Bernd Peltzer deals with the topic of political rhetoric in English Renaissance dramas. The focus is put on six dramas - three Roman plays and three History plays - in individual text analyses. The three Roman plays are William Shakespeare's "Coriolanus", Ben Jonson's "Sejanus His Fall", and Philip Massinger's "The Roman Actor". Amongst the histories William Shakespeare's "King Richard II", "King Henry V" and John Ford's "Perkin Warbeck" are analysed. Furthermore, the characteristic reflexion of antiquity which is typical for English Renaissance literature is shown as an example. The text passages dealt with in this thesis are often pivotal scenes emphasizing the function of rhetoric.