Elizabethan Theater Flashcards
(28 cards)
Elizabethan theater is associated with what
the period of the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, it also referred to as a theater style
what is a soliquy
a single character talks aloud inner thoughts to him or herself, but not within earshot of another character. (its long and dramatic)
what is an aside
one character addressing the audience “on the side” informing them of whats going on.
how does an aside make the audience feel
they feel empowered knowing more about the events of the stage than some of the characters do
Why did boys play womens’ roles
women acting was frowned upon by society, because shows were very rough and rowdy and not nice and gentle
What type of theater allowed women to act, and when
Commedia dell’Arte, in 1660 when King Charles 2 took the thrown
what is a masque
allegorical stories about an event or person involving singing, acting, and dancing.
What does a masque performance look like
characters wear beautiful costumes, they speak in verse (for upperclass more educated audiences), and characters wore elaborate masks to cover their faces.
where were masques performed
indoors at the King or Queen’s court
What is Easedropping
one character is doing their soliloquy and another character is listening, without the knowledge of the other character.
why was Elizabethan theater acted in a presentational style.
actors were aware of the audience instead of pretending they were not there. Movements and gestures were more stylized and dramatic, than the movements of and gestures of and ordinary person. Speech patterns were heightened, and also more dramatic. Asides, soliloquies and prologue and epilogue were all character’s direct address to the audience.
What was the significance of the dialogue in Elizabethan theater
dialogue was poetic, dramatic, heightened. lower class spoke in prose(normal), upper class spoke verse (fancy smanshy talk)
what is a Play within a play
a play within a play Ex: hamlet
Explain the stagecraft or the acting area
acting area was large and bare, minimal use of props, dialogue would designate the scene’s location. entrance and exits were at two doors at the rear(tiring house) and not the wings, as in modern theater.
Elizabethan theater was considered as the what of renaissance theater
the center of renaissance theater
Who are the three greatest playwrights
Marlowe, Jonson, Shakespear
What did performers do to protect their reputation since society looked down on actors.
get the sponsoring or patronage of a wealthy noble, because performers who had one were considered legit but those who didn’t were continued to be looked down upon by society.
why did they use young instead of men boys to play women’s roles
young boys had smaller frames and higher voices
how did the theater’s audience change in the 1600s
before the 1600s plays were written reach out to a lower class audience, but from the 1600s audience changed to a upper class audience, and which resulted in more sophisticated, educated plays.
how did the civil war in 1642 change theater
theater went into hibernation, because putrians banned them and most stages were burned down.
Explain the playhouses
round or octagonal with 3 levels of seating galleries, the pit, partial roof which they used to create night time, called the heavens, wall behind the actors is the exterior of the wall. level above that was an extra acting area but usually housed the musicians. above that was the storage, above that the flag.
who sat in the gallery, on stage, or in the pit
galleries were seating levels and only the rich who paid for seats could seat there, people who were really rich sate on stage, and the poor people stood in the pit,(they were called groundlings)
Christopher Marlowe
introduced blank verse, greatest english dramatist, lived 1564-1593, there is a rivalry between him and Shakespeare.
Marlowe’s most famous work
Tamburlaine the Great, The jew of Malta, Edward the Second, The tragical history of Doctor Faustus.
