Drama Flashcards
(69 cards)
1
Q
What are the origins of the English drama?
A
Middle Ages: Illiterate people couldn’t read the Bible, so on holidays the Church had plays that told incidents from the bible, obv in Latin (=Mystery Plays)
-> there was dramatic action without speech
2
Q
What are Miracle/Mystery Plays?
A
- cylic collection of short plays on incidents from the Bible
- no author of plays
- amateur actors: town guilds
- on pageant wagons
- no scenery but rich costumes
- town guilds owned the ones they financed
- Performance time on Corpus Christi Day in May/June
13th-14th century
3
Q
What are the cycles of Mystery Plays?
A
- York
- Wakefield
- Chester
- Ludus Coventriae
4
Q
What are the five groups of a cycle?
A
- Plays dealing with the Creation, the Fall of Man
- Plays centering around the birth of Christ (old Christmas play)
- Plays presenting incidents in the life of Christ
- Passion plays (early Quem Quaeritis)
- Ascension plays
5
Q
What are Morality Plays?
A
- Allegorical drama teaching moral lessons
- Deriving from the Church sermon
- Characters personifying moral qualities or abstract concepts
- Division into acts and scenes
- Professional actors
- Indications of individual authorship
14th-16th century
6
Q
What were the three themes of Morality Plays?
A
- Coming of Death
- Debate of heavenly virtues
- Conflict of virtues and vices fighting for the soul of a man
7
Q
What are the two main situations in Morality Plays?
A
- Temptation
- Debate
both: struggle of the soul in Shakespearean drama
e.g. ‘Everyman’ (i.e. allegorical figure representing Mankind) is seduced by Satan falls, repents and is finally saved by God’s mercy) + ‘Mankynd’
8
Q
What is ‘Interlude’?
A
- Sometimes considered transition between medieval morality plays and Tudor dramas
- Vice as a stock figure (=represents specific stereotypes)
- Performance at festivities without need for a stage
example: ‘The Play called the four PP’ by John Heywood
9
Q
What do you know about Comedy?
A
- Characters from the ‘lower classes’
- Plain English
- Classical influence
example: The Supposes
10
Q
What do you know about Tragedy?
A
- Classical influence
- Form: five-act play, Chorus (3 unities)
- Seneca: 9 closet dramas
- Content: bloody action, revenge, murder, ghost
example: Hamlet
11
Q
What is a Domestic Tragedy?
A
- Ordinary middle or lower-class protagonists
- Focus on recent local events
example: Arden of Feversham
12
Q
What does the term ‘University Wits’ mean?
A
Authors that influenced the theatre in the 16th century, who also studied at Oxford
example: Thomas Nashe, Christopher Marlowe
13
Q
What is Christopher Marlowe’s contribution to new drama?
A
- villain-hero
- passion for beauty
- powerful language
- strong individualism
14
Q
What are some works of Christopher Marlowe?
A
- Doctor Faustus
- The Jew of Malta
- Tamburlaine
he shares characteristics with his main characters in his books
15
Q
What do you know about the book ‘Tamburlaine’ by Christopher Marlowe?
A
- written in 1588
- 1st prologue: intro of Tamburlaine - his rise to world domination
- there were two parts
- worldly power and glory
- restless move from battlefield to battlefield
- brutality vs. beauty of speech
Part 1: Tamburlaine’s rise to power by bloodshed, treachery, ambition
Part 2: his decline
16
Q
What do you know about the book ‘Doctor Faustus’ by Christopher Marlowe?
A
- composed around 1592
- Quarto 1604 & one in 1616
- shows struggle within protagonist’s mind (soliloquies)
- chorus: intro to Faustus (humble origins -> transgression -> downfall)
- divided into 3 parts
17
Q
In what three parts is ‘Doctor Faustus’ divided?
A
- Temptation and fall of hero (bargain with Mephistopheles)
- 24 years as a wonder-working magician (in exchange for his soul)
- his death and damnation
Faustus as the typical ‘new man’, the overreacher
18
Q
What are the characteristics of a normal medieval tragedy?
A
- royal hero
- moral, didactic lesson
- falling from happiness to misery
- fortune
19
Q
What are the characteristics of a Malovian tragedy?
A
- Individual hero, overreacher
- no moral
- struggle of the soul
- inner conflict
e.g. Fall of Princess
20
Q
What public theatre arose in Whitechapel?
A
Red Lion in 1567 by John Brayne
21
Q
What public theatres arose in Shoreditch?
A
- Theatre by James Burbage
- Curtain
- Fortune by Philip Henslowe
22
Q
What public theatres arose in Southwark?
A
- Rose by Henslowe
- Swan
- Globe
- Hope by Henslowe
23
Q
How many shareholders did the Globe theatre have?
A
- Richard Burbage (25%)
- Cuthbert Burbage (25%)
- William Shakespeare (12.5%)
- John Heminges (12.5%)
- Augustine Phillips (12.5%)
- Thomas Pope (12.5%)
-> 6
24
Q
Why did public playhouses have a bad reputation?
A
- pickpockets
- spread of diseases
- contamination of people’s morals
- practical reasons e.g. traffic problems
Shakespeare wasn’t esteemed great because his association with plays
and obv lots of people mingled
25
What are some facts about the Globe theatre?
- Under London Bridge
- Held up to 3000 people
- original had no roof (=Heaven)
- trap underneath stage (=Hell)
- pit for groundlings
- apron stage
- balcony
- tiring house
- flag (colors represented if play was ongoing/about to start)
| groundlings got wet bc no roof, noblemen had a roof over them
## Footnote
stage sets were limited because sometimes people set on the stage -> limited background
26
What's the history of the Globe?
- Built in 1599
- Destroyed by fire in 1613
- Rebuilt with tiled roof in 1614
- Closed by Puritans in 1642
- Demolished in 1644
## Footnote
Globe was the most successful playhouse for 14 years until the fire
Across Europe there are reconstructions of the Globe
27
Were playhouses open all the time?
Public: closed in winter
private: yes
28
How was the atmosphere at the Globe like?
- Social composition of the audience
- Aural and visual appeal
- Festival-like atmosphere
- Eating and drinking during performance
- Fights in the pit
## Footnote
(Women, servants, apprentices could access the Globe together with all other members of society, so a lot of simple and illiterate people were there)
29
What private theatres were there?
- Blackfriars (1576)
- Whitefriars (1608-1620s)
## Footnote
From 1608 Shakespeare’s King’s Men performed at Whitefriars in winter, where they had to adapt to the stage because it was a picture-frame stage (Globe was round, not rectangular)
30
Describe the private theatre 'Blackfriars'?
- Located in London
- Indoor
- Artificially lit
- ‘selected’ audience
- Higher admission prices
- Picture-frame stage
31
What is 'Masque'?
Courtly entertainment celebrating the monarch, combining music and acting with elaborate stage design and costumes, actors and actresses wearing masques, final dance + participation of noblemen and -women, self-fashioning and role-playing
## Footnote
-> Collaboration of Ben Jonson (writing) & Inigo Jones (proscenium staging)
-> ‘Masque of Blackness’ (1605) -> at the request of Queen Anne
32
What are the names of adult companies in public theatres (playing companies and actors)?
- Lord Chamberlain's Men (Henry Carey)
- Admiral's Men (Charles Howard)
33
What are the names of children's companies in private theatres?
- Choir boys
- Children of the Chapel
34
What do you know about William Shakespeare?
- 1564-1616
- Marriage to Anne Hathaway
- Born in Stratford-upon-Avon
- 3 children
- had 7 lost years, reappeared in London
- Actor
- Shareholder of Globe
- wrote narrative poems
- wrote sonnets + plays
| Shakespeare’s son died in 1596, there’s a book on it called ‘Hamnet’
35
What was very important to Shakespeare?
That he signed 'W.S. Gentleman'
36
What do you know about the authorship debate regarding Shakespeare?
- Stratfordians, Oxfordians think that Shakespeare didn’t write his plays
- Some think that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford claimed as real author of Shakespeare’s works bc he was a lawyer and Shakespeare couldn’t have known some things
37
Why did Shakespeare write Tragedies after Elizabeth I's reign?
how powerful England is for the narrative + showing her that there will be a way of continuity
## Footnote
He started out with writing comedies and histories and after Elizabeth’s death he wrote Tragedies
38
What are foul papers?
Shakespeare's first script
39
What are fair copies?
clear handwriting of the foul papers, either by Shakespeare himself or scribe
40
What are prompt-books?
stage-directions to guide an individual’s performance
41
What's the difference between a good quarto and a bad quarto?
- Good quarto: more authentic & reliable
- Bad quarto: pirated editions, actors recollection of his plays and they sold it to the press; printing errors; notes-taking by competitive playhouses during a play
42
What do you know about Shakespeare's First Folio?
- 1623
- consisted of 36 plays
- edited by John Heminges
- printed by Jaggard
- Preface by Ben Jonson 'Soul of the Age'
| in 17th century: Second, Third & Fourth Folio, 21st cen: New Shakespeare
## Footnote
‘Not of an age, but for all time’ by Ben Jonson about Shakespeare in his Preface to the first folio
43
What is the 'Stationer's Company'?
- Trade guild of printers, bookbinders and booksellers receiving royal charter in 1557 to regulate the printing and publishing industry and optimize censorship
- Early form of copyright law
- Important members: Richard Tottel, Richard Field, John Day
- Stationer’s register: company’s record book (works entered to document exclusive right to print/publish them)
44
Why is Shakespeare still relevant?
- his contribution to language
- his plays were universal
- he shaped theatres
- explored the human psyche
- universal talent
45
What do you know about Romeo and Juliet on a formal level?
- Tragedy
- Written in 1595
- Consists of 5 acts
- Mentioned in Folio in 1623
- First performance before 1597 by Lord Chamberlain's Men
| (first & second act have a prologue)
## Footnote
bad quarto in 1597, good quarto 1599
There are multiple selected adaptions (screen e.g. Luhrmann with Leo DiCaprio + music e.g. Bernstein: West Side Story, Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet)
46
What does the Prologue in Romeo and Juliet tell us?
- Two households that are in a feud: Montagues vs. Capulets
- Setting (Verona, Italy)
- Source of conflict (ancient grudge)
- Fate, tragic outcome (star-crossed lovers take their lives)
- Performance (two hours long)
| Chorus is English sonnet with 3 quatrains and 1 couplet
47
What does the Prologue to Act 2 in Romeo and Juliet tell us?
- Mentioning Romeo’s extinct love for Rosaline
- Emphasis on the lover’s meeting
- Anticipating the complex consequences
| English sonnet too btw
48
How are the lovers in Romeo and Juliet introduced?
- Romeo: introduced by Benvolio as typical Petrarchan lover
- Juliet: introduced by Capult talking to Paris
## Footnote
-> Both are (quasi) in a relationship: Romeo + Rosaline, Juliet + Paris (=kinsman of Prince of Verona)
49
How did Romeo and Juliet's first meeting look like?
- At Capulet’s ball
- Religious metaphors: holy shrine, pilgrims, saints, holy palmers, prayer, pray
- Romeo as a pilgrim and Juliet as a saint, through her kiss his ‘sin is purged’
| Act 1, Scene 5
50
How is the imagery in Romeo and Juliet?
- Light and darkness: good and bad, but darkness also as shelter
- Moon, sun
- Stars: metaphors for a lady’s eyes, for beauty + allusion to fate (star-crossed lovers)
51
How is the general structure of Romeo and Juliet?
- Romantic plot, Violent scenes, Climactic scenes
- Patterns of repetition throughout the play
- Frequent use of the sonnet: Petrarchan love poetry
- Love and death
- Social vs personal time
52
How about a feminist approach to Romeo and Juliet?
Coppélia Kahn: ‘Coming of Age in Verona’
- Changing role of Juliet’s father from paternal mildness to despotism (=absolute ruler that oppresses)
- Nurse: traditional conception of femininity, trivial anecdotes and dirty jokes
- Juliet’s increasing independence, ‘placing fidelity to Romeo above obedience to her father’
53
What do you know about Richard II on a formal level?
- History play
- written in 1595 (covering Richard's last two years)
- part of a tetralogy
| tetraglogy = four works that are based on each other
## Footnote
Richard II, Henry 3rd, Henry 4th, Henry 5th
54
What's the similarity between Richard II & Elizabeth I?
- problems in Ireland
- childless
- had favourites
- Bolingbroke & Earl of Essex (their opps) were popular with common people
55
What's the structure of Richard II?
1. Richard as King
2. Bolingbroke’s invasion
3. Richard’s deposition
4. Bolingbroke as King
56
What happens at Flint Castle in Act 3, Scene 3?
- The King’s two bodies: body politic and body natural (body politic is receding)
- Richard’s instability, anticipation of his downfall
57
What happens in the Garden scene at Langley in Act 3, Scene 4?
- Garden being compared to state of kingdom
- Commons use garden metaphors to describe political events
- Richards' Men are ruining the country
| Fall of leaf = reference to autumn & after fall is winter/death (threat)
58
What are the characteristics of Richard II and Henry Bolingbroke?
- Richard II: indecisive, unstable, talks a lot but doesn't do anything, weak-minded
- Bolingbroke: masculine virtues, deeds, personal achievement
59
What happens at the Deposition scene in Act 4, Scene 1?
- Richard dominates stage
- Richard contemplates himself in mirror (narcissim, betrayal)
- gives up crown but talks a lot beforehand
## Footnote
Richard’s comparison of the crown with a ‘deep well/That owes two buckets’ -> Tear buckets, Richard is lower because he cried more
60
What happens in the prison scene in Act 5, Scene 5?
- Richard in prison at Pomfret Castle
- wonders if he's something else than a King (fails)
- Gets murdered by Exton
- Henry not happy about his death
61
What do you know about 'The Changeling' on a formal basis?
- Jacobean tragedy
- written in 1622
- written by Middleton (mainplot) & Rowley (subplot)
62
What could the title 'The Changeling' mean?
- Changeling: hypallage: rhetorical figure reversing the natural relation of two terms in a sentence -> cross over and combination of contrary qualities and values in the play
- Title metaphorically applied to Beatrice: dangerous changeability of women
- Also to other characters e.g. Diaphanta taking the place of Beatrice in the bed-trick
63
What is the genre of 'The Changeling'?
- Masque and antimasque
- Revenge drama
- Tragedy of love
- Domestic tragedy
- Ironic inversion of Petrarchism (De Flores as the lover)
64
What is the setting of 'The Changeling'?
- Alicante, Spain
- Enclosed space -> impenetrable atmosphere
- Main plot at castle (stands for the chaste mistress Beatrice, patriarchal analogy between family and state -> because father controls both)
- Subplot at an asylum/madhouse
65
What's happening in the opening scene in 'The Changeling'?
- Beatrice’s change of heart: from Alonzo to Alsemero (to De Flores)
- De Flores: serpent, image of the devil + Sexual connotations later on by cut-off Alonzo’s finger as a phallic trophy for Beatrice
- Some critics say that Beatrice’s unconscious sexual interest in De Flores, her revulsion as repressed sexual desire (Freud)
- Profound link between them: intense sexuality and violence, later: murder of Alonzo
## Footnote
Parallel to the castle:
o outward view: chivalric love and honour
o inward view: lust and deception
66
What happens in Scene 2.1 in 'The Changeling'?
- De Flores' claim of moral solidarity
- shared subservience of servant and women
- mix of gender and class in his obsession for Beatrice
- class revenge
67
What happens in Scene 2.2 in 'The Changeling'?
2 encounters ->
- Beatrice meeting Alsemero
o Her treatment of the complete gentleman
o His proposal: ‘One good service’ (=duel between Alsemero and De Flores)
o Her warning: ‘Blood-guiltiness becomes a fouler visage’ -> she thinks a duel is too risky
- Beatrice meeting De Flores
o Beatrice offers a cream for his face which makes us skeptical
o Mentioning the service (killing Alonzo)
o Hinting at further rewards beyond money (she means money and he wants a sexual relationship with her)
o Clever play on the language of service, manhood, blood, danger and reward
o Her naïve hope that De Flores can be sent off to ‘live bravely in another country’
o His response: ‘we’ll talk of that hereafter’ -> Beatrice doesn’t catch the cynicism
68
What happens in Scene 3.4 in 'The Changeling'?
- Alonzo’s cut-off finger with the diamond ring (wanted ring, cuts off entire finger and shows Beatrice -> he thinks they are equal from now on and she gifts him the diamond)
- De Flores’ refusal to play by the rules, reminding Beatrice of being ‘a woman dipped in blood’ (=he has the power to force her and he reminds her of being a woman dipped in blood and she reminds him of their different rank)
- Her talk of their different rank but he talks how her involvement of the murder makes them equal and one
- De Flores: despising her money, subverting the language of chivalry turning service into sexual mastery, servitude into social revenge
69
What's going on in Scene 5.3 in 'The Changeling'?
- Relation main plot -> subplot (=almost a parody, turn to comic effect)
o Implications -> literal meanings
o Deceptive appearances -> actual disguises
o Madness of love -> almost real madness
- Connection of both parts delivered by Alsemero: he lists all the changes
