Elizabethan Theater
Theater in the Elizabethan Age
The Elizabethan period in England was dominated by intrigue at court (which was a constant) and the willpower of Elizabeth herself, but the various people formed a strata that looked more similar to today than most would guess. Throughout recent history, going back a thousand years or so, society is simplistically divided into three groups: wealthy, merchants/artisans, poor. These three can be further delineated, but for these purposes it is not necessary. During Elizabethan times, leisure became more common for the two lower classes and there was more for everybody to do that was meant for pleasure rather than work. Researchers into the period agree that the theater was a major source of entertainment for all of the different groups, but they do not agree how that was structured. This paper will look at the different classes of Elizabethan theater goers and try to determine how they were influenced both as a group and separately.
The theater crowd was greatly restricted in one way. Theaters were an oddity in small towns and villages; it just did not pay for troupes to travel to a small hamlet, or even a group of them, because they would probably not redeem the cost of their travel.[footnoteRef:1] This meant that the primary place of theatrical endeavor was London even though there were other cities that had some small houses. London was actually very well supplied with playwrights, actors and theaters, but these were often on the outskirts of the town because they were still considered something of a sinful indulgence at the time.[footnoteRef:2] One researcher says that "theaters were generally relegated to the "liberties" -- i.e. To the outskirts of London town, where they kept company with bear gardens, bowling greens, low taverns, and bawdy houses."[footnoteRef:3] For some reason leisure was considered both undignified and sinful. Since most of the people at the time were relatively Puritanical...
He exemplifies the expansion of the middle class and commercialism during the era. The book is a kind of inventive biography -- little is known for certain of Shakespeare's life but Greenblatt uses the skeleton of Shakespeare's plays to fill in details of common concerns of many figures of the period. Long, William J. "The Elizabethan Age: 1550 -- 1620." From Outlines of English and American Literature. April 4, 2009. http://www.djmcadam.com/elizabethan-age.html This
The fear of "disorder" "had significant political ramifications. The proscription against trying to rise beyond one's place was of course useful to political rulers, for it helped to reinforce their authority. The implication was that civil rebellion caused the chain to be broken, and according to the doctrine of correspondences, this would have dire consequences in other realms," whether the king was good or bad ("The Great Chain of
Elizabethan Theater Elizabethan theatre is a general concept embodying the plays written and performed openly in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I from 1558 to 1603. The term can be applied more generally to also incorporate theatre of Elizabeth's immediate successors, James I and Charles I, till the end of public theatres in 1642 on the inception of Civil War. (Elizabethan theatre: Wikipedia) During the end of 16th century
But Shakespeare does not try to render Republican Rome in faithful and accurate historical detail. "Peace! count the clock," says Brutus (2.1) although the play is ostensibly set during ancient times, and the practice of bear-baiting is referred to when Octavius says "We are at the stake / And bayed about by many enemies" (4.1)The entertainment of bear-baiting, a reminder of the brutality of the Elizabethan age, was even
Theatre was not only popular for itself, then, but also for the opportunities it afforded the audience for social interaction and establishing hierarchy and dominance in a world where such social, economic, and political identities were in a state of massive flux. From base to cultured, rich to poor, art to ostentation, it is the various contradictions inherent to Elizabethan theatre that made it such a popular form of entertainment
A hut on top of the 'Tiring House' was there for apparatus and machines. Flag above the hut was there to indicate concert day. Musicians' veranda was beneath the hut at the third level and spectators would have to sit on 2nd level. (the Elizabethan Theatre: Introduction to Theatre Online Course) The performance sites are also original. First managed in suitable public places like inn courtyards, in the fashion of
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