Elizabethan Theatre
Named in honor of the
Queen Elizabeth I
Activities
during the
Elizabethan
Era
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During the Elizabethan Age, there
was great cultural achievement,
particularly in the area of music
and drama. In that time, musical
literacy was expected in the upper
class of society. Many
Elizabethans made their own
music. The laborers would sing
while they worked, and the
townspeople would sing or play
music after meals. The lute,
virginal, viola, recorder, bagpipe
and the fiddle were favored
instruments of that time. A popular
form of entertainment in the
countryside was the ringing of
church bells. Elizabethans also
loved to hear music. Since there
was no access to a recording
studio, the music had to be
performed. In the major towns,
official musicians, better known as
Waits, gave free public concerts.
The wealthy people hired
musicians to play during dinner.
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Elizabethan Theatre
Elizabethan theater was the
work of a few men:
proprietors, actors, playwrights
and workmen. The actors
creating theater often received
rewards, became respectable,
and would slowly move up in
social standing. Some of the
brilliant actors were the
Burbages (James, Richard
and Cuthbert), Philip Henstoe
and Edward Alleyn. The
brilliant playwrights included
Christopher Marlow, William
Shakespeare, and Ben
Johnson. The rise, maturity
and decline of Elizabethan
Theater coincided with
Shakespeare's dramatic
career. By the year of
Shakespeare's death, there
was a transition from plays to
literature. Elizabethan drama
owed its strength and richness
to the fusion of many
elements. It was a mirror of
the whole society.
Queen Elizabeth Fashion

Queen Elizabeth was a great follower
of fashion. While in private she
preferred to wear simple gowns, and
would reputedly wear the same plain
gown for two or three days. When she
was in public, she dressed to impress.
Clothes were an important status
symbol to the Elizabethans, and a
person had to dress in accordance
with their social status. It was thus in
keeping that the Queen dressed more
magnificent than everyone else. No
one was allowed to rival the Queen's
appearance, and one unfortunate
maid of honor was reprimanded for
wearing a gown that was too
sumptuous for her. The maids were
meant to complement the Queen's
appearance, not to outshine her. In
the later years of the reign, the maids
wore gowns of plain colors such as
white or silver.
Queen Elizabeth Fashion

The Queen was never fully dressed
without her make-up. In the early
years she wore little, but following
her attack of the smallpox in 1562,
she would wear quite a lot to cover
up the scars left on her face. She
would paint her face with white lead
and vinegar, put rouge on her lips,
and paint her cheeks with red dye
and egg white. This make-up was
very bad for her health, particularly
the white lead, as it slowly poisoned
the body. Elizabeth had to have
several teeth removed as she grew
older. To prevent the appearance of
hollow cheeks, she would stuff rags
into her mouth. It was very
fashionable to wear a wig, and the
Queen did so from a young age.
Notable Notes

A period of great unrest in England
concerning England’s official religion
 Queen Elizabeth declared that no plays could
be about the current religious matters or
portray current political figures.
 Queen Elizabeth liked Shakespeare’s plays
and gave him support and protection
 If the Queen was displeased, the dramatist
were hanged.
Globe Theater
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Theaters held 1500-3000 people.
Sanitary conditions were poor and
diseases could pass around in
theaters
The theater was not popular with
local merchants because it took
away from business.
James Burbage created the first
theatre in London in 1576, called
“The Theatre”
“The Globe Theatre” was opened in
1599.
William Shakespeare and James
Burbage were co-owners of the
Globe.
Playing at the Globe.
Acting at the Globe was radically
different from viewing modern
Shakespeare on screen. The crowds
that went to Shakespeare plays at the
Globe were about as well dressed,
attentive, and well-manned as your
typical audience at a Marilyn
Manson concert. Most people ended
up in the “Yard” where there were
no seats. Roughly 1,000 people
could stand there, but lots more
crammed in. Bathing was not
common in those days, and the yard
would get so hot and smelly that
these patrons were referred to as
“stinkards”. The more common,
slightly kinder name was
“groundlings”. These people often
became intoxicated and threw
objects at the actors.
The Globe Theatre
The Globe/ “The Wooden O”
The plays were staged in the
afternoons, using the light of
day, and the audience
surrounded the stage on all
sides.
No scenery was used, except for
occasional emblematic devices
like a throne or a bed. It was
almost impossible not to see the
other half of the audience
standing behind the players.
Consequently much of the
staging was meta-theatrical,
conceding the illusory nature of
the game of playing, and
making little pretense to stage
realism.
A flag flying above the globe alerted
theatre goers that there was a
performance that day.
The Burning of the Globe
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The Globe burned
down in 1613 during a
production of Henry
VIII, but then was
rebuilt in 1614.
This was
Shakespeare’s last
history play and he
never contributed any
further plays to the
Globe Theatre.
1.
http://shakespeare.eb.com/
The Puritans closed the Globe in 1642 because the theater
was drawing a bigger crowd than the church. Convinced
theater was immoral, the Puritans made it illegal, and the
Globe was torn down in 1644.
The New Globe Theatre (1997)
Opened by Queen Elizabeth and is the first building
to have a thatched roof in over 300 years.
William Shakespeare
“The Bard”
Webster Defines “Bard” as a Tribal Poet/Singer Gifted in Composing and Reciting Verses
on Heroes and Their Deeds.

William Shakespeare was born
to John Shakespeare and
mother Mary Arden some time
in late April 1564 in Stratfordupon-Avon. There is no record
of his birth, but his baptism was
recorded by the church, thus
his birthday is assumed to be
the 23 of April. His father was a
prominent and prosperous
alderman in the town of
Stratford-upon-Avon, and was
later granted a coat of arms by
the college of heralds.
Shakespeare’s Personal Life

All that is known of
Shakespeare's youth is that
he presumably attended the
Stratford grammar school,
and did not proceed to Oxford
or Cambridge. The next
record we have of him is his
marriage to Anne Hathaway
in 1582 when he was only 18
and she was 26. The next
year she bore a daughter for
him, Susanna, followed by
the twins Judith and Hamnet
two years later. Hamnet died
at an early age of 11.
 They had a total of 3 children
As a Professional
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Between the ages of 18 and 28 he traveled to
London and joined the theater as an actor.
 The acting group was known as “Lord
Chamberlains Men” and then later changed
to “The Kings Men”.
 His debut playwright was in 1590, Henry VI.
 From 1593-1613 he wrote 37 plays, acted,
helped manage an acting troupe and was
part owner of the “Globe”
Shakespeare’s Tragedies
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Hamlet: an emotionally scarred young
man trying to avenge the murder of his
father, the king. The ghost of Hamlet’s
father appears to Hamlet, telling him
that he was murdered by his brother,
Claudius, who has now become the
king. Claudius also married Gertrude,
the old king’s widow and Hamlet’s
mother.
Shakespeare’s Tragedies
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Othello:a general in the military of
Venice, is victimized as a result of his
love for Desdemona, the daughter of a
statesman. The villain of the play is
Iago, a career military man who plots
revenge against Othello because
Othello holds a position in which Iago
feels he should have. Iago fills Othello
with notions of infidelity
Shakespeare’s Tragedies
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Macbeth: A noble warrior gets caught
up in a struggle for power is the general
topic of this play. Supernatural events
and Macbeth’s ruthless wife play a
major role in his downfall.
William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564-April 23, 1616
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He returned to Stratford for
his latter years where he
died at the age of 52 and
now lies at rest in his special
grave at the Holy Trinity
Church.
Shakespeare’s grave reads:
Good friend, for Jesus sake
forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here
Blessed be the man that spares
these stones
And cursed be he that moves
my bones.
Shakespeare's monument at
Holy Trinity Church
Both a Poet and a Playwright
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His most famous poems are English Sonnets,
154 of them. (14 lines, 10 syllables each)
 His 37 plays are categorized in three types:
– 1. Tragedies-fall or loss of power of people in high
places (royalty).Sorrowful endings. Romeo and
Juliet was Shakespeare’s first romantic tragedy
and is the most popular.
– 2. Histories-based on lives of real people. (mostly
English Kings)
– 3. Comedies-Lighter form of drama happy
endings.
A Few Definitions:
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Playwright: One that writes plays
Conflict: Struggle of opposing forces
Play or Drama: Short story meant to be
performed
Prologue: begins the play by presenting
background information for the play (sets the
stage)
Climax: Point of highest emotional intensity in
a play
Resolution: another name for ending or
conclusion