Elizabethan Drama

What is a tragedy?

Why do people
write/watch tragedies?
A Movement from Religious to
Secular within the Theatre


Previously, most of the drama done was in the church in
order to help educate the people about their religion
Cycle plays were used to reenact history






Creation by God
Human’s fall to Satan
Life during the Old Testament times
Redemption by Christ
Final judgment at the end of the world
In the 14th century the plays began to move out into the town
courtyards where they began to take on a more secular tone
What is going on with Theatre?

Miracle and mystery plays


Moralities


Used to teach stories from the Bible
Used to show people how they should live and die
Interlude



One-act plays
Some used the framework of the Moralities
Other were written for entertainment and could be quite
farcical
Writing and Developing Plays






Scholars and writers were viewing the world with a more
humanistic view (they were no longer focusing all their
attention on studying of the divine)
Though the views were more humanistic medieval practices
and conventions dominated English theatre through most of
the 16th century
Playwrights were constantly intertwining secular and
ecclesiastical stories
Mixed both comic and serious
Many bloody plots were used during this time
King Henry VIII created the Church of England and the
secular writing was more common
Tragedy and Tragic Heroes





Elizabethan Tragedy- a dramatic form in which a
character of high rank is involved in a struggle that ends
in disaster
Elizabethan Tragic Hero- main character with a tragic
flaw (usually excessive ambition, pride, jealousy, or
some other human frailty—How is this different than a
Greek TH?)
Catharsis – purging of emotion, usually pity or fear
Fatal Flaw (Hamartia or Tragic Flaw) – a fatal weakness in
the character that causes this person to become enmeshed
in events that lead to his or her downfall
Hubris – excessive pride or self-confidence
Meter

Iambic Pentameter- five sets of an
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed
syllable (dun-DUN)


(Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMmer’s DAY?)
Blank Verse- unrhymed poetry written in
iambic pentameter. Usually spoken by the
noble characters, or when someone is
being very serious.
Words, Words, Words



Soliloquy- longer speech in which a
character—usually alone on stage—speaks
as if to him/herself
Monologue- a long uninterrupted speech
by one character that others can hear
Aside- a brief comment a character makes
to reveal his/her thoughts to the audience
or to one other character
Shakespeare on Stage



Public theater: roofless courtyards (daylight
only)
Globe Theater (reconstructed)
No scenery; barest minimum of furniture



Described in dialogue
Elaborate costumes
Scenes occurred rapidly: colorful, fastpaced; about two hours
Other Facts:



Like Greece, only men and boys acted on
the Elizabethan stage (it was considered
“immoral” for women to act!)
Elizabethan playwrights (especially
Shakespeare) broke the Greek Tragedy
“rules” of time, place, and action
Violence could be shown on stage—and it
was!
Elizabethan Theaters




They were round and open to the air
Higher-class people sat along the sides in
seats
The lower classes stood on the ground in
front of the stage (groundlings)
There were costumes, but no elaborate
sets
The expensive seats
Balcony
The Stage
Groundlings
The Globe Theater, London
The Globe rebuilt in
1997 for the second
time