Drama took birth from the intrinsic proclivity of man to imitate. Man observes the ways and procedures, manners and mannerisms of his fellow human beings and follows them or loves to imitate them. This is a primordial trait of human beings. However, full-fledged drama was not invented by the uncivilized or unrefined people.

In the days or yore, religious customs were inextricably intertwined with art and culture. Several art forms sprang out from the weird religious customs in the hoary antiquity. The history of Bengali drama needs to be analysed from the Vedic Ages. The complete structure of drama was manifested in the post Ramayana and Mahabharata days.

Bengali drama had originated following the footprints of the Sanskrit plays. Bengali Drama, as a compact whole, can not be traced before Madhusudan. Some of the notable playwrights before him were Hara Chandra Ghosh, Ram Narayan Tarkaratna, Kali Prasanna Singha etc.

Since the days of Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Bengali drama shirked off the influence of Sanskrit plays and adopted the western style. In the primary phase of Bengali Drama, 'Kirti Bilas' and 'Bhadrarjuna' deserve special mention. Sri Jogendra Chandra Gupta was the dramatist of 'Kirti Bilas'.

In the mid-19th century, several plays were authored on contemporary social problems. Widow-remarriage, child-marriage, adultery etc. were the themes of plays in those days. Some such notable plays were 'Kali-Koutuk', 'Charu Yaara Tirthajatra', 'Sapatri Natak', 'Bidhara Birala Natak', 'Balwodwaha Natak', 'Chapala Chitta', 'Bujhle Kina' etc.

Ram Narayan Tarkaratna was the most eminent playwright before Madhusudan Dutta. Most of his plays were refined but realistic. He was so popular for his sharp wit and graceful humour, that he was conferred the epithet 'dramatic'.

Madhusudan realized that the material world is continually going through intense conflicts and strifes. Woes and agonies form the bulk of human life. So, well-knit tragedies would be the best dishes to serve to the people. By some way or the other, they would feel a sense of oneness or deja vu with the tragic happenings in the plays. Even his poems are tinged with pathos which make them all the more appealing. Some of his marvelous plays are 'Padmavati' (1860), 'Krishnakumar' (1861), 'Maya Kanan' (1874), 'Ekei Bale Sabhyata' (1860).

In those days, Dinabandhu Mitra was a very illustrious name as a playwright. His 'Sadhabar Ekadashi' is arguably the best Bengali comedy till date. Another play, 'Nil Darpan' was a spectacular creation by this gem of a playwright. 

After this, the history of Bengali Drama took a new turn. Henceforth started the 'Opera' style or 'Song-drama'. Manomohan Basu was an outstanding exponent of this form of drama.

The next phase of Bengali Drama was marked by a romantic idealism. Among the most notable playwrights of this genre were Jyotirindranath Thakur, Kiran Chandra Bandopadhyaya, Haralal Roy, Upendra Nath Das, Umesh Chandra Gupta, Pramatha Nath Mitra etc.

Plays from 1880 – 1900 have been tinged with an intense religious fervour and mythological contents. These plays gained immense popularity. Girish Ghosh epitomized this form of drama. 'Abhimanyu Badh' (1881) was one of his best known works.

After Girish Chandra, Amritlal and Dwijendralal have cynically attacked the contemporary society with their satirical plays. The reaction to the blind imitation and adoration of the occidental ideals and ways, are candidly manifested in this period. The 'golden era' of Bengali Drama started from the days of Dwijendralal. He was the father of the historical plays. Among his better known satires are 'Kalki-Avatar' (1896), 'Birala' (1897), 'Trajhasparsha', (1900), 'Prayaschitta' (1902), 'Punar Janma' (1911) etc. His famous mythological plays are 'Pashani' (1900), 'Sita' (1908), 'Bhisma' (1914) etc. Some of his classic historical plays are 'Tarabai' (1903), 'Pratap Singha' (1905), 'Durgadas' (1906), 'Noorjahan' (1908), 'Shah Jahan' (1909), 'Chandragupta' (1911). The famous social plays are 'Para pare' (1912), 'Banga Nari' (1916) etc.

Among the post Dwijendralal playwrights, the names of Kshirode Prasad Bidyabinode deserves mention. Some of his famour mythological plays are 'Bavru Bahan', 'Sabitri', 'Uloopi', 'Bhisma', 'Mandakini', 'Nara Narayan' etc. Among the popular historical plays are 'Ashoke' (1908), 'Padmini' (1906), 'Pratapaditya' (1903), 'Alamgir' (1921), 'Chand Bibi' (1907), 'Raghubeer' (1908) etc.

At this stage of Bengali Drama, Rabindra Nath Tagore made his grand arrival. The versatile Tagore has enriched dramas with his 'midas touch', like all other branches of Bengali literature and art. Several plays of this quintessential poet sparkle with poetic virtues. Notable among them are – 'Balmiki Pratibha' (1881), 'Mayer Khela' (1888), 'Rudra Chandra' (1881), 'Prakitir Pratisodh' (1884), 'Raja-o-Rani' (1889), 'Bisharjan' (1890), 'Chitrangada' (1892), 'Malini' (1896), 'Baikunther Khata', 'Chira Kumar Sabha', 'Sesh Raksha', 'Dakghar', 'Raja', 'Sarodotsav', 'Prayaschitta', 'Muktadhara', 'Kaler Jatra', 'Sodh Bodh', 'Bansri', 'Natir Puja', 'Chandalika', 'Shyama' etc.