William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

The Globe Theater, an entertainment outlet for all people of that time, provided a place for Shakespeare's plays to be performed. It was the third and most famous playhouse in London. When it was built, it was one of the most important playhouses in London. The Globe's architecture was intriguing for its time and its life was long and prosperous.

The Globe was built by two brothers, Cuthbert and Richard Burbage. They had inherited the Globe's predecessor, The Theatre, from their father, James Burbage (Williams 365). Fearing their lease would run out, the brothers dismantled it and carried the materials to Bankside, where the Swan and Rose already stood (Britanica). It was built using timber from the Theatre following a quarrel with Giles Allen, owner of the land (Miller-Schutz 21). The Globe provided a third amphitheatre south of the Thames River in London. It was the fourth or fifth playhouse in London (Westerhof).

The architecture of the Globe was original for it's time. It was built out of wood, hexagonal outside and circular inside. The Globe was open to the weather except for the upper gallery which was covered with a thatched roof. It was the first theatre in London to introduce protection from the weather. There were doors left and right of entrances and exits. The curtain recessed under the railed balcony (Williams 365). Three galleries occupied the Globe, with a paved pit in the center (White 6). Peasants that sat on the bottom level were called "groundlings" because of the fact that they had to watch from the ground (Westerhof). The stage was lifted from the ground with a low railing running round its edge (White 6).

The Globe opened...

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...th many intricate details

C. Had levels for different social statuses

III. Its life

A. Enhanced the idea of playhouses being standard in the community

B. Drew attention to Shakespeare's works

C. Admission was cheap, but peasants could only watch on the ground level

IV. Its plays and actors

A. Plays drew thousands and brought messages to the people

B. What the Globe lacked encouraged playwrights to overcome

V. Shakespeare's influence

A. Held a share of the Globe

B. Wrote plays exclusively for the Globe

C. His profits were made off his shares of the Globe, not from his scripts

VI. The death of the Globe

A. Burnt down due to a cannon shot during a play

B. Rebuilt very quickly

C. Closed down in 1642 by Puritans

VII. After death

A. New Globe is created

Other theatres try to mimic its success