CHRIST IN THE DRAMA

Those who know Fred Eastman are familiar with his absorbing interest in the development of religious drama. In this volume he has enlarged upon lectures delivered on this subject and given to the reading public a valuable study of the way in which the drama has been used and might be used as a vehicle for the presentation of religious truth. The major part of the book is devoted to dramatic productions, ancient and modern, which Mr. Eastman believes have had a religious message. Shakespeare's Othello and Shaw's Androcles and The Lion and Joan of Arc and their religious message are interpreted interestingly. Galsworthy, Masefield, Eugene O'Neill and Marc Connelly and some of their representative plays are also studied to discover the place that religion plays in the characters portrayed, the spiritual insights of the playwright and the effect of the drama as a whole upon the audience. As one would expect, Fred Eastman makes a strong plea for the wider and more intelligent use of drama by the churches. In an appendix there are listed the major dramatists of the western world and their representative works. The plays which would be of especial value to those interested in the influence of religion in the drama are so designated. This book should be invaluable to all those interested in the use of the drama for religious purposes.