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dramatic literature
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Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (Mother Courage and Her Children) Globe Theatre, London theatre of the Auditorium Building in Chicago
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Pamela having divided her clothes into three bundles..., etching and engraving by Guillaume Philippe Benoist, 1745. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) by Samuel Richardson.
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William Shakespeare and Lord Chamberlain's Men performing "Love's Labour's Lost" for Queen Elizabeth I, from the Works of William Shakespeare; etching, dated c. mid-19th century.
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Irish author Oscar Wilde, photograph (albumen silver print)by Napoleon Sarony, 1882.
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dramatic literature

Also known as: drama, play
Written by
J.L. Styan
Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor Emeritus of English Literature and Theatre, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Author of The Elements of Drama; Shakespeare's Stagecraft; Chekhov in Performance;...
J.L. Styan
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
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•History

dramatic literature, the texts of plays that can be read, as distinct from being seen and heard in performance. The term dramatic literature implies a contradiction in that literature originally meant something written and drama meant something performed. Most of the problems, and much of the interest, in the study of dramatic literature stem from this contradiction. Even though a play may be appreciated solely for its qualities as writing, greater rewards probably accrue to...

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