national and civic identity. Such social and social changes are due to a significant increase in the economic and political power of the English state. Under the conditions of such a cultural “increase” in society, people develop a craving for more sophisticated entertainment. Therefore, along with the growth of cities, the first permanent theaters also “grow up”.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the development of theatrical art reached its peak. Fresh ideas and trends appear in the drama, thanks to which the theater began to respond to the tastes of all classes of the English public. In the period of the “Elizabethan drama”, theatrical stages are narrated in various tragic moments of English history, on the tragedies of the aristocracy and kings, on the family dramas of the bourgeois stratum, and on the rough morals of the urban lower classes. Thanks to the introduction of humor and jokes into the drama, such ideas are gaining popularity both among the aristocracy and among commoners.