The old English dramatists

"The Old English Dramatists" by James Russell Lowell is a critical analysis that explores old English drama. Crafted in the late 1800s this work presents a collection of lectures focusing on key people in English theatre during the Elizabethan period, like, Christopher Marlowe and John Webster. Lowell studies the importance and lasting effect of these playwrights, showing how they contributed to literature and drama. The work starts with Lowell thinking about lecturing and the problems of putting ideas into a clear presentation. He remembers lecturing thirty-two years before and his love for old English plays. Lowell shows he understands the history and how literature developed to set the stage for the time of the dramatists he will discuss, comparing their work to Shakespeare's. He talks about how language grew and helped raise up the dramatic arts, setting the stage for studies into the writers.