Anthropology and the Theory of Drama

Abstract

The paper is an attempt at a systematic account of the history of influences between anthropology and the theory of drama in the twentieth century. The starting point is the definition of drama as a mimesis of the movement towards self-knowledge as rebirth. It is described as a variation of the original spring dance in honour of the regeneration of life represented in the figure of the twice-born Dionysus. Anthropologists whose contribution to the theory of drama has been acknowledged are Jane Harrison, Gilbert Murray, Arnold Van Genep, Joseph Campbell and Victor Turner.