First published in English 1961, this reissue relates the problems of form and style to the development of dramatic speech in pre-Shakespearean tragedy. The work offers positive standards by which to assess the development of pre-Shakespearean drama and, by tracing certain characteristics in Elizabethan tragedy which were to have a bearing on Shakespeare's dramatic technique, helps to illuminate the foundations on which Shakespeare built his dramatic oeuvre.

Reviews

`Professor Clemen's study provides not merely judicious guidance in the study of what can be known about the works in the period he covers but a body of observations that reminds the student that there is still much to do in establishing the historical background of the dramatic development he so ably plots for us.' - The Times Literary Supplement

`A work of elegant and exact scholarship which has already established itself as the best book on the subject and from which the study of Shakespeare will also benefit.' - Essays in Criticism

`Both in detail and in the structural outlines of his thesis, Professor Clemen pursues and illustrates his central ideas with clarity and precision.' - Critical Quarterly

Book Information
ISBN 9780415618595
Author Wolfgang Clemen
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 560g