SHAKESPEARE AND RENAISSANCE DRAMA English 12

William Shakespeare  The most influential writer in all of English literature.  Born on April 23, 1564 (?) in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England  The exact date of his birth is unknown. He was baptized on April 26,  Parents: John Shakespeare and Mary Arden  Died on April 23,  In 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, and they had three children.

William Shakespeare  Around 1590, Shakespeare left and went to London to work as an actor and playwright. He eventually became the most popular playwright in England and a part-owner of the Globe Theater.  Shakespeare’s career spanned across the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.  James I paid Shakespeare’s company a great compliment by giving its members the title of The King’s Men.  Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets.

William Shakespeare  Good friend for Jesus sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here! Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.

Forerunners of Renaissance Drama  Miracle and Mystery Plays  Probably evolved from church ceremonies, such as the dialogue songs performed at Easter Eve services  Taught saints’ legends and Bible stories

Forerunners of Renaissance Drama  Morality Plays  Started in the 1300s and 1400s when drama moved out of the churches and into the marketplaces of towns  Dramatized the history of the human race as set forth in the Bible  Gradually became less religious and began to incorporate comedy

Forerunners of Renaissance Drama  Interludes  One-act plays that started around the early 1500s  Some were very similar to morality plays; others were rowdy and farcical  With the introduction of interludes, playwrights stopped being anonymous.

Renaissance Theater  Generally speaking, the city fathers of London and Puritan ministers were antagonistic towards plays and players.  The protestors felt that the large groups that attended plays threatened riot and disease  The Inn Yards where plays were performed offered secret chambers for immoral behavior towards and among maids, orphans, and minors  The plays were scandalous, seditious, and dangerous  Attendance of plays led to church absenteeism and a waste of the poor peoples’ money  The lifestyle of the players was a bad influence, such as when young boys dressed as women; and plays promoted general idleness and immorality.

Renaissance Drama  As a result of the Puritans’ complaints against the stage, the “Acte for the Punishment of Vagabondes” (1572) was passed, which obliged performers to seek the protection of a noble patron.  These patrons, such as Lord Chamberlain, sponsored the companies, the members of which were then technically considered the servants of the noble’s households and given livery, but the members primarily went about the business of the theater, only occasionally performing some household service such as a theatrical performance.

Types of Plays  In Renaissance England, comedy was broadly defined as a dramatic work with a happy ending; many comedies contained humor, but humor was not required  A tragedy, in contrast, was a work in which the main character, or tragic hero, came to an unhappy end.  In addition to comedies and tragedies, Shakespeare wrote several plays classified as histories, which present stories about England’s earlier monarchs.  Of all Shakespeare’s plays, however, his tragedies are the ones most often cited as his greatest.

The Globe Theater  The Globe is the most famous of the public theaters because the company that Shakespeare belonged to owned it. Many of his plays were performed at the Globe first.  Johannes De Witt

History of the Globe Theater  It was the playhouse where William Shakespeare’s plays were performed.  The playhouse was erected in  It was on the outskirts of London.  A flag was flown when a play was to take place.  It burned down due to a fire from a canon on June 29, 1613.

The Restored Globe Theater

The Globe Theater  The Globe was a wooden, three-story building – probably sixteen-sided – with a spacious yard in the center.  It had three main parts:  The building proper  The stage  The tiring house (backstage area)

The Globe Theater  Structure  The stage jutted halfway out into the yard.  Notice how close the actors are to some of the audience members.

Performances at the Globe  The actors were highly trained. They could sing, dance, wrestle, fence, roar, and weep.  Scenery was kept to a minimum, but costumes and props could be elaborate.