Post on 16-Jan-2016
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Elizabethan Drama
Introduction
An Overview
Henry VIII’s schism from the Church of Rome hastened the
end of the Medieval religious drama. Drama flourished again
over a period of about a century from 1558, when Elizabeth I
became queen, to 1642, the year when all theatres were closed
down by the Puritans, who controlled the City of London. During
those years, drama became a major genre and the quality of the
plays was so exceptional that they became the major literary
contribution to the English Renaissance. They appealed to
people from all social levels, from the sovereign to the
lowest classes.
An Overview
Renaissance drama broke away from the religious roots of the
Middle Ages to reflect the humanistic spirit of the new
age, which exalted human nature in all its aspects and
emphasised man’s life and destiny on earth and his
position in the universe. Elizabethan drama presented heroes
and heroines larger than life as well as human types, taken
from contemporary English society. It also dealt with
themes taken from English history (like Shakespeare’s
historical plays) to express pride in the nation’s achievements
and tradition.
Queen Elizabeth I
Reign 1558-1603
Country filled with pride from conquest and academic growth
High Drinking Rate: Beer was cheap, so people drank a lot of it
to escape their problems, many deaths by drunkenness
3 Main Diseases: Bubonic Plague, Small pox, Tuberculosis
Lack of Personal and Public Hygiene: Neither rich nor poor
bathed very often
Common to have bad breath, rotting teeth, constant stomach
disorders, and scabs or sores
Queen Elizabeth I
Pollution: City ditches were used as toilets
Butchers threw dead carcasses in the street
Garbage was thrown in river
Mass graves for the poor
Lack of Medical Knowledge: Believed in the four humours,
the four chief fluids of the human body: black bile, yellow
bile, phlegm, blood
They made no connection between illness and the horrible
living conditions
Queen Elizabeth I
Women: No vote, few legal rights, and limited educational and job opportunities
Girls who could afford education were given a domestic education instead of an academic one—spinning, cooking, preserving fruit, weaving, and anything that could make the home life more pleasant
Married women lost all control of their property, even clothing, to their husbands
When a husband died, the most the woman could inherit was 1/3 of his property
Superstitions: Elizabethans were very superstitious; many had charms and such in their houses
They relied heavily on astrology and the stars
Queen Elizabeth I
Strengthened dramatic period after Medieval drama
Elizabeth loved the theatre (other rulers were hostile because of
disease and fights)
Elizabethan Age is known for its theater and thriving literature.
Queen Elizabeth and King James of Scotland were great
supporters of literature and the arts- they both supported
Shakespeare during their reign.
This time period also brought economic and social growth to
England.
Queen Elizabeth I
In late 1500’s theater was changing.
Before this time, actors would travel from city to city playing to
audiences… these actors were called “players.”
“Players” were not always greatly accepted by the cities they
visited because play-acting was considered sinful by some
communities.
In 1574 players were banished from London.
James Burbage built the first public playhouse or theater in
England leading to the development of other theaters.
Queen Elizabeth I
A Movement from Religious to Secular within the Theatre
Previously, most of the drama done was in the church in order to
help educate the people about their religion
Cycle plays were used to reenact history
Creation by God
Human’s fall to Satan
Life during the Old Testament times
Redemption by Christ
Final judgment at the end of the world
Queen Elizabeth I
In the 14th century the plays began to move out into the town
courtyards where they began to take on a more secular tone
Miracle and mystery plays
Used to teach stories from the Bible
Moralities Used to show people how they should live and die
Interlude One-act plays
Some used the framework of the Moralities
Other were written for entertainment and could be quite farcical
Devices
Iambic Pentameter- five sets of an unstressed
syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Blank Verse- unrhymed poetry written in iambic
pentameter. Usually spoken by the noble
characters, or when someone is being very serious.
Soliloquy- longer speech in which a character—
usually alone on stage—speaks as if to him/herself
Devices
Monologue- a long uninterrupted speech by one character
that others can hear
Aside- a brief comment a character makes to reveal
his/her thoughts to the audience or to one other character
The playwright used poetic dialogue to paint a picture of
the scene, establish the time and the place of the action
familiarize the audience both with
the characters’ identities and their physical appearances
Elizabethan Theatre
Shakespeare built his theater in 1599. He called it the “Globe”.
Built in 1599 for The Lord Chamberlain’s Acting Company of which
Shakespeare was a member (Shakespeare owned 10%)
Made of wood
Held 2,000 – 3,000 people
1,500 seats were covered
Room for 800 – 1,000 people to stand in the “pit”, an uncovered area
surrounding the stage
No lights so all performances were held between 2 – 5 pm
The stage was circular with all sides open
Elizabethan Theatre
There was an enclosed building to the side for costume changes
No curtains so characters were “announced”, acts and scenes
melted into each other, and dead bodies had to be carried off the
stage
3 levels of the stage
› * Main stage with small curtained area in the rear
› * Upper area (heaven) for balcony scenes
› * Lower area under the stage (hell) accessible by a trapdoor on the
stage
Elizabethan Theatre
The acoustics were poor so actors had to shout and use
exaggerated gestures to be understood
Because there were no curtains to close at the conclusion, all
tensions had to be “cooled” before the end of the play.
1613 – burned during a performance of Henry VIII when a real
cannon was fired onto the roof
1614 – rebuilt
1644 – Puritans destroyed it in an effort to “clean up” the
morals of London
Drama Details
Plays were held in the daytime, since there was no electricity to light the
stage
Flags announced play’s beginning
White for comedy
Black for tragedy
All classes were welcomed
“Groundlings” (everyday citizens) paid a penny and stood through
performances
Nobility paid more and sat in the gallery
Audience participated in play’s action
Drama Details
No scenery
Limited props
Costumes were expensive and rarely historically accurate (most just
wore everyday clothes).
No women acted.
Young boys played female parts
Acting was well-paid, but strenuous and unpredictable.
No curtains dictated that scenery be kept to a minimum since no
changes could be made during a performance.
Costumes were elaborate and highly decorated with hats and plumes.
Elizabethan Playwrights
Lyly, Peele, Greene, Lodge, Nashe, Kyd, Marlowe, Shakespeare,
Jonson
The University Wits
Lyly, Peele, Greene, Lodge, Nashe, Kyd and Marlowe are
known as the university Wits because they came either from
Cambridge or from Oxford. They were romantic by nature and
they represented the spirit of Renaissance. The great merit of
the University Wits was that they came with their passion and
poetry, and their academic training. They paved the way for
the successive writers like Shakespeare to express his genius.
The contribution of the university Wits to the development of
drama is great.
John Lyly
Eight comedies: the best are Campaspe, Endymion,
Grallathia, Midas and Love‘s Metamorphosis. He wrote
for the private theatres. His writing is replete with
genuine romantic atmosphere, homour, fancy for
romantic comedy, realism, classicism and romanticism.
Lyly established prose as an expression of comedy. He
deftly used prose to express light feelings of fun and
laughter. He also used a suitable blank verse for the
comedy.
John Lyly
High comedy demands a nice sense of phrase, and Lyly is the
first great phrase maker in English. He gave to English
comedy a witty phraseology. He also made an important
advance at successful comic portrayal. His characters are
both types and individuals. Disguise as a devise was later
popularized by Shakespeare in his plays especially in his
comedies. The device of girl dressed as a boy is traced back
to Lyly. The introduction of songs, symbolical of the mood
owes its popularity to Lyly.
George Peele
His work consists of The Arraignment of Paris, The
Battle of Alcazar, The Love of King David and Fair
Bethsabe and The Old Wives‘ Tales. He has left
behind a pastoral, a romantic tragedy, a chronicle
history and a romantic satire. He juxtaposes
romance and reality in his plays. As a humorist he
influenced Shakespeare. In The Old Wives‘ Tales he
for the first time introduced the note of satire in
English drama.
Robert Greene
Greene wrote The Comical History of Alphonsus, King of
Aragon and Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. Greene was the
first master of the art of plot construction in English drama. In
his plays Greene has three distinct words mingled together –
the world of magic, the world of aristocratic life, and the
world of the country. There is peculiar romantic humour and
rare combination of realism and idealism in his plays. He is
the first to draw romantic heroines. His heroines Margaret
and Dorothea anticipate Shakespeare‘s Rosalind and Celia.
Thomas Kyd
Kyd‘s The Spanish Tragedy, a Senecan tragedy,
is an abiding contribution to the development of
English tragedy. It is a well constructed play in
which the dramatist has skillfully woven
passion, pathos and fear until they reach a
climax. Kyd succeeded in producing dialogue
that is forceful and capable. He introduced the
revenge motif into drama.
Thomas Kyd
He, thus, influenced Shakespeare‘s Hamlet and
Webster‘s The Duchess of Malfi. The device of
play within play, which Shakespeare employed in
Hamlet, is used for the first time in The Spanish
Tragedy. He also introduced the hesitating type
of hero, suffering from bouts of madness,
feigned or real, in the character of Hieronimo,
who anticipates the character of Hamlet.
Christopher Marlowe
› Graduated from Cambridge, with B.A., allowed
back for Masters with Queen’s permission
› Next to Shakespeare, greatest tragedy writer of
the time
› Killed at 29 in tavern brawl
› Wrote Tamburlaine, Edward II, The Jew of Malta,
and Dr. Faustus.
› Perfected blank verse
Christopher Marlowe
Marlowe‘s famous plays Tamburlaine, the Great, Dr.
Faustus, Edward II and The few of Malta give him a
place of preeminence among the University Wits.
Swinburne calls him ―the first great poet, the father of
English tragedy and the creator of blank verse.‖ He is,
indeed, the protagonist of tragic drama in English and
the forerunner of Shakespeare and his fellows. Marlow
provided big heroic subjects that appealed to human
imagination.
Christopher Marlowe
He for the first time imparted individuality and
dignity to the tragic hero. He also presented the
tragic conflict between the good and evil forces
in Dr. Faustus. He is the first tragic dramatist
who used the device of Nemesis in an artistic
and psychological manner. Marlowe for the first
time made blank verse a powerful vehicle for
the expression of varied human emotions.
Christopher Marlowe
His blank verse, which Ben Jonson calls, ―Marlowe‘s Mighty
Line‖ is noticeable for its splendour of diction,
picturesqueness, vigour and energy, variety in pace and its
responsiveness to the demands of varying emotions. Marlowe
has been termed the father of English tragedy. He was in fact
the first to feel that romantic drama was the sole form in
harmony with the temperament of the nation. He created
authentic romantic tragedy in English and paved the way for
the full blossoming of Shakespeare‘s dramatic genius.
Ben Jonson
› College Graduate
› Writer of classics
› Scorned Shakespeare for lack of knowledge of
classical languages
› Abided by Aristotle’s three unities
› Gifted in satire
› Entertained court with extravagant
productions.
William Shakespeare
› Greatest of all English dramatists
› Born in Stratford-on-Avon
› Father was glover and town official
› Attended grammar school only
› Married older woman, Anne Hathaway
› Left his wife and 3 children and began working as
an actor, manager, and writer in London’s theaters
› By 1596 was beloved by Queen Elizabeth
William Shakespeare
› 38 plays attributed to him
› Wrote 10 tragedies, 18 comedies and 10 histories
› Balanced plot, serious vs. comic tones, and climax
› Approached many universal ideas
› Beautiful language and poetry
› Memorable characters
› Soliloquies (Speeches where actors talk alone to
reveal their thoughts aloud)
William Shakespeare
› While the average author uses about 7500 words,
Shakespeare used over 21,000, many that he made up
himself.
› All that glitters is not gold
› Into thin air
› Knock knock, who’s there?
› It’s Greek to me!
› Wild Goose chase
William Shakespeare
› 1589 – he wrote his first play (Henry VI, Part I)
› 1594 – he became a member of The Lord
Chamberlain’s Men which developed into the
premier theater troupe in London, first as an actor
and then a playwright
› 1598 – he became the principal comedic writer and
actor of the troupe
› 1603 – he became the principal tragic actor and
writer of the troupe
End of Elizabethan Theatre
Reign of James I (1603-1625) led to a civil war
Charles I gained throne when war broke out
Oliver Cromwell, Puritan, beheaded Charles and took
throne
Closed the “dens of iniquity” in 1642
Theatre dead until 1660
Theatre continued secretly, and many actors were
arrested
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