The Role of Probability in the Restoration Adaptations of Shakespeare

This study explores the role of probability in the Restoration adaptations of Shakespeare.It addresses how the observance of probability was the basis for some adaptations of Shakespeare during the period.The study argues, firstly, that Restoration playwrights attempted to address the lack of probability in Shakespeare's plays.Secondly, it argues that, despite their professed goals, these playwrights did not produce adaptations that are more probable than Shakespeare's plays.It argues, thirdly, that the adherence to probability was not the sole motive for these adaptations, but that they were also driven by political and commercial factors.The study sets out to prove these points by closely analyzing two prominent Shakespeare adaptations of the period: John Dryden's All for Love; or, the World Well Lost (1677) and Nahum Tate's The History of King Lear (1681).