Throughout the history of British drama in fourhundred years, it was found that it had “three summits and three troughs”, andthe peak time was short, the valley time was long, entirety downwards, come outabruptly, gone slowly. Even today, it was unknown to the public. Although Mr.Harold Pinter won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2005 for writingdramas, but fundamentally speaking, his works were the lingering charms of thetheatre of the absurd, not the brand new. The British drama history, just
like the rise and fall of the British Empire, in the three queens (Elizabeth I,
Vitoria, Elizabeth II) times respectively reaches the three summits. Drama, the
brilliantly wonderful work of the history of English literature has its own spokesperson
in the above three times. Shakespeare would always be the symbol of British
drama, the leader of “Elizabeth drama”, and the linker of the three famous “University
Wits”. Shakespeare's talent and contributions to drama was unsurpassable, later
playwrights can only live in his shadow. Even Sheridan, who was recognized the
most distinguished dramatist in the 18th century was no exception. He was good at
writing satires, but his best work was just a continuation of the Shakespearean
comedy. It seems that the two centuries after Shakespeare, British dramatists’ greatest
contribution was to popularized and patch up Shakespeare’s works.