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Medieval Theatre to Renaissance TheaterBy Mr. Healy
The Fall of Rome in Broad Strokes…
The Roman Empire had become to large to manage
Soon it split into small independently controlled states
After the fall of Rome Europe fell into the Dark Ages These were characterized by a shrinking
population, deurbanization, and an increase in the authority of the Holy Roman Church
Question What affect do you think an increase in
the power of the Catholic Church had?
Theater in the Middle Ages The Church labeled our Greek and
Roman originators Pagan, and therefore performances of this type were banned
They were instead replaced by Religious Ceremonies
In this way they were not so different from the Greeks
Move towards Morality Liturgical Drama: A dramatic form that
celebrates morality and the Christian Religion
Subjects were taken from the Bible and lives of the Saints
Mystery Play A type of liturgical drama Subject focused on some Miracle or
mystery from the Bible The scenes were not interconnected like
our plays today Instead the only unifying theme was
that they were about Christian faith
Mystery Plays Mechanical devices, trapdoors, and
other artifices were employed to portray flying angels, fire-spouting monsters, miraculous transformations, and graphic martyrdoms.
Mystery Plays Plots included: Creation, Adam and Eve, the
murder of Abel, and the Last Judgment. Plays were organized into Cycles Cycles: groups of 25 to 50 plays that took
days to performs In France a single play, The Acts of the
Apostles by Arnoul and Simon Gréban, contained 494 speaking parts and 61,908 lines of rhymed verse; it took 40 days to perform
Mystery Plays Eventually these plays took on
sacrilegious elements Furthermore, satirical elements were
introduced to mock physicians, soldiers, judges, and even monks and priests
Pope Innocent III banned them Because, you know, Popes didn’t like fun Renaissance scholars found little of
interest in their great rambling texts,
Bonus Word Satire: the use of humor, irony,
exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Morality Plays Plays were forced out of the Church and into
the hands of guilds, or organized groups of artists
Allegorical play in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a Godly life over one of evil.
Allegory:a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
Everyman The most famous Morality Play God Sentences Everyman to die He tries to find friends to help him show
God he deserves life in heaven Most of his “friends” abandon him
(Pride, Beauty, Five Wits, Strength and Discretion)
Good Deeds Good Deeds is the only one who does
not abandon Everyman, and goes with him to reckon with God
What do you think the Moral of this story is?
English Renaissance Theater At this time, England had broken away
from the Catholic Church The Renaissance has lead to a
rediscovery of Classical texts and ideas Theater emerges as a prime source of
entertainment in England for both commoners and Nobles alike
Transition to Secular Theater Secular: denoting attitudes, activities, or other
things that have no religious or spiritual basis. With the break from the Church, Nobles began
funding theater In the sixteenth century, the Elizabethan stage
became almost wholly professional and public Side note: Elizabethan is named after Queen
Elizabeth of England This means actors were now paid, and the
shows were available to everyone
MONEY $$$$$ The new theater groups devoted their
entire lives to the art and craft of play producing.
Likewise, the production of plays at this time was a good financial venture.
Patronage Groups swore patronage, or loyalty to,
a particular noble who financed them This protected them from harsh anti
theater laws which saw traveling theater troupes as vagabonds
As you can see, theater was still not universally respected as an art
Construction of Theaters Successful acting companies eventually
built their own performance venues Theaters sprung up in London Soon, However, theaters drew the ire of
the law and were forced out of the city limits
Still, theater was fashionable and profitable
Acting Acting Performances were “over the
top”
The actors expressed themselves in a highly operatic manner with flamboyant expressions
The Shows Themselves Plays did not attempt to persuade anyone
that they were not in a theater Very little scenery to add to illusion Only male actors played the parts Actors would break fourth wall and speak to
audience Costumes were huge and colorful They were also not historically accurate For example, in Shakespeare’s plays about
Roman subjects, actors did not wear togas
Video about theatre https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=z_cTCdkCAcc
Shakespeare (1564-1616) He was actor, writer, and part-owner of a
playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later The King’s Men
He never published his own work. His work was compiled by his friends and published in the First Folio.
Contemporary, Ben Johnson, famously said Shakespeare was “not of an age, but for all time”
Shakespeare Shakespeare: wrote 38 plays in 3 genres Tragedies Comedies History Plays
Plays were performed at The Globe, which burned down from a cannon fired during a production of Henry VIII
History Plays These plays dramatized figures from
Medieval English History
However, They were really about the politics and social situations of his own society
Audiences recognized and enjoyed this fact
Mini Biography https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=geev441vbMI
5 interesting facts about Shakespeare https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=hDRpEb7heG8
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) Came just before Shakespeare but yet less
famous in history Still very important in the study of
Renaissance drama He was one of the first people to write for a
living He created scathing social and political
commentary that was often sensational and violent
He Died in a Bar Fight
Marlowe https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5CbWeIkgF-g
Dr. Faustus (1592) Faustus has learned all earthly
knowledge and now desires to know MAGIC
He summons the devil, Mephistopheles, who is Lucifer’s servant
Faustus sells his soul to Lucifer for 24 years with Meph as his servant
What do you all think happens next?
Dr. Faustus https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=wZeFGKA2MqQ
Quotes For, falling to a devilish exercise,
And glutted now with learning's golden gifts,He surfeits upon cursed necromancy.Nothing so sweet as magic is to him,Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss.
Quotes FAUSTUS
Was not that Lucifer an angel once?MEPHISTOPHELESYes Faustus, and most dearly loved of God.FAUSTUSHow comes it, then, that he is prince of devils?MEPHISTOPHELESO, by aspiring pride and insolence,For which God threw him from the face of heaven. (1.3.61-66)
Questions What was the central conflict of Dr.
Faustus?
Would you make the same deal as Dr.Faustus?
Is this a Christian Tragedy? Does it’s ending fit with Christian Ideals?
Questions? Is Dr. Faustus “a Renaissance man who
had to pay the medieval price for being one” like scholar R.M Dawkins said?
Think about what I have been saying about the Renaissance and people’s thirst for knowledge at that time
Dr. Faustus At the time Marlowe was writing, John
Calvin had developed a theory about human salvation called Predestination.
This theory said that each human being was fated from the beginning of his or her life to be damned or saved. It raised questions about exactly how much control a person had over his or her own salvation.
Dr. Faustus Doctor Faustus stood out from the crowd
by combining things we associate with medieval drama (like allegory) to explore what we now think of as modern questions: What form should knowledge take? What is the nature of true power? Should we believe in fate or free will?
Wasn’t a straight forward morality play
Elizabethan Theatre wrap up In 1642, with England on the verge of a
civil war, the Puritan Parliament closed all theaters
Stage plays were forbidden because they distracted the nation from its efforts to “appease and avert the wrath of God”
Theaters were not reopened for almost 20 years in 1660
During the Restoration Set designers added Scenery to add
the illusion of depth on the stage Others experimented with lighting using
chandeliers and candles around the stage
The lightheartedness of the plays reflected a society recovering from years of division and unrest
Restoration Comedies Restoration comedies involved quick wit Playwrights wrote Comedies of Manners,
which satirized the behaviors of society before and during the restoration period. Comedic plays relied on situational humor: disguises, mistaken identity, and misunderstandings
Restoration Comedy Most popular type of play Restoration comedies became social
commentaries; they were not a mirror of society, but rather exaggerations of society that the audience would recognize and appreciate.
in Restoration plays, women sometimes played the role of men as a form of situation comedy.
1st appearance of women!
Focus on the Upper Class Audiences were mainly upper class Therefore plays often had Upper Class
nobles and their courts as the focus
Focus on Love and sex Situational humor often involved sexual
themes such as adulterous husbands and flirtatious women
Sexual innuendo or jokes were big (That’s what she said)
Stock characters Plays included stock characters Stock Character: a fictional character
based on a common stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics.
Stock Characters Rake: a historic term applied to a man
who is habituated to immoral conduct, particularly womanising. Often a rake was also prodigal who wasted his (usually inherited) fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process. Comparable terms are "libertine" and "debauchee".
The Fop He is a "man of fashion" who
overdresses, aspires to wit, and generally puts on airs, which may include aspiring to a higher social station than others think he has. He may be somewhat effeminate, although this rarely affects his pursuit of an heiress.
Top 10 job skills http://www.forbes.com/sites/
meghancasserly/2012/12/10/the-10-skills-that-will-get-you-a-job-in-2013/