Abstract
In Assamese, the tradition of writing and production of plays on the model of Sankardeva, Madhavdeva and their contemporaries fell into decadence with the arrival of a new type of plays under the influence of Shakespearean dramas. The presence of Shakespeare is deeply felt as close translations of his texts are being done and his style and technique being freely adopted. Some of these Assamese plays have nothing authentically Shakespearean about them but they could not have been written in the first place but for Shakespeare's influence on their writers. Shakespeare is thus the main creative force behind this entire body of dramatic literature in Assamese. Since the late 19th century productions of Shakespearean plays by different writers and his influence on Assamese drama has continued unabated even to this day. In this article, an attempt has been made to selectively focus on pre-Independence Assamese tragedy. It discusses how Assamese drama in general and tragedy in particular, has developed in the light of Shakespeare's tragic vision.