Nicodemus Frischlin and Sixteenth-Century Drama

This study represents an attempt both to illustrate the interrelationship of politics, theology and literary theory in the sixteenth century, and to develop comprehensive interpretations of the plays of Nicodemus Frischlin, one of the best dramatists of the age. The following topics are treated from a general perspective, and specifically in terms of Frischlin's works: the apologetic posture of playwriting in the century; the theory of imitation and its special importance for Biblical drama; the renaissance of Roman political rhetoric and its importance for political drama; dramatic propaganda for humanistic pedagogy; the political basis of theological drama in the century; and the problem of reception of neo-Latin drama.