Abstract: The play Fulgens and Lucrece was an interlude of English dramatist Henry Medwall at the end of the 15th century, and the first secular drama that was survied. The play made full use of drama context and stage environment of the day, and explored some artistic methhods that named metadrama which contained play within play, literary and real-life reference, self reference, and drama/culture complex etc. This artistic exploration pionted out a new direction for English drama’s development, and laid the foundation for the maturation of Shakespeare’s dramatic art in English transitional period from medieval religious drama to renaissance humanist drama.

Key words: Fulgens and Lucrece, metadrama, drama context, stage environment