Elizabethan Drama and Its Mad Folk by E. Allison Peers, the Harness Prize Essay for 1913, examines the portrayal of madness in the drama of Shakespeare’s age. It surveys how playwrights depicted insanity, melancholy, and feigned madness, and what these figures reveal about Elizabethan attitudes toward the mind.
The study connects literary analysis with the cultural understanding of mental disturbance in early modern England. It offers a thoughtful guide to a striking feature of the period’s theatre. This free EPUB edition presents the complete essay for readers interested in Elizabethan drama, Shakespeare, and the history of ideas about madness.