Elizabethan Society and Drama

1
Elizabethan Society and Drama

• An Introduction to English Drama Before and
  During the Time of Shakespeare

2
Elizabethan Society and Drama

• Refers to when Elizabeth I ruled (1558-1603).
• Until she became Queen, almost no English drama
  was being produced.

3
Drama Companies

• Most companies came to England composed of adult
  men or schoolboys, who performed in childrens
  companies.
• The childrens companies performed mostly Latin
  plays (ancient, Roman and modern
  interpretations).
• All companies wished to perform for the Queen and
  her courtiers.
• Adult companies actively sought playwrights who
  could appeal to court tastes.

4
The Playwrights (Before Shakespeare)

• In the 1530s, English drama was dominated by a
  group of playwrights known as the University
  Wits, who utilized a variety of genres including
• Classic literature
• Academic drama
• Morality plays
• Contemporary Renaissance literature from Italy
  and France.

5
Shakespeare Is Here!

• Shakespeare shows up in the 1590s
• He writes tragedies, comedies and history plays,
  each of which have subcategories and are
  influenced by various playwrights.

6
Tragedy!

• Shakespeares tragedies are mostly influenced by
  Seneca.
• One type of tragedy is known as the Revenge play.
  Shakespeare drew upon the Spanish Tragedy by
  Thomas Kyd as an example for Hamlet.

7
More Tragedy!

• The other type of tragedy is actually a style of
  non-rhyming poetry called blank verse.
• For this type of tragedy, Shakespeare looked to
  Christopher Marlows Tauberlaine.
• Examples of blank verse tragedy are Macbeth, King
  Lear and the Roman Plays (Julius Caesar, etc.).

8
Comedy!

• One type is the Romantic comedy.
• This often deals with young love.
• Two prime examples are Much Ado About Nothing
  and As You Like It.

• Another type is the Comedy of Humors, ridiculing
  contemporary behavior.
• Lastly, there is the Court Comedy, written for
  the aristocracy.
• These usually involved mythological or classical
  subjects.
• An example is Loves Labors Lost.

9
History

• The history play is very similar to the morality
  play, teaching the audience a lesson.
• The most popular morality play of the time was
  Everyman.
• Shakespeare got his material from The Chronicles
  of England, Scotland and Ireland written by
  Holingshed.

10
The Globe Theater

• Remember, in this society, the play was a place
  to be seen, not a place to see a play.
• Nevertheless, all classes had the opportunity and
  funding to see a play at the Globe.

11
Attendees to the Globe

• Groundlings were poor and paid the cheapest
  admission. They sat in the pit area of the
  theater. When it rained, they got wet and muddy!
• The most expensive seats were on the stage
  balcony seating was also very expensive.

12
Acidic Acts

• One other attendee to the Globe included the
  orange ladies, who would mingle throughout the
  crowd before the play and sell oranges.
• They were really selling sexual favors, depending
  on how much you paid for your orange.
• So why oranges?

13
On with the show!

• A flag was hoisted and a trumpet sounded to
  announce a performance.
• Plays began at 2 p.m. so they could finish before
  nightfall.
• Plays generally lasted about two hours.
• There was no curtain actors simply walked out on
  stage and began.
• Between acts there was another shorter, silly
  play being performed.

14
The Players

• All roles were performed by men since women were
  considered inferior performers.
• Children's companies-all boys
• Adult companies-men played men boys played
  girls.
• This situation led to some humorous episodes.

15
The Players (cont.)

• Twelfth Night features a girl pretending to be a
  boy. Since all girl parts were played by boys,
  wellyou get the idea.
• This practice was ended in 1660 when both
  Puritans and non-Puritans agreed that the rule
  was immoral.

16
The Globe

• The Scene House
• The Heavens
• Musicians Gallery
• Inner Above
• F. Inner Below

17
The Globe (cont.)

• G. Trap Doors
• H. Balcony Stages
• Stage
• Pit
• Side Doors