The Problems of Analysis of Traditional Drama Texts: A Taxonomic Approach

One of the major problems of the analysis of traditional plays texts is in finding a method of quantifying the similarity of any pair of texts. This paper sets out one possible approach to this problem, using cluster analysis techniques and illustrates the method adopted, by producing a taxonomic classification of sixteen T'Owd Tup play texts. The resulting discussion critically examines the application of this method of analysis in terms of testing hypotheses regarding the nature of relationships amongst the texts. The particular examples utilised concern the spatio/temporal distribution of traditional plays.