Greek Theatre Research Paper

797 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: About the Elizabethan Theatre

History of Theatre
Greek
Theatre of Ancient Greece is still one of the most popular forms of theatre.Greek theatre used drama as its “go to” genre. Some of the most famous plays include Oedipus Rex, Medea, The Persians, and my personal favorite Antigone. Most of these plays are circled around Greek Mythology. The popularity around these plays are honestly ridiculous. These plays would bring in thousands. And they are still carried through today's society school system. Greek theater playwrights have the most influence on today's Theater Arts. What they did in that time period, put a dent in the way plays are performed and viewed. A few of the best playwrights involved in this accomplishment are Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Agathon,and …show more content…

He focused a lot on carnival plays, which contains a lot of drama, which is eventually resolved in the end.These plays depict everyday situations. During this time, the audience was dominantly male and relations between the sexes were a common theme.
The Elizabethan Theatre was a huge success, as people loved to attend the theatre in their free time. Many theatres arose in London starting 1576. They were performed in what is called inn yards. The dramas were more focused around the values of the upperclass. Although, the upper and lower class watched the same plays, the upper class watched in private theatres, while the lower in public. Sitting in front of the stage was actually less expensive than sitting far up away from the stage.
William Shakespeare plays were conducted in Elizabethan theatres. He was the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. His most famous plays were Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. The actors were all male,as women could not act till the 17th century. Usually pre-pubescent boys would play the role of women. Actors rarely performed the same play twice, as the audience expected to see new plays everyday. Shakespeare ended his career after the Globe theatre was destroyed by a fire in 1613. The Globe was a huge theatre that seated 2,000-3,000. It was later rebuilt. Shakespeare owned part of the globe and benefitted financially from its

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Women As Propriety In The Merchant Of Venice and The Taming Of the Shrew

    2877 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...ters he created in his plays. He also developed female characters who were obviously intelligent, dynamic, and strong willed. Thus creating dramatic plots that rise to the surface societal stereotypes and norms. As in modern society theatre and the media allow for people to express issues of concern in a none threatening manner. Shakespeare's dynamic plays have influenced literature globally for hundreds of years.

    Read More

  • Act One, Scene Five of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

    1862 Words  | 4 Pages

    Like all the plays of Shakespeare, 'Romeo and Juliet' was written for a typical Elizabethan playhouse. These theatres came about from 1576, when the first theatre was built. Before this time, plays had been performed by a group of actors (all male) who travelled from town to town, using open places, such as inn-yards, or with permission, the hall of a noble house as a theatre. Shakespeare's own theatre the Globe was quite typical of that period. It was hexagonal in shape, with three roofed galleries that encircled an open courtyard.

    Read More

  • The Globe Theater, Home of Many of Shakespeare's Plays

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    The structure of The Globe Theater quite complicated. There isn’t an inside picture of the Old Globe Theater existence just a diary composed together with sketches of the interior layout. Pictures of other theaters such as The Swan and the Elizabethan theaters had similar design. Before entering the Globe Theater the audience paid a fee of one cent in the box to watch. The halfway task structures lead to yard where groundlings to watch the play. The Lord’s room rated the best seats in the house. The Lord’s room able to hear and listen to the actors clearly. The upper class paid five pennies and cushioned seats were supplied. The Heavens, ...

    Read More

  • How Act 2, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet May Have Been Staged

    2215 Words  | 5 Pages

    To commence, in the Elizabethan and Jacobean period, there were many important rules in regards to acting that players had to consider when performing in the Globe theatre. When Shakespeare wrote his plays, he included as many female characters as he did male characters. Nonetheless, the traditions and values of the Renaissance did not allow women to act or become actors, due to the fact that it was considered immoral for a woman to be on stage. At the time, they had no social status other than their association with their husbands or fathers. Moreover, actors were considered to have a low social status, thus it was considered improper and socially unacceptable for a woman to become a performer. Instead of editing all of Shakespeare’s texts to adher...

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Influences

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    Three theatrical genres – tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays – began to emerge in Ancient Greece. These three genres, though altered over time, still exist in the modern theatre. Tragedy in Ancient Greece were plays that show human misery and suffering. This genre has remained largely unchanged over time and has inspired many famous playwrights including William Shakespeare. Ancient Greek comedy began as political satire, a theme that is still evident in television shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Saturday Night Live. Over time the subject of satire in Greek theatre became more general, and specific public figures were generally not satirized. Playwrights focused on creating stock characters (easily recognizable characters) that l...

    Read More

  • The Globe Theater

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Globe was the most important structure to Shakespeare's drama because most of his plays were to be performed on the stage of the Globe. Those plays written by Shakespeare include: Hamlet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Othello, and Julius Caesar. These plays that had a huge effect on our literature had an even larger effect on the people of London. Plays were important to the residents of London because they were an efficient way of getting a message to many people and entertain them at the same time. The playhouses commonly drew thousands, who saw a supposedly fictitious play often with a political undertone.

    Read More

  • Elizabethan Theater

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    Actors were expected to memorize hundreds of lines at a time. While one play could be performing, actors would be practicing lines for their next show. Play writers also began to make roles for the actors in the theatrical pieces. The theaters that actors performed in were roofless so that the sun could be used as lighting. Theatrical shows were held in the afternoon because it provided the best amount of light for the show. When the people gathered into the theater, the different classes of people were separated by where they could afford to sit and watch the show. The lower classmen were situated on the bare earth where it was dirty and smelly because it was never cleaned. The owners’ of the theaters found it less expensive if they did not keep high maintenance of their establishments. Higher classmen sat under a roof and for a penny more, they could buy cushions for their seats.

    Read More

  • Globe Theatre Research Paper

    549 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Shakespeare-online.com the Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599, out of timber taken from the Theatre. It stood next to the Rose, on the south side of the Thames, and was the most elaborate and attractive theatre yet built. Much of Shakespeare's wealth came from his holdings in the Globe. The Globe was the primary home of Shakespeare's acting company beginning in late 1599. During a performance of Henry VIII, a misfired canon ball set the Globe's thatched roof on fire and the whole theatre was consumed.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare Breaks the Way for Feminism

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Gender hardly determines the nature of a character, in the plays of Shakespeare. It is for this very reason, that his plays are read, viewed and enjoyed by both the sexes equally, even after five hundred years of their composition” (Singh). Gender is not something that defines what a character is going to be like in Shakespeare’s plays. This quote illuminates that in Shakespeare’s writings females and males were on equal level playing fields when it came to their traits. Females during the time period were considered inferior to men.

    Read More

  • Skakespeare and his style of writing

    2363 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Globe Theatre was where Shakespeare had most of his plays performed. It had many decorations to make it look appealing and to try and to make it seem expensive and luxurious. The Globe Theatre was built in just 6 months between 1597 and 1598 just outside central London. The Thames River separated it from St Paul’s cathedral. The Globe was made in a round circular shape. This meant that at least one actor would have their back to the audience, however, this would not have mattered because the audience came mainly to hear the play – not to see it. When you were buying a seat for the theatre, the most expensive seats would not be the ones with the best view, they would be the closest ones in order to hear better. Also, these seats would be facing towards the audience, which means that everyone would see them, meaning fame. The Globe would usually be packed with decorations and ornaments. These would have nothing to do with the play, it was used to make the theatre look more attractive/expensive. Lots of people would come to see the plays. They would do this because Shakespeare’s plays were not published at that time so the public would want to see it...

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Humor In Greek Comedy

    109 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the 6th century BC, Greek comedy was one of the most popular and influential form of theatre that was performed in ancient Greece. The most famous playwrights of the genre were Aristophanes and Menander. Their works included their contemporaries, poking fun at politicians, philosophers, and fellow artists. In addition to maintaining their comic touch, the plays gave an indirect and invaluable insight into the Greek society. This was by providing details on the workings of the political institutions, legal systems, religious practices, education and warfare in the Hellenic world. These plays also revealed something about the audience's identity and showed what the Greeks' sense of humour was

    Read More

  • Greek and Elizabethan Theatre

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Greek and Elizabethan theatre, while similar in some respects, had a few large differences. The Greeks believed in a certain unity of theme, which was prevalent throughout the production. Greek plays were often drawn from myth or of historical significance, so it seems that only ki...

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Theater

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    At about 700 B.C., the fine art of theatrical performance arose to its fullest potential in Ancient Greece. With the intentions of fostering religious and spiritual beliefs, festivals that would honor their most praised gods, such as Dionysus, became a cultural tradition. Athens, which was considered the core of theatrical portrayal did not only lure neighboring allies but also developed and promoted a common identity that everyone could relate to and abide upon. As the general nature of producing and presenting plays experienced a stage of evolutions, so did the different genres of playwrights. Prestigious scriptwriters, including Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus, essentially, did more than simply entertain; their works eventually created

    Read More

  • Greek Theater

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ancient Greek Theater is the first historical record of “drama,” which is the Greek term meaning “to do” or “to act.” Beginning in the 5th century BC, Greek Theater developed into an art that is still used today. During the golden age of the Athenians plays were created, plays that are considered among the greatest works of world drama. Today there are thousands of well-known plays and films based on the re-make of ancient drama.

    Read More

  • The Elizabethan Age

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theater was one of the primary forms of entertainment in Elizabethan England, as anyone, rich or poor could attend the plays.The rich would sit in boxes or galleries, while the poorer people would have to stand for the entirety of the play (Haigh). The poor would stand in front of the stage which would normally be raised about 4 to 6 feet and the theater could hold on average 3,000 people (Trumbull). The rich however usually watched plays in indoor private theaters, but sometimes would watch the plays in the outdoor public ones. Performances ...

    Read More

More about Greek Theatre Research Paper

Open Document