Shakespeare’s life time was coincident with a period of extraordinary activity andachievem

ent in the drama (46) By the date of his birth Europe was witnessing the passing of thereligious drama， and the creation of new forms under the incentive of classical tragedy andcomedy. These new forms were at first mainly written by scholars and performed by amateurs，but in England， as everywhere else in western Europe， the growth of a class of professionalactors was threatening to make the drama popular， whether it should be new or old， classicalor medieval， literary or farcical Court， school organizations of amateurs， and the travelingactors were all rivals in supplying a widespread desire for dramatic entertainment；

and （47）no boy who went a grammar school could be ignorant that the drama was a form. of literaturewhich gave glory to Greece and Rome and might yet bring honor to England. When Shakespeare was twelve years old， the first public playhouse was built in London For a time literature showed no interest in this public stage Plays aiming at literary distinctionwere written for school or court， or for the choir boys of St Paul’s and the royal chapel， who，however，

gave plays in public as well as at court （48）but the professional companies prosperedin their permanent theaters， and university men with literature ambitions were quick to turn to these theaters as offering a means of livelihood. By the time Shakespeare was twenty-five， Lyly，Peele， and Greene had made comedies that were at once popular and literary；

Kyd had writtena tragedy that crowded the pit； and Marlowe had brought poetry and genius to triumph on thecommon stage - where they had played no part since the death of Euripides （49）A nativeliterary drama had been created， its alliance with the public playhouses established， and atleast some of its great traditions had been begun . The development of the Elizabethan drama for the next twenty-five years is of exceptionalinterest to students of literary history， for in this brief period we may trace the beginning，growth， blossoming， and decay of many kinds of plays， and of many great careers We areamazed today at the mere number of plays produced， as well as by the number of dramatistswriting at the same time for this London of two hundred thousand inhabitants.

（50）To realizehow great was the dramatic activity， we must remember further that hosts of plays have beenlost， and that probably there is no author of note whose entire work has survived.

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