American drama, colonial drama.

In the American colonial era, due to the bondage of Puritanism and the hostility of the church, drama and other literary and artistic activities were regarded as "evil". However, in the 17 and 18 centuries, there were still some writings written by European immigrants. For example, The Naked and the Cubs written by W. Dalbet at 1665 is the first known North American drama, but it has been lost. /kloc-at the beginning of the 8th century, the satirical comedy Andro poros written by R. Hunt, the British colonial governor in New York, was the first play published in North America in 17 14. Before the war of independence, colleges in some areas occasionally performed performances, but that was purely amateur. It was not until the middle of18th century that an Englishman, L. Haram, led a troupe to perform in the New World, which promoted drama activities. Later, D Douglas, the manager of an English theatrical troupe, visited and established the Sauzee Walker Theatre in Philadelphia on 1766, which made the theatrical activities professional. 1767, The Prince of Peace, the first American poetic tragedy, was staged in this hospital.

The word "Puritan" originated in England in the16th century. In the Anglican Church, which is separated from the Roman Catholic Church, a group of believers strongly demand that all the red tape in Roman Catholic teachings and ceremonies left over from the Anglican Church be removed. They believe that the reform of the Anglican Church is not thorough and needs further purification to achieve absolute "sanctification". These people are called "Puritans". They regard the theater decoration necessary for theatrical performance as "evil" with strong aristocratic color, which violates God's reprimand for the frugality and simplicity of his chosen people. Historically, Puritans strictly banned all theatrical performances and closed all theaters. Without a theater, drama is like an engine without energy.

Different from the artistic values of the upper and middle classes in Britain, which advocate hedonism and extravagance, the American Puritans advocate the values of anti-hedonism, perseverance and simplification of the petty bourgeoisie. It is this petty-bourgeois philosophy rooted in the New World that provides an ideological environment for the emergence of American ideas in the future. The reason why the aristocratic class advocates the hedonism-centered artistic view is not determined by the aristocratic status of the aristocracy itself, but the essence of the aristocratic class's requirements for life. In their view, drama is a kind of "great pleasure" that can provide pleasure. It is precisely because drama fills the gap of their entertainment desire and is a higher level of enjoyment that they will financially support the development of drama and meet the "harshness" of the theater. In other words, they provide a way of life for the continuation of historical traditions. Although they are not creative enough, they give full play to the creative talents of their sponsors. Some kings, such as James I, are big sponsors of the play and even more addicted to it. It is the pursuit of life fun and the desire to get rid of secular troubles that make drama flourish and usher in the arrival of Shakespeare's era. This is one of the reasons why many dramas tend to show the true colors of aristocratic life-religious ceremonies, throne changes, love and marriage. An important reason for the depression of early American theaters is that the Puritan leaders, whose petty-bourgeois ideology is absolutely dominant, are unwilling and unable to provide living space for the theaters. To make matters worse, they took the opportunity to "slaughter" it.

Many Puritans are farmers and soldiers, and they have no social and political status and economic resources in Britain, and their education level is generally low. First of all, their literary literacy is relatively low. Some people may ask: Shakespeare didn't have much formal education, but why did he become a master of drama? Shakespeare's real drama creation began during his "internship" in the London Theatre, but without the infinite inspiration, mode and creative motivation inspired by English folklore and folk stories, Shakespeare can only be "a clever woman can't cook without rice". Medieval and classical dramatists absorbed the essence extensively from the apotheosis stories of ancient Greece and Rome and the Bible, and integrated ancient mythological themes such as ancient Greece into their own long history and culture to express their philosophical thoughts. It can be said that the creation of early drama was inspired by the customs, culture and national values of a country or region. However, the development of continental literature in North America is completely different from the national literature of any country or region. Except for some indigenous Indians, before the arrival of European immigrants, it had no history and ancestors, and there was no so-called "folk" literature from the beginning; Even after Europeans successively occupied this continent, the literary forms dominated by documentary miscellaneous notes, diaries and religious theocracy have been in an absolute control position for a long time. During this period, literature and religion almost became synonyms. People are allowed to express religious themes in the form of literature, and the development of literature is restricted by religious forces (here we regard script creation as a special branch of literary creation). If we want to promote script creation under the condition of low overall literary quality, the influence of life experience and drama environment will play a very decisive role. In this new continent, the important channel of drama creation inspiration has not yet been opened; After the essence of drama changed from religious to entertaining, all literary works were put on the shackles of preaching without exception; Under the heavy pressure of social and political environment, the already difficult road of script creation is blocked at the gateway, and the future is bleak.