The rise of English drama

A cultural movement known as the Renaissance swept through the European continent in the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th centuries, eventually making its way into England. Responding to this movement, Queen Elizabeth I supported education, science and the arts. Her support helped to generate a tremendous amount of literary activity. Influenced by classical works of ancient Greece and Rome, writers explored new literary forms and created some of the finest works the country has ever produced. The most significant developments of the period came in the areas of poetry and drama.

THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE. During the reign of E lizabeth I (1558-1603), English drama came into full bloom. Playwrights turned away from religious subjects and began writing more complex and sophisticated plays. Drawing upon the classical models of ancient Greece and Rome, writers reintroduced tragedies – plays in which disasters befall a hero or a heroine- and comedies –originally,plays in which a humorous situation leads to a happy resolution. Playwrights also began using rich language, filled with vivid imagery. Written in carefully crafted verse, the dramas of this period dealt with complex charactes and themes, frequently offering important insights about nature.

Before the reign of Elizabeth I, theatre companies travelled about the country putting on plays wherever they could find an audience, often performing in the open courtyards of inns. Spectators watched from the ground or from the inn windows. The system persisted for years, but inns as theatres had a number of disadvantages. A permanent building solely for the production of plays was needed.

ENGLAND’S FIRST PLAYHOUSE. When William Shakespeare was twelve years old, an actor named James Burbage built London’s first theatre,called The Theatre. An act of parliament in 1572 required acting companies to operate under the patronage of a respectable person or organization. BURBAGE’S acting company enjoyed the patronage of the Earl of Leicester, but Burbage financed the new theatre himself. His theatre proved a success, and its design set the pattern for the theatres that followed, including the famous Globe Theatre.

THE GLOBE is a famous theatre built in 1599 on the bank of the Thames, London, in which Shakespeare’s greatest plays were first performed. It was burnt down in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, and remained in use until 1644 when it was demolished to make space for new houses. In 1986 permission was given to the American film actor and director, Sam Wanamaker, to build an exact copy of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre on its original site.

The Globe theatre (1599) was an octagonal structure with an unroofed yard in the centre where the ‘groundlings’ stood. Groundlings were those people of the audience who paid a mere penny to attend. The groundlings were closer to the stage than were people of the gallery audience,but they had a less satisfactory view.

Three tiers of seats, the galleries, rose around the perimeter of the yard and were protected by a thatched roof. Theatre-goers in the galleries looked down on a wooden stage, raised a few feet off the ground.

At the back of the main stage were two doors that led to a dresssing room and were used for most of the actor’s entrances and exits. Built into the main stage were one or more trapdoors leading to an area below the stage.Actors playing ghosts or witches would appear and disappear through the trapdoors. Above the stage was a small building known as ‘the heavens’ where the stage crew could produce thunder and other sound effects.

Although the Globe was not a large theatre, it could accommodate more than two thousand spectators, about eight hundred of whom stood in the yard. Performances were given in the afternoon, the stage being lit by daylight. Costumes were colourful and often expensive, but the sets were simple and the scenery was hardly used at all. The companies strove for special effects, however, such as birds and goddesses descending from the roof by means of ropes and pulleys.

Women’s roles in the plays were acted by men or, more commonly, by boys. Partly because of the absence of scenery to change and the absence of a curtain across the main stage, the plays proceeded at a brisk pace. Actors spoke their lines more rapidly than they do today. A good voice and excellent diction were imperative, and Elizabethan audience spoke of ‘hearing’ plays rather thanv ’seeing’ them.The plays had to have dramatic power to hold a popular and sometimes unruly audience. Shakespeare’s plays certainly had that power as they still do today.

Ex.7 Answer the questions from Ex.4

Ex.8 Are these statements true or false? Begin your answers with “ Yes, it’s true; I guess,...;

I don’t think it’s true; I ‘m afraid it’s wrong.”

1. During the reign of Henry VIII, English drama came into full bloom.

2. During the Renaissance English writers, influenced by classical works of ancient

Greece, explored new literary forms and created some finest works.

3. Before the reign of Elizabeth I, theatre companies traveled only abroad putting on plays

by foreign playwrights.

4. William Shakespeare built London’s first theatre.

5. The Globe is famous throughout Britain as a first ‘public house’.

6. Sam Wanamaker was the very American film actor and producer, to build an exact copy of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre on its original site.

7. Women’s roles in first theatres were acted especially by boys.

8. The fee to get to theatre was rather high, so only the nobles could attend the performances.

Ex. 9 a) Make up a plan of the text.

b) Make a list of peculiarities the first regular English theatres possessed. Compare them

with the theatre of our time. How are they different?

UNIT 4

Ex.1 Read the text about William Shakespeare. Find out the reasons for his unique fame.

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