Elizabethan Theatre

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Elizabethan Theatre

“In roughly built playhouses and cobblestone inn yards, an extraordinary development took place in England in the 1500s.” (Yancey, 8). At that time, an opportunity combined to produce literature achievement never before witnessed in the history of drama and theater. The renaissance, helped spark this movement by inspiring scientific and artistic creativity throughout the land. Models began writing dramas that portrayed life in both realistic and imaginative ways. This created work later captured the attention of the world that changed the English drama. The many aspects of Elizabethan theater helped to shape the acting and theater world forever.

The Elizabethan theater grew tremendously by the moving force that was created by Queen Elizabeth. During her reign, she surrounded herself with writers, musicians, and playwrights. Not only did Elizabeth provide money that allowed her people the time and means to appreciate the arts, but supported the theaters as well. Only the actors that have reached their peak of profession could perform for the queen. She declared that no plays could be about religious matters or portray current political figures. She approved the performances that were produced in London. This allowed the ordinary people to see these plays. Many of the actors were willing to bring the plays to the public by arranging them in public and private playhouses.

The structures of the public theaters were usually rounded, squared or many-sided. In most, the theaters had at least, three levels of galleries and stood about ten meters high. The courtyard, which was also called the pit, measured about seventeen

meters in diameter. The poor townsmen could stand in the pit while th...

... middle of paper ...

... in the way the people lived and the way they viewed their lives. Shakespeare is one of the many who brought this joy to the everyday people. “The voice of Shakespeare, spoken through the mouths of the actors, remains one of the greatest voices of human experience. This will always be unforgettable in the history of the human imagination.” (Hodges, 102).

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Bommarito, Andrew Gray. Prentice Hall Literature.

New Jersey: Simon &Schuster,1991.

Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z.

New York: Roundtable Press,Inc,1990.

Hodges, C. Walter. Shakespeare Theatre.

New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.1964.

Wadsworth,John. “William Shakespeare”. The World Book Encyclopedia, 1993 Ed.

Yancey, Diane. Life in the Elizabethan Theater.

San Diago, California: Lucent Books, 1997.

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