In the present-day social sciences, the concept of 'social role' has just as well-defined a meaning as the 'cathartic method' or the 'dramatization of latent dream content' in psychoanalysis. But the examination of fundamental texts around the turn of the last century shows that the fathers of these concepts were fully aware of their metaphorical character. 'Scholarly Theatre' interprets modern scholarly stage metaphors in terms of the aesthetic notions underlying them, thus pointing up the relationship between academic diction and the history of the theatre.