The term Historical Play is commonly used to denote plays (whether tragedies or comedies) in which the action and major themes of the play are primarily political rather than individual or social . Although Shakespeare did not distinguish between the genres of his plays, when the collected works of Shakespeare were published by his own colleagues in the Chamberlain's-King company as the First Folio in 1623, the plays, the publishers divided them into Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies . . Although some historical plays show characteristics of tragedy or comedy, they are different from regular tragedies and comedies in that they deal only with political issues without crossing over into other social or metaphysical issues. In this way only the political dimensions of actions and relationships are presented. Shakespeare wrote ten plays dealing with English history and four with Roman history. Although Roman works can also be included among historical works, usually those representing the political history of England were called historical works. Historical dramas developed from the morality plays of the early centuries. It was the patriotic spirit that prevailed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth due to the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the threat of foreign invasion, that gave rise to this form of drama. Historical plays were popularized by university ingenuity during this period. Shakespeare's professional rivalry with such playwrights as Marlowe, Greene and others pushed him to try his hand in this field. These works were also known as chronicle works since they were based on the English chronicles of Raphael Holinshed and others. The historical plays were more realistic than Shakespeare's other plays... middle of paper... idents and characters for simplification and dramatic effect. The plays were intended as mirrors to Elizabethan society in the complexities of politics. These plays cannot be considered simply as historical studies but as studies of the nature of human character in relation to history and politics. BIBLIOGRAPHY Abrams, MH A glossary of literary terms. India: Harcourt Asia Ltd, 2000.Campbell, Lily B. Shakespeare Stories: Mirrors of Elizabethan Politics. Great Britain: Methuen, 1980. Frye, Roland M. Shakespeare: The Art of the Dramatist. London: George Allenand Unwin Ltd, 1982. Prasad, Birjadish. A background for the study of English literature. New Delhi:Macmillan India Limited, 2000.Tillyard, EMW Shakespeare's History Plays. Great Britain: Penguin Books,1969.