Theatre at Shakespeare's time

SHAKESPEARE

THEATRE AT THIS TIME

Shakespeare’s life ď Ž Where and when was he born?

He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, xvi century.

2.When did he go to London?

After getting married to Anne Hathaway, at a certain moment in his life.

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

Anne’s cottage

In London: actor and playwright ď Ž What did he do in London?

He performed as an actor and wrote plays and poetry. He wrote: tragedies, comedies and historical plays. ď Ž Why were theatres so important at that time?

They were the only type of entertainment

The Globe: characteristics  Many of his plays were performed in the

Globe.Theatres at that time were different from today’s.  The plays took place in the open air in daylight when the weather was good.There was no scenery on the stage. Boys played the female parts

THE GLOBE THEATRE Rounded

roofless Circular building

THE GLOBE: INSIDE Heavens FLAG Upper stage

Galleries

Pillars

Main stage Inner stage

The Globe: parts Three Galleries For nobles and gentlemen

FLAG(whitecomedy) Colour coding (black –tragedy) FRONS SCENAE STAGE

PIT( for Commoners Or Groundlings

YARD

THEATRE: MORE DETAILS  Between two and three thousand

people, from all classes of society, were in the audience.Toilets didn’t exist.  Did women go to the theatre?

Yes, they did though it was considered immoral. That’s why many attended performances with masks (not to be recognised)

Theatre: more information Even legend says Queen Elizabeth I attended the Globe secretly sometimes. ď Ž How much did it cost?(depended on the comfort of the seats): To stand in the yard-one penny To sit in the gallery- two pennies To have a cushion- three pennies

WHEN WERE THEY CLOSED?  During a short period of time theatres

were closed because they were blamed for the Bubonic Plague (Black Death) as The Puritans considered them immoral and the Death was a God punishment.  Shakespeare died in 1616 and is buried in Stradford’s Holy Triniy Church

TYPES OF PLAYS ď Ž Shakespeare wrote poetry and 38

plays: tragedies, comedies and historical plays. ď Ž Tragedies: Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth are the most important ones.

In tragedies: the ending is sad, many

TRAGEDIES Characters die.

Time is against the characters The main characters are men, and they belong to aristocracy or monarchy( they are queen, kings,nobles etc) Lady Macbeth is an exception since she is a main character with an important role.

Comedies  They have a happy ending.  Time helps the characters to solve

problems  Women have important parts and help to find solutions (cross-dressing)  Characters don’t belong to monarchy.

Shakespeare’s time  This period of time xvi was called the

Renaissance period: ( the culture of Greece and Rome was rediscovered)  For these reason many of his plays are settled in Europe and Italy mainly: Romeo and Juliet, Othello etc.

HIS TIME: RENAISSANCE ď Ž The printing press resulted in more

books, more education and knowledge. • Humanism is also essential. God leaves his place to man: the most important being in the universe.We find characters who want something: to be richer, to be more powerful, to be more intelligent etc. These are humanist characters.

LITERARY IMPORTANCE  Why do you think Shakespeare’s plays

have been so much adapted into films,musicals, paintings, operas etc?

The answer is his topics are never out-of – fashion because he speaks about feelings and emotions: ( revenge, jealousy, ambition, love) so these are topics that can take

Shakespeare in love

Othello

IMPORTANCE Place in the XVI century or nowadays.  Shakespeare is also famous for his quotations (citas) sentences that have become so famous that take part of our language, culture and everybody knows: Hamlet’s : “to be or not to be; that’s the question.”

Othello: “Be aware of the green-eyed monster that mocks of the meat he feeds on ( refering to jealousy)”

Shakespeare’s importance  It’s essential to understand other literary

works since authors quote him constantly.  Most of his characters have become symbols: Othello is the symbol of jealousy, Hamlet is the permanent doubt, Macbeth is personified ambition and so on.