3. Popular Entertainment Flashcards
What did the rich do to entertain themselves?
The rich had more leisure time than the other classes and could afford to participate in a range of activities for entertainment.
Feasts, jousts and large banquets, hawking, hunting, archery.
What did the lower classes do for entertainment?
Towns would often be visited by travelling fairs with puppet shows, conjurors and trained animals hawkers.
Wandering bands of players performed short plays,
Football.
Forms of entertainment for all classes
Dancing,
Music and singing,
Bowls,
Cruel sports
Who did cruel sports entertain? + examples of them,
Entertained all.
Bear-baiting, bull-baiting, cock fighting.
People would often place bets on the fights.
What were bands of strolling players? What were common themes for performances?
They toured the country, watched by townsfolk, farmers, tradesmen and families.
They would set up a stage in a courtyard or market square to attract audiences.
Robin Hood was very popular, where the poor triumphed over the rich.
When and why were bands of strolling players banned?
There was a fear from authorities they could incite riots, so in 1572 they were banned unless they had a license.
What was set up in place of bands of strolling players? + examples
Theatre companies were set up with financial support and patronage from nobility.
Examples: The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, The Queen’s Men.
What was built as a result of the theatre companies becoming popular? + examples
Permanent theatres.
Examples: The theatre, the rose, the swan, the globe.
What shape were theatres?
Round of octagonal with open space in the centre with a raised stage. External was plain in colour and design but internal was colourful.
What were ticket prices like
Cheap for the poor to stand in the roofless central pit,
Cost a little more for the sheltered seats.
Who were professional actors. + examples
Men and boys who could sing, dance, play an instrument and take on various different roles including female.
Examples: Richard burbage, edward alleyn, Thomas pope
Examples of popular playwrights
Shakespeare, Christopher marlowe
Who liked the theatre and why?
Theatre was cheap and so attracted all classes. Queen Elizabeth became a patron of the theatre.
Why were plays popular? What were they also used for?
Popular for their gripping storylines, tales of heroism and groom triumphing over evil.
Also used as propaganda, Shakespeare promoted obedience and loyalty to the queen.
Who opposed the theatre and why?
Authorities- attracted beggars and pickpockets and the spreading of diseases in the large crowds.
Puritans- considered theatre the work of the devil as plays lacked morals and decency and contained rude gestures.
