HOW THE USE OF VERNACULAR AND "NON-STANDARD" ENGLISH IN PLAYS CHALLENGED THE SOCIAL HIERARCHIES OF THE UNIVERSITY AND THE STAGE

Abstract

This thesis examines the role of vernacular and “non-standard” English in dramatic literature and theatrical performance, focusing on how playwrights challenged social hierarchies embedded within universities, elite literary culture, and theatrical institutions. The study analyzes the linguistic strategies employed in English drama from the Renaissance period to modern theatre, particularly the use of dialects, colloquial speech, regional accents, and lower-class linguistic forms. The research demonstrates that the inclusion of non-standard English on stage disrupted dominant cultural norms established by educated elites and questioned assumptions about class, education, authority, and social prestige. The works of William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge, and modern dramatists are analyzed through sociolinguistic and literary approaches. The findings indicate that vernacular speech functioned not merely as comic relief but also as a political and cultural tool for resisting institutional authority and redefining social identity in theatrical discourse.