Shakespeare

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Shakespeares Theater
The World of Elizabethan Theater
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HENRY VIIHOUSE OF TUDOR
Mary
- Louis XII of France
- Catherine of Aragon
Arthur
Margaret
- James IV of Scotland
Henry
VIII
James V
Catherine of Aragon
- Mary
I
Anne Boleyn
Mary, Queen of Scotts
- Elizabeth
I
Jane Seymour
- Edward
VI
Anne of Cleves
James VI - Of Scotland
I of England
Kathryn Howard
Katherine Parr
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Elizabeth I
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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford
on-Avon in 1564. Little is known about his life
before he established himself as an actor and
playwright in London. He managed to marry and
have a daughter before he left the English
countryside for the big city.
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By 1592 Shakespeare had gained a reputation as
both an actor and a playwright. In 1594,
Shakespeare joined The Lord Chamberlains men, a
theatrical company which enjoyed the patronage of
the royal court.
During his years in London he wrote about 37
plays including comedies, tragedies, and histories
He died on April 23, 1616 of a fever contracted
after an evening of entertaining fellow writers,
Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton, in his home.
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Elizabethan Theater
Theatre had an unsavory reputation. London
authorities refused to allow plays within the
city, so theatres opened across the Thames in
Southwark, outside the authority of the city
administration.
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The first proper theatre as we know it was the
Theatre, built at Shoreditch in 1576. Before this
time plays were performed in the courtyard of
inns, or sometimes, in the houses of noblemen. A
noble had to be careful about which play he
allowed to be performed within his home, however.
Anything that was controversial or political was
likely to get him in trouble with the crown!
The Globe 1599
The Theatre 1576
The Swan 1587
The Hope 1613
1575
1615
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Architecture of the Elizabethan Theater
There were three basic influences on the
architecture of the Elizabethan stage
First influence ROYAL COURT
Even during the Middle Ages troubadours,
acrobats, and players lived a nomadic lifestyle.
The most successful performed regularly in royal
courts in front of those appreciative members of
the royalty who invited their presence.
Dais
ROYAL COURT
Musicians Gallery
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Second Influence INNS
Traveling players also performed in Renaissance
hotels or inns. The ideal buildings generally
were arranged with an open area or courtyard in
the middle. Performers erected a stage in the
courtyard so that their audience could look down
from their rooms and watch the action.
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Third influence BEAR-BAITING RINGS
Equally distasteful to London authorities were
establishments that appealed to the lower
classes, such as bear-baiting rings. These
buildings were erected tiers of seating around an
arena, much like the Roman Coliseum. A bear
would be chained to a stake in the middle of the
open area. Hungry dogs were loosed on it.
Observers made bets as to which animal would
win. An early lithograph from the period shows
a bear-beating ring in the same neighborhood as
the Globe.
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Inside Elizabethan Theaters
The audience was divided into two divergent
groups those with some means bought tickets in
the tiers. These audience members probably
enjoyed Shakespeares historical and mythological
references, character development, and plot
development. They came not only to see great
plays, but to be seen enjoying one of Elizabeths
favorite entertainments.
The poor could purchase a cheap ticket and stand
around the stage. These were called
groundlings, those common folk who enjoyed the
courser humor , supernatural, and violence
onstage.
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Scenery and Special Effects
There was little scenery in Elizabethan theater.
Furniture, ornate or simple, provided the little
scenic reality necessary. Little effort was made
to create visual special effects.
Because the plays were staged during the daylight
hours in an open-air theater, no effort was made
to recreate special lighting effects. Dialogue
became the only way the audience knew if a scene
was occurring at night.
The Swan
Occasionally battle scenes were accompanies by
explosions from a canon contained in the hut
which sat at the top of the theater. A spark
from such an explosion which caught the Globes
thatch roof on fire was blamed for its eventual
destruction.
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The Globe
A recreation of the original Globe has been built
on the approximate sight in London. It is a
popular site of regular productions of
Shakespeares plays.
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The Lord Chamberlains Men
Tradition has it that Shakespeare began as an
actor, then became a shareholder with the Lord
Chamberlains Men. His skill at writing secured
his position with this highly successful acting
troupe during the Elizabethan age. The lead
actor of the group was James Burbage, later
Richard Burbage, James son.
It was for James, and then Richard, that
Shakespeare wrote most of his lead roles
including Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear,
Oberon, Petruchio, Falstaff, and so on.
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Elizabethan Theater Actors
Because theater was not considered a reputable
profession, women did not find a place on the
stage. Instead, womens roles were performed by
older boys.
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Shakespeare wrote . . .
COMEDIES Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer
Nights Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You
Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Alls Well That
Ends Well , Twelfth Night
TRAGEDIES Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar,
Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello
HISTORIES 1, 2, and 3 Henry VI, 1 and 2 Henry
IV, King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry V,
Henry VIII
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Significant Shakespearean Plays
TRAGEDIES
Romeo Juliet
Hamlet
Macbeth
Othello
Julius Caesar
Anthony Cleopatra
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COMEDIES
A Midsummer Nights Dream
Merchant of Venice
Taming of the Shrew
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HISTORIES
Henry IV
Richard III
Henry VIII
Henry VI
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Romeo and Juliet
For never was a story of more woe, Than this of
Juliet and her Romeo. Act V, Scene 3
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Major Characters
Benvolio friend and cousin to Romeo
Tybalt hot-headed cousin to Juliet
Capulet and Lady Capulet parents to Juliet
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Montague and Lady Montague parents of Romeo
Romeo Montague
Prince Escalus ruler of Verona
Paris handsome and noble suitor to Juliet
kinsman of the Prince.
Juliet Capulet
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Nurse
Mercutio friend and kinsman to Romeo
Friar Lawrence
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PROLOGUE
Two households, both alike in dignity,In fair
Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient
grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood
makes civil hands unclean.From forth the fatal
loins of these two foesA pair of star-cross'd
lovers take their lifeWhole misadventured
piteous overthrowsDo with their death bury their
parents' strife.The fearful passage of their
death-mark'd love,And the continuance of their
parents' rage,Which, but their children's end,
nought could remove,Is now the two hours'
traffic of our stageThe which if you with
patient ears attend,What here shall miss, our
toil shall strive to mend.