Download ARTICLE #2: What were Shakespeare`s PLAYS

Shakespeare’s Life and Times Teacher Notes:
Do Now Topic: What did Ben Jonson mean when he said Shakespeare was “not of
an age but for all time”?
The groups are as follows:
1. Shakespeare’s Biography
2. The Plays
3. Theatre Experience in Shakespeare’s Time
4. The Globe Theatre
5. Costumes and Sets
Students read their own article individually for Day One. On the notesheet, they
can take notes on their topic and write down two “Essential Questions” they have
about their topic (either things they learned and think are important for others to
know or questions they would like to answer).
Students will have the first class period to take notes on their article. Day Two
will give them 20 minutes to finish reading if they haven’t done so, and the
rest of the class period to present to groups with students who read the four
other articles. They will take notes on their handout.
ARTICLE #1: What was Shakespeare’s LIFE like?
Biography: William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon. The
son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, he was probably educated at the
King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford, where he learned Latin and a
little Greek and read the Roman dramatists. At eighteen, he married Anne
Hathaway, a woman seven or eight years his senior. Together they raised two
daughters: Susanna, who was born in 1583, and Judith (whose twin brother
died in boyhood), born in 1585.
Little is known about Shakespeare's activities between 1585 and 1592. Robert
Greene's A Groatsworth of Wit alludes to him as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare may have taught
at school during this period, but it seems more probable that shortly after 1585 he went to London to
begin his apprenticeship as an actor. Due to the plague, the London theaters were often closed between
June 1592 and April 1594. During that period, Shakespeare probably had some income from his patron,
Henry Wriothesley, earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated his first two poems, Venus and Adonis
(1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594). The fomer was a long narrative poem depicting the rejection
of Venus by Adonis, his death, and the consequent disappearance of beauty from the world. Despite
conservative objections to the poem's glorification of sensuality, it was immensely popular and was
reprinted six times during the nine years following its publication.
In 1594, Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain's company of actors, the most popular of the
companies acting at Court. In 1599 Shakespeare joined a group of Chamberlain's Men that would form
a syndicate to build and operate a new playhouse: the Globe, which became the most famous theater of
its time. With his share of the income from the Globe, Shakespeare was able to purchase New Place,
his home in Stratford.
While Shakespeare was regarded as the foremost dramatist of his time, evidence indicates that both he
and his world looked to poetry, not playwriting, for enduring fame. Shakespeare's sonnets were
composed between 1593 and 1601, though not published until 1609. That edition, The Sonnets of
Shakespeare, consists of 154 sonnets, all written in the form of three quatrains and a couplet that is
now recognized as Shakespearean. The sonnets fall into two groups: sonnets 1-126, addressed to a
beloved friend, a handsome and noble young man, and sonnets 127-152, to a malignant but fascinating
"Dark Lady," whom the poet loves in spite of himself. Nearly all of Shakespeare's sonnets examine the
inevitable decay of time, and the immortalization of beauty and love in poetry.
In his poems and plays, Shakespeare invented thousands of words, often combining or contorting Latin,
French and native roots. His impressive expansion of the English language, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary, includes such words as: arch-villain, birthplace, bloodsucking, courtship, dewdrop,
downstairs, fanged, heartsore, hunchbacked, leapfrog, misquote, pageantry, radiance, schoolboy,
stillborn, watchdog, and zany.
Shakespeare wrote more than 30 plays. These are usually divided into four categories: histories,
comedies, tragedies, and romances. His earliest plays were primarily comedies and histories such as
Henry VI and The Comedy of Errors, but in 1596, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, his second
tragedy, and over the next dozen years he would return to the form, writing the plays for which he is
now best known: Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra. In
his final years, Shakespeare turned to the romantic with Cymbeline, A Winter's Tale, and The Tempest.
Only eighteen of Shakespeare's plays were published separately in quarto editions during his lifetime; a
complete collection of his works did not appear until the publication of the First Folio in 1623, several
years after his death. Nonetheless, his contemporaries recognized Shakespeare's achievements. Francis
Meres cited "honey-tongued" Shakespeare for his plays and poems in 1598, and the Chamberlain's Men
rose to become the leading dramatic company in London, installed as members of the royal household
in 1603.
Sometime after 1612, Shakespeare retired from the stage and returned to his home in Stratford. He
drew up his will in January of 1616, which included his famous bequest to his wife of his "second best
bed." He died on April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later at Stratford Church.
ARTICLE #2: What were Shakespeare’s PLAYS about?
Shakespeare: Types of Plays
All Shakespeare's plays fall into one of the four
categories of tragedy, comedy, history, or romance.
Tragedies
Generally, tragedies end with the death of the
protagonist, and often with that of several of the principals. Do not think, however, that
tragedies are simply gloomy. Several of them, notably Hamlet, contain much wit and dry
humor. Great tragedies, such as Shakespeare's, do not leave their audience sad, but exalted,
even if in tears. We often come away feeling we have understood something new about
ourselves or the world.
Comedies
The comedies may or may not be very funny, but they usually end with the marriage of the
principal couple and often with that of other couples as well. However, the comedies are not
uniformly lighthearted. Some contain bitter and disturbing scenes. What mainly distinguishes
Shakespeare's comedies from his tragedies is that the comedies look forward to the future. In
the tragedies, we almost always witness the end of something important. Usually it is not just
the end of the life of the protagonist and some of his friends, but that of an entire historical era
or royal dynasty.
Histories
The history plays deal with actual events and people, and they end in whatever way is dictated
by the historical facts. These plays, although based on known events and historical figures, are
often as fanciful in details as the tragedies and comedies. Shakespeare was not really a historian,
and he used historical events as ways of stimulating his imagination, not of recording what
actually happened.
Romances
Romances are plays that have so much of the fantastic or supernatural that they fit none of the
three more traditional categories. Shakespeare's romances are the work of his last years, and
they seem to amount to a kind of farewell to the stage.
Appeal and Influence
Since his death Shakespeare's plays have been almost continually performed, in non-Englishspeaking nations as well as those where English is the native tongue; they are quoted more than
the works of any other single author. The plays have been subject to ongoing examination and
evaluation by critics attempting to explain their perennial appeal, which does not appear to
derive from any set of profound or explicitly formulated ideas. Indeed, Shakespeare has
sometimes been criticized for not consistently holding to any particular philosophy, religion, or
ideology; for example, the subplot of A Midsummer Night's Dream includes a burlesque of the
kind of tragic love that he idealizes in Romeo and Juliet.
The strength of Shakespeare's plays lies in the absorbing stories they tell, in their wealth of
complex characters, and in the eloquent speech—vivid, forceful, and at the same time lyric—
that the playwright puts on his characters' lips. It has often been noted that Shakespeare's
characters are neither wholly good nor wholly evil, and that it is their flawed, inconsistent
nature that makes them memorable. Hamlet fascinates audiences with his ambivalence about
revenge and the uncertainty over how much of his madness is feigned and how much genuine.
Falstaff would not be beloved if, in addition to being genial, openhearted, and witty, he were
not also boisterous, cowardly, and, ultimately, poignant. Finally, the plays are distinguished by
an unparalleled use of language. Shakespeare had a tremendous vocabulary and a corresponding
sensitivity to nuance, as well as a singular aptitude for coining neologisms and punning.
ARTICLE #3: What was THEATER like in Shakespeare’s times?
To really understand Shakespeare, you need to see his plays live on
stage. It’s a sad fact that today we normally study Shakespeare out
of a book, but it’s important to remember that Shakespeare wasn’t
writing for today’s literary audience; he was writing for the
masses, many of whom couldn’t read or write.
Exploring the context of Shakespeare’s theater gives you a fuller
understanding of his plays.
The Theater Experience:
The experience of visiting a theater and watching a play was very different in Elizabethan times. You
were not expected to be still and silent throughout the performance like you are today. Rather, it was
the modern equivalent of going to see a popular band.
Major Differences:

The audience would eat, drink and talk throughout the performance

Theaters were open air and used natural light

Plays were performed in the afternoon in the daylight

Women never performed and the female characters were often played by boys

Plays used very little scenery, instead using language to set the scene
The Changing Status of Theater:
Shakespeare saw the public’s attitude towards theater change during his lifetime. Theater was once
considered to be a disreputable pastime and was frowned upon by the Puritan authorities, who were
worried that it might distract people from their religious teachings. During the reign of Elizabeth I,
theaters were banned within the city walls of London (even though the Queen enjoyed the theater and
gave it her patronage).
Over time, theater became more popular and a thriving “entertainment” scene grew on Bankside, just
outside the city walls. Bankside was considered to be a “den of iniquity” with its brothels, bear-baiting
pits and theaters – good company for the world’s greatest playwright.
The Acting Profession:
Theater companies were extremely busy. They would perform around six different plays each week,
which could only be rehearsed a couple of times beforehand. Also, there was no stage crew like we
have today; every member of the company would have to help make costumes, props and scenery.
The Elizabethan acting profession worked on an apprentice system, making it very hierarchical. Even
Shakespeare would have had to rise up through the ranks:
Theater in Shakespeare’s Time
It is a good idea to look at the situation of the theatre, before and while Shakespeare was writing. The
reason is clear; the situation would limit what Shakespeare could do.
Firstly, there weren't many theatres. This is a massive limitation if you want to put a play on. Most
theatre companies, at the time, travelled around. The actors, or players, would stop in a 'playing-place'.
This might be a market square, village green or, the most popular, a tavern's courtyard.
They would set up their theatre right there. This would usually be a wooden trestle stage, which was
easy to carry and easy to set up.
It wasn't until 1576 that the first custom-made theatre was built. This was called, appropriately, The
Theatre. The Theatre was built in north London, outside the city limits. From 1576 to when
Shakespeare died in 1616, about a dozen theatres were built in London. At that time, London had a
population of just 200,000. That growth is like modern day multiplex cinemas.
Perhaps the most significant limitation for Shakespeare would be the theatres. When the custom made
theatres were built, the stage consisted of three main areas. Have a look at the picture above.
ARTICLE #4 – What was Shakespeare’s CULTURE like? 1
Elizabethan England Marriage - Attitude towards love and marriage
Comparable to these days wherein every woman would look forward to that day when they have to walk in
the aisle, Elizabethan marriages was also one of the highlight of every woman's life. The chief difference is,
back then; the woman possesses very little right in choosing her husband.
It is foolish to marry someone because of love even if love may occur sometimes in marriage. The matrimony
is arranged by families of the bride and the groom in order for the two sides to benefit from one another.
Mostly, it was arranged for wealth and reputation. Families of landowners
were expected to marry just to augment their land possession.
Couples may even only see each other for the first time during the wedding
day itself! This was rampant among lofty nobility, however people in the lower
class would normally arranged the marriage with the children of friends and
neighbors.
Thus, the lower the status a family holds in the society then the larger power a
person may have in choosing lifetime mates. Because of this practice, the
marriage will too often fail.
Among the famous couple who experienced disastrous marriage were Lord
Darnley and Mary Queen of Scots; Robert Dudley and Amy Robsart; and Edward earl of Oxford and Anne Cecil.
Still, successful marriage is not a myth since there were the 2nd Earl of Bedford and his 3rd countess: and 7th
Baron and Lady Berkeley.
Elizabethan Era marriage normally takes place through the help of a miniature picture given by the man. The
picture is a symbolism of the traits and looks of the girl he wishes to marry. Women were regarded as second
class citizens and they were expected to tie the knot despite of their social standings.
Single women were regarded as witches. With parent's consent, a boy and a girl were allowed to marry at the
age of 14 and 12 although it was not common for marriage to take place on such a young age. Boy would
often not marry until they reached the age of consent, 21.
Ironically, the dowry in marriages in Elizabethan England would benefit the male. A dowry is a certain amount
of cash, property, and goods that bride would bring during the actual ceremony. It is known as her share.The
husbands were given all the rights to take over their wives thus the girl would became the man's property.
Like today, Elizabethan England marriage ceremony was considered to have a religious intonation. The
ceremony would vary but the prerequisites before the matrimony was always the same.
It commenced with the Crying the Banns in where the intention of the couples to marry was made into public.
It will be announced into three consecutive Sundays or Holy days thus when there were any objection, at least
such party was given the time to speak out. Wedding invitations were not provided.
Gifts were rarely offered but it was their tradition to celebrate the occasion with a blast thus the event is
carefully planned beforehand. The menu comprise of exotic dishes like peacock.
Daily Life in England during the Elizabethan Era
The Elizabethan period in England had a daily life based on social order: the monarch as the highest, the
nobility as second rank, the gentry as third, merchants as fourth, and laborers as fifth. The queen was believed
to be God's representation here on Earth.
They also believed that God had formed these social ranks and had showered blessings on each rank. Their
Parliament had also regulated the clothes that can only be worn by each rank. For a laborer to wear clothes of
the rich was not allowed and considered to be a defiance of the order.
The Elizabethans had a high regard for family in a community. They
believed that families were role models for the community. They were
standardized and followed a deep respect for the importance of hierarchy.
They had customary rulings for the behavior of children that were taken
from Bible passages. These passages were explanations on the duty of
parents in properly raising their children and likewise the responsibility of
children to respect and obey their elders.
Another law stated that when an individual dies, there was a need to write
in an inventory all of the possessions accounted to that individual because this was an informative source or
the remaining witness on how the subjects of Elizabethan era lived.
People from every social rank began to acquire more household properties during the period of Queen
Elizabeth. It was noticeable how houses were constantly changing.
For reasons of privacy and comfort, medieval structures using a barn pattern were modernized and added up
more chambers or divided rooms. Other town houses in London and big country properties were usually
owned by counselors and courtiers of the Elizabethan time. These became great representations of
architectural style during the period.
Despite the developing awareness of the significance of comfort in any household, daily life in England during
the Elizabethan era was still very difficult for the majority of the subjects. The Westerners ate at least two day
meals, which are dinner and supper.
The middle and low ranks ate vegetables and grains. The nobility class ate sweet food and meats. Generally,
life expectancy reached until 42 years old, but of course the richer rank had lived years longer than that.
All the more Elizabethan problems with sickness and diseases were worsened by the town's low sanitary
measures. The treatment and procedures for medical attention were unorganized and fell short to complete
the need; even people who were able to seek medical help had to go through painful procedures and other
medication problems. Worst, the poor ranks had to undergo their medication through the traditional form of
healing that was solely based on superstitious beliefs.
ARTICLE #5 – What was Shakespeare’s CULTURE like? 2
England Fashion during the Elizabethan Age
Fashion in England during the Elizabethan Age was considered a way of self-expression for all members of the
social ranks.
For women, fashion was simple but made attractive. It covered the skin from the neck to the ankle. During this
time, women worked hard to achieve a small waistline because gowns had a tight body piece to show off the
tiny waistline. Details like ruffles were accentuated to the gowns to denote the high status of the womanwearer in the society.
The gowns also had some sort of a puffy sleeve. Shoes were not
important since they were covered by the long dresses. They also
accentuated the clothing with biggold necklaces and a hood-like
detail to cover the neck area. But as time evolved, so does their
fashion, too. Waistlines had shifted into straight figures.
The ruffled sleeves became fitted to the arms with various small
detail pieces held onto it.
There were changes in styles for men's fashion. The early part of the Elizabethan era had men sporting
embroidered vest-looking and front-buttoned shirts with loose pants until the knee. The rich men wore finelymade-of-leather shoes, a flat silk or velvet hat, or a tall hat like a crown that was made of feathers of fabric.
Later on, they were dressed in cloaks held by a crucifix and chain with fine stockings in silk, and bonnets or
hats with a plume on the side. Like women's clothing, men's clothes were detailed with inconvenient ruffles,
too. It was inconvenient because these ruffles were stiff and about eight inches in width.
Similarly, the ruffles also revealed the status of men in the society. The gems
attached to the clothing were also heavy. Boys and girls also wore dresses of the
same styles. Dressing was regarded as an art form that is why Elizabethan
people took time and effort to dress themselves.
Aside from clothing, hair was also an important factor in Elizabethan fashion in
England. They made all efforts to wear their hair in fabulous styles and at the
same time put joy and pride on themselves for this.
Most likely, they took a long wait to get their hair done in wonderful styles and
do not mind about the cost it would take them. They managed to stay in parlors
or barbershops for the longest time just to make their hair looked fantastic.
Even when men went bald, they wore wigs to put up with fashion trends of the
time. Men's beards were also made sure that trims were done to fit the trend. Women had undergone hair
bleaching to secure the right color for their hair. Sometimes, they also detailed it with hair accessories or hats
to greatly emphasize the look.
Fashion was considered an important lifestyle in the Elizabethan era. Fashion represented social status of men
and women and gave them a sense of pride. Both went through extreme measures just to achieve the look
that they want or every time their fashion changes.
Elizabethan Hygiene
I do not know about you, but generally, one shower or bath per week is terrible hygiene by today's standards.
In fact, anything more than every other day is considered unsanitary. Unfortunately, bathing was not quite as
simple during the Elizabethan times as it is today.
Therefore, lower class citizens (making up the bulk of the Elizabethan era people) would maybe only bathe a
few times in a single year. For the upper class, they had a little bit more luxury and were able to bathe roughly
once every couple of weeks.
The bathing itself was probably not the most sanitary of things. Generally it was taken in an old wooden tub.
These tubs were typically placed next to fireplaces so that it would warm the water. However, the water itself
was likely fairly dirty.
They did not have treatment plants like they do today. The water that they tookbaths in was considered unfit
to drink. So do you think that a good bath in such water would be very hygienic at all? It probably was not.
Hair itself did receive a little bit better treatment. Unlike today though, they did not have shampoos
and conditioners for hair treatment. Typically their hair was washed separately from their bathing and the
only thing added was a form of lye soap. This was likely done more frequently among the citizens of the
Elizabethan era.
The way of life was pretty unhygienic during Elizabethan period by today's standards. There was no running
water, you did not have indoor toilets, and there was no toilet paper. Instead of toilet paper, people would
typically use clumps of grass or hay for cleaning.
To top it off London and other places were overly crowded and this made for a huge mess all the time. The
unhygienic conditions along with overpopulation is probably what caused the Bubonic plague and other
problems to spread so easily from one person to another.
ARTICLE #4: The Globe Theater
Early in 1599 Shakespeare, who had been acting with the Lord Chamberlain's Men since 1594, paid into the
coffers of the company a sum of money amounting to 12.5 percent of the cost of building the Globe. He did so
as a chief shareholder in the company, and by doing so he helped to establish a uniquely successful form of
commercial operation for the actors of the time. This investment gave Shakespeare and the other leading actors
both a share in the company's profits and a share in their playhouse.
At this time, officially approved playhouses and officially approved acting companies had been in existence in
London for only five years. The Lord Chamberlain's Men was one of only two companies licensed to perform
within the London city limits. (For more on this subject, see Sidebar: Shakespeare and the Liberties.) The other
company used the Rose playhouse, owned by an impresario and his ex-actor son-in-law.
The second best playhouse
Shakespeare's company built the Globe only because it could not use the special roofed facility, Blackfriars
Theatre, that James Burbage (the father of their leading actor, Richard Burbage) had built in 1596 for it inside
the city. The elder Burbage had a long history as a theatrical entrepreneur. In 1576 he had built the first
successful amphitheatre, known as The Theatre, in a London suburb. Twenty years later, when the lease on The
Theatre's land was about to expire, he built the theatre in Blackfriars as its replacement. But the wealthy
residents of Blackfriars persuaded the government to block its use for plays, so Burbage's capital was locked up.
He died early in 1597, his plans for the future of theatre in London frustrated.
Thus, the members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men were forced to rent a playhouse. At the end of 1598, they
decided to build one for themselves. Because the inheritance of Burbage's sons, Cuthbert and Richard, was tied
up in the Blackfriars, they formed a consortium with Shakespeare and four other actors, who became co-owners
of the new Globe. The same shortage of cash made the consortium reluctant traditionalists; they gave up the
idea of an indoor theatre in the city. The old playhouse was one of their few remaining resources, but they could
not use it in situ because the lease had expired, so they dismantled it, took the timbers (illegally) to make the
skeleton of their new amphitheatre, and kept the basic auditorium shape of The Theatre for the new building.
The success of the Globe
For all its hurried construction in 1599, the Globe proved a triumph. Its first decade of use made it a favourite
not just with subsequent generations of theatregoers but with the company itself. In later years the troupe paid a
lot to keep it going. At least two circumstances provide evidence for this statement. In 1608, when the company
could finally fulfill James Burbage's original plan for the Blackfriars, the members chose, extravagantly, to
operate the two theatres together, using the open-air Globe in the summer and the roofed Blackfriars in the
winter. Had they chosen to, they easily could have rented one of the buildings to another company, since there
was a shortage of playhouses in London in this period. But they kept both for themselves. They were given a
second chance to transfer full-time to the Blackfriars in 1613, when the Globe burned to the ground, its thatch
accidentally set alight by a cannon during a performance of Henry VIII. By then the Blackfriars was already
beginning to bring better profits than the Globe, since the smaller house size was more than compensated by its
higher prices. Instead, bearing the cost out of sentiment and traditional loyalty, the company members dug deep
into their own pockets and rebuilt the Globe more splendidly than before.
Technically, the 1599 Globe and its 1614 replacement span an era in the history of theatre design. The first
Globe, based on the skeleton of the original Theatre of 1576, was unique not just as the most famous example of
that peculiar and short-lived form of theatre design but because it was actually the first to be built specifically
for an existing acting company and financed by the company itself. Shakespeare designed As You Like It,
Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Othello, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony
and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Pericles, and The Winter's Tale, not to mention Troilus and Cressida and Timon of
Athens, for performance there.
The design of the Globe
The design of the original Theatre responded to a mix of traditions. Its name, which up to then had been used
for atlases (such as Mercator's) rather than for playhouses, drew attention to the Roman theatre tradition. Its
circular shape, though, reflected not the D-shape of a Roman amphitheatre but the gatherings of crowds in a
circle around the actors in town marketplaces, where all the players of 1576 got their training. The concept of
building a scaffold with three levels of galleries surrounding a circular yard mimicked the arrangement for
audiences of existing bearbaiting and bullbaiting houses. The stage, a platform mounted in the yard, was the
kind of thing that traveling companies set up in inn yards.
The old Theatre was a 20-sided structure, as near to a circle as Elizabethan carpentry could make it. It stood
more than 30 feet (9 metres) high, with three levels of seating in its galleries. Audience access was either
through two narrow passageways under the galleries into the standing room of the yard around the stage or up
two external stair towers into the rear of the galleries. Five of the 20 bays of the galleries were cut off by the
frons scenae, or tiring-house wall, behind which the actors kept their store of props, costumes, and playbooks
and prepared themselves for their performances. The stage was a 5-foot- (1.5-metre-) high platform protruding
from the tiring-house into the middle of the yard. Two posts upheld a cover over the stage that protected the
players and their expensive costumes from rain. The audience standing in the yard had no cover, though when it
rained they could pay more and take shelter in the lowest gallery.
The Globe reproduced this old shape, with a few innovations mainly in the fresh painting and decoration of the
stage area. Each of the four London amphitheatres that scholars know most about, the Rose, the Swan, the
Globe, and the Fortune, had auditorium bays of a certain size, about 10 feet 6 inches (roughly 3 metres) from
front to back and an average width of 14 feet (about 4 metres). The Globe and Fortune, and probably the Swan,
had 20 bays in all, while the smaller Rose had 14. Seating in the form of degrees (wooden benches raked
upward to the rear), along with the roofing over the topmost gallery, provided all the comfort short of a cushion
that Elizabethans expected. A few rooms were reserved for the most privileged on the stage balcony itself.
Including the space for nearly a thousand customers to stand in the yard around the stage, the small Rose had a
total capacity of about 2,400 people, while contemporary estimates of total audience capacity at the Swan and
the Globe claimed 3,000.
The stage was large, 43 or 44 feet (about 13 metres) across and 27 or more feet (some 8 metres) deep. The two
stage posts were substantial, since they had to uphold the large cover, or heavens, which had a trapdoor in it
with a windlass for winding boys playing gods down onto the stage. Below the heavens trapdoor was one in the
stage, which served as the entry point for King Hamlet's ghost and the grave for Ophelia. The tiring-house wall
had two doors on its flanks for entrances and exits and a central opening, normally covered by a set of hangings
(Polonius's arras) that concealed the caskets in The Merchant of Venice and Hermione's statue in The Winter's
Tale. Above the three openings, a balcony ran the width of the stage wall, the central room of which was used
for scenes that required an upper window or balcony or the walls of a town.
Playing at the Globe
The experience of watching a performance at the Globe was radically different from that of viewing modern
Shakespeare on-screen. 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 such as 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 metatheatrical, conceding the illusory nature of the game of playing and
making little pretense of stage realism. (For more on this subject, see Sidebar: Performance in Shakespeare's
Theatre.)
Rebuilding the Globe
The Globe was pulled down in 1644, two years after the Puritans closed all theatres, to make way for tenement
dwellings. In 1970 the American actor Sam Wanamaker, who was driven by the notion of reconstructing a
replica of the Globe, established the Shakespeare Globe Playhouse Trust. Seventeen years later a
groundbreaking ceremony was held on a Bankside site near that of the original Globe, and in 1989 the
foundations of the original building were discovered buried beneath a historic 19th-century building. Although
only a small percentage of the original theatre could be examined, the discovery of these foundations enabled
scholars to make certain design adjustments. They changed the planned 24 sides to 20, for instance, and, using
the angles revealed by the archaeologists, they made the whole polygon 99 feet (30 metres) in outside diameter.
By referring to a number of extant Elizabethan buildings for clues to the structure, style, interior, and roofing,
scholars and architects completed the design of the Globe Theatre reconstruction. Using traditional methods and
materials, with only a few concessions to modern fire regulations and the like, builders completed work on the
new theatre in the mid-1990s. It is now part of a larger complex of buildings known as the International
Shakespeare Globe Centre.
The new theatre is not a perfect replica of the original building. It is made, for example, from new green oak,
like the Fortune, not from the 23-year-old timbers of a dismantled building, like the original Globe. Its design is
still speculative in key areas, such as its size, the shape of the stage, and the decorations. In addition, certain
compromises had to be made to satisfy the constraints of fire-safety regulations. These entailed making the
stairways and access doors wider, increasing the number of entrances to the yard, positioning sprinkler valves in
the ridging of the thatched gallery roofing, and including conduits for electrical wiring. These provisos—and a
restriction on the size of the audience at any performance to a maximum of 1,600, roughly half the number that
attended the original Globe—have secured the right for the new Globe to be used once again as a theatre.
The basic justification for attempting to reconstruct the Globe in a faithful version of the original is that it can
be used to learn more about Shakespeare's plays. The Globe was Shakespeare's machine, financed and built by
the company that intended to use it. How it worked and what it produced have a great deal to offer to students
of Shakespeare's plays—those written pre-texts, as they have been called with some justice, which record all he
thought his fellows needed to know when they staged his plays. Everything that has been wrung from these pre-
texts in the last four centuries is enhanced by a better knowledge of Shakespeare's original concept.
ARTICLE #5: Costumes and Sets in
Shakespeare's Theater
Any part of the costume was likely to be decorated with braid, embroidery, pinking (pricking in patterns)
slashing, or puffing, or it might be encrusted with pearls, jewels, or spangles or trimmed with lace or artificial
flowers. Men's clothing, like that of women, was gorgeous with color and ornamentation. The many parts of
male attire contributed to the ornate and colorful effect of the ensemble. Men wore hats even indoors. Feathers
and jewels were normal ornaments. A small flat cap like a beret with a narrow brim continued to be worn by
craftsman and many citizens of London. Masculine hair styles varied greatly. Sometimes the hair was cut
closely at the sides, but it could be brushed up and held with gum, or it might be curled all over the head.
Shakespeare plays were presented during the warmer months in circular, open-air public theaters. The stage was
a platform that thrust into the pit- a standing room area for the lower-class; boxes were situated in three galleries
around the theater. In the colder months plays were performed in so-called private indoor theaters for a more
elite audience. The acting style for the early Elizabethan plays was heroic and exaggerated, like the plays
themselves.
One of the most memorable stages of Elizabethan time was the The Globe
Theater, a 17th -century English theater in Southwark, London, notable for
the initial and contemporary productions of Shakespeare's plays and of the
dramatic works of Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, and others. The
Globe was constructed In 1599 by the famous English actor Richard
Burbage, in partnership with Shakespeare and others. The octagonallyshaped outer wall of the theater enclosed a roofless
inner pit into which the stage projected; around the pit
were three galleries, one above the other, the topmost
of which was roofed with thatch. In 1613 a cannon,
discharged during a performance of Shakespeare's
Henry VIII, set fire to the thatched roof and destroyed the building. The theater was
rebuilt in 1614, but 30 years later was razed by Puritans. A brewery now stands on the
site.
The stage sometimes known as three-quarter round, was a platform surrounded on three sides by the audience.
This form was used for ancient Greek theater in the 20th century. The thrust stage may Accurate information
concerning the clothes worn in the earliest production of Shakespeare plays is sadly deficient. Even in a play set
in ancient Rome, the actors wore the dress of their own time.
In modern times we draw a distinction between "theatrical " and "ordinary" clothes. We even distinguish
between plays that are dressed in the clothing of people of another times or places. We consider these to be
"costume plays."
English dress during the age of Shakespeare reflected the vitality and the high points of the period. Although the
upper class and the even great merchants of earlier eras had also dressed in rich and colorful fabrics, the
sixteenth century saw an elaboration in dress that had nor been common. The names of parts of the Elizabethan
wardrobe indicate their foreign origins: French hose, French hood, Venetians, Spanish bonnet.
Elizabethan men and women of the upper class dressed more for display than for comfort, and even their
undergarments were designed to contribute to their appearance. The garment worn next to the skin by both
sexes was a shirt, though in the case of the women it was called a "smock" and was ankle- length. There is some
evidence that men wore drawers called "trousers.''
Elizabethan clothing was very intricate, and the amount of time that must have been consumed in donning
costumes with so many independent parts to be tied or pinned together is a marvel to the modern observer. The
main feminine garment usually consisted of at least two parts: bodice and skirt (known as a kirtle or petti coat).
A triangular piece known as a "stomacher" formed the front section and was joined to the bodice proper at the
sides by ties, hooks, or pins.
A variety in materials, color, and ornaments characterized the Elizabethan women's outer garments. have been
by a wall or appended to some sort of end stage. The stage generally creates a sense of greater intimacy, as if
the performance were occurring in the midst of the auditorium, while still allowing for illusionistic effects
through the use of the upstage end and adjacent off-stage.
Elizabethan women delighted in gorgeous dress. But despite the richness of their attire, men frequently
outshone them in complexity of costume and the variety of cuts the contemporary fashion provided.
Lastly, the costumes and sets of Shakespeare's time influenced the production of the plays. The costumes aided
in the visual affects of the plays as did the lighting and the sound effects. The stages and sets created a realistic
setting for a specific location. The different style of stages were changed to the rapid growth of Shakespeare's
plays.