Allegory in Medieval and Early Tudor Drama

Abstract

This chapter explores the rich variety of early English allegorical drama, and the diversity that challenges attempts to define the allegorical ‘morality play’. It examines the pervasive and enduring appeal of allegory as a dramatic device in a variety of contexts—in-house performances for the royal court, pub garden commercial performances by itinerant professionals, and street theatre as part of religious propaganda campaigns—and addresses the question of whether there is something fundamentally dramatic about allegory that makes it the chosen vehicle of so many playwrights treating such diverse themes. The dramaturgy of early allegorical theatre is explored, with particular attention to sets and blocking, costumes, and doubling, and the ‘gap’ between the actor and his role.