The major objectives of this thesis are to examine closely therntheory and practice of literary adaptation and to give a clearrnpicture of the role it has so far played and may yet have to playrnin Amharic drama. The research is conducted in the hope that itrnwill bring to the attention of readers and students of literaturernan area of study in which little has been done until this point.rnHence, it may hopefully serve as reference material for futurernresearch work done in the same or related vein. The thesis alsornaims to describe the characteristic features of literary adaptationrnwhich distinguish it from literary translation, thereby clearingrnthe confusion which exists at present between the two concepts andrngenres.rnThe thesis comprises four chapters, excluding thernintroduction, conclusion and appendix. The introduction describesrnthe aims and structure of the thesis. Chapter I presents somernbackground information and the views of certain scholars about thernconcept and practice of adaptive writing . Chapter II takes up thernRomeo and Juliet theme in some detail. First, a brief account ofrnthe ancient and pre-Shakespearean versions of the story is given.rnThen, Shakespeare's treatment of some of these sources in thernwriting of his own play is considered. A discussion of postShakespeareanrnadaptations and a modern variation of the story isrnalso presented. Later, a scene-by-scene analysis of Kebede Mikael'srnAmharic version of Romeo and Juliet follows.Chapter III covers the origin and development of the Faustrnstory, the tragic treatments of the subject by Marlowe and Goethe,rnand finally Kebede Mikael's Amharic version of the Faust theme .rnChapter IV is entirely devoted to the discussion of Teyaki versusrnAn Inspector Calls. The conclusion contains highlights of thernforegoing chapters and general remarks made on the basis of thernstudy. An attempt has also been made in this section to show thernvalue of literary adaptation in the process of the world-widerncross-cultural transfer and the invaluable role it can play inrnEthiopian literary life once it is given due attention by scholarsrnand writers. The appendix examines the Amharic translation ofrnMacbeth, considers at some length Shakespeare's adaptation of thisrnplay from historical sources, and ends with a comparative andrncontrastive analysis of passages from Tsegaye Gebremehdin'srntranslation of Macbeth and Kebede Mikael's adaptation of Romeo andrnJuliet in relation to their sources.