This paper provides a brief historical outline of wrestling, some mention of the form's vast popularity in current American culture, and a discussion of the theoretical bases of myth and ritual which give wrestling its basic form and account for much of its durability of appeal. It relates wrestling to two of its closest cousins, theater and sports, and attempts to touch on a few of the most important connections and diversions. The paper also provides a brief overview of American cultural heritage which provides a more contemporary context for wrestling's current appeal, and discusses certain particulars of form, process, and production as they express wrestling's purpose, appeal, and uniqueness. The purpose of this paper is to investigate a subject from a broad cultural, artistic, and historical perspective, and determin the origins, appeals, and significances inherent in the form. / Typescript. / "August, 1982." / "Submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Douglas R. Fowler, Professor Directing Thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-69).