This article examines the rise of historical themes in English Renaissance drama, focusing in particular on the works of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, and analyzes the formation of the historical drama genre along with its artistic and philosophical development. It demonstrates that through historical tragedies and historical chronicles, dramatists portrayed history not as a mere sequence of events, but as a complex arena shaped by human will, moral choice, and political struggle. In Marlowe’s plays, history is interpreted through the prism of powerful individual will and tragic confrontation, whereas in Shakespeare’s works it is presented in harmony with the ideas of divine justice, national unity, and the complexity of the human soul. The article also offers a comprehensive discussion of the moral-educational, political, and aesthetic functions of historical drama.

Renaissance, English drama, historical drama, historical tragedy, chronicle, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, psychologism, national consciousness, political struggle, dramatic conflict, divine justice, historical thinking.

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