The Age Of Elizabethan Theatre Essay, Research Paper

Elizabethan Theatre

-called this in honor of the current Queen ( Queen Elizabeth I )

-a period of great unrest in England refering England & # 8217 ; s official faith

-Queen Elizabeth declared that no dramas could be about the current spiritual affairs or portray current political figures

– & # 8221 ; Master of Revels & # 8221 ; was the offical censor of all dramas

-the Queen had to O.K. all the dramas that were performed in London

-Queen Elizabeth liked Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s dramas and gave him support and protection

Acting Companies and Theatre Owners

-theatres had to be licenced and moving companies had to be sponsored by a frequenter whose rank was no lower than a baron

-Shakespeare was a member of the Lord Chamberlain & # 8217 ; s Men, which was subsequently known as the King & # 8217 ; s Work force

-playwrights wrote to picture life as it was and allow the audiences draw their ain decisions & # 8211 ; keeping up a mirror to nature and entertaining

-performances started at 2:00 to do the most of daytime

-James Burbage created the first theater in London in 1576, called & # 8220 ; The Theatre & # 8221 ;

-when Shakespeare moved to London, he met with Burbage and became a promptor, so he became an histrion, and subsequently he became Burbage & # 8217 ; s star author

-Richard and Cuthbart Burbage opened & # 8220 ; The Globe Theatre & # 8221 ; in 1599

-Shakespeare produced most of his dramas in the Globe and became portion proprietor

-Shakespeare was a really popular dramatist in his twenty-four hours and other dramatists were covetous of his success

-after 1603, Shakespeare had to compose dramas that would delight the new King James I of Scotland ( one of these is Macbeth )

-James I made theatre more widely acceptable in English civilization and he contributed greatly to Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s sucess

The Theatre Itself

-theatres held 1500 & # 8211 ; 3000 people

-sanitary conditions were hapless and diseases could go through around in theaters

-theatre was non popular with local merchandisers because it took off from concern

-the Globe burned down in 1613 during a production of Henry VIII, but so rebuilt in 1614

-the theater was unfastened air and the phase was normally au naturel

-actors normally tell us where they are and what clip of twenty-four hours it is in their lines.

-the phase was a raised platform, it had a phase house behind the back wall to hive away props and for the histrions to alter their costumes if needed, and do entrywaies and issues from

-there was a balcony, called the & # 8220 ; inner above & # 8221 ; to be used if needed, but most of the action took topographic point downstage

The Actors

-actors normally wore their ain apparels unless they were portraying person immorality, royal, or female

-women were non allowed to execute on phase and so male childs would execute all female parts

-boys were apprentised to the moving profession between the ages of 6 and 14

-actors would hold to larn many parts of a drama, since up to three different dramas would be performed in the same hebdomad by a company

-acting was non a good respected profession at this clip

The Shutting of the Theaters

-theatre was popular until 1642 when the Puritans closed down all theaters

-Puritans believed that wendy houses were evil because it had nil to make with God

-the Restoration Period began in1660 with the instatement of King Charles II

Overview of an Elizabethan Outfit

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& # 8220 ; She must be smothering in that thing & # 8221 ;

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dnaco.net/~aleed/corsets/index.html

This is a listing of the chief elements of Elizabethan costume. ( By the term & # 8220 ; Elizabethan & # 8221 ; , I mean the frock worn by the English about during Queen Elizabeth & # 8217 ; s reign ( 1560-1600 ) . Each point is accompanied by a short definition and account attach toing each point every bit good as arrows to more elaborate information elsewhere at this site.

Even when one doesn & # 8217 ; t take into history the fluctuations in manner between 1550 and 1590, and the extremist spectrum of manner happening between the middling hapless and aristocracy, there is a perplexing assortment in English Elizabethan womenswear & # 8211 ; Gallic gowns, unit of ammunition gowns, loose gowns, dark gowns, doublets, Italian gowns, and Flemish and Polish gowns, merely for starting motors. So this is a general listing, non a specific one, concentrating chiefly on the under-clothing worn by middle- and upper- category Englishwomen in the latter half of the sixteenth century to make the Elizabethan silhouette.

Puting on an English Elizabethan gown is a complicated procedure, and when you include hair and make-up, can take half an hr or more.

? Any undies, stockings, places, earrings, etc. travel on first. Dress your hair and make your make-up before get downing ; one time you & # 8217 ; rhenium dressed, it & # 8217 ; ll be about impossible. Although Elizabethan adult females didn & # 8217 ; t wear underwear per Se, they did wear stockings. These normally came to merely above the articulatio genus, and were held in topographic point by a supporter at the top of the calf. See Kniting Period Stockings for more inside informations.

There is grounds that Englishwomens & # 8217 ; places during Elizabethan times were normally thin-soled with leather colloidal suspensions, and had uppers of leather, velvet or other cloths lined ( by the aristocracy, at least ) with vermilion, taffeta, or satin. They were for the most portion simple, slipper-type places, cut low on the top and round-toed, although heeled places became more popular from the 1560s onward. For more information, here & # 8217 ; s a site containing Patterns for Tudor Shoes.

To protect their places from the sludge and clay of an mean English street, adult females wore clogs, or platforms. Clogs were wooden colloidal suspensions, normally 1/2 to 1 inch midst, hinged at the ball of the pes with leather straps that were strapped on over the places, instead like sandals. Chopines, besides called pantobles or mules, ranged from sturdy-soled places with heels to high, discoesque platforms.

Put on your Chemise/smock. This was a simple underdress worn to protect the vesture from perspiration and organic structure oils. It frequently had full arms gathered to a turnup, and either gathered to a neckband or fitted near to the thorax, although illustrations exist of uncollected dusters. For more information on the history and assortment of Elizabethan dusters, see the subdivision on Elizabethan Smocks and Chemises

If you & # 8217 ; re traveling to have on an under-petticoat under your farthingale to maintain warm and to forestall any flashes of leg, put that on now. Petticoats were underskirts worn both for ornament ( frequently an overskirt would be tucked up to expose a pretty petticoat ) and for heat. Decorated half-slips were worn over a farthingale and bumroll ( see the following two subdivisions ) , but flannel under-petticoats are besides documented as being worn underneath the farthingale. The seamsters & # 8217 ; forms of the clip, and lasting half-slips and skirts, most normally show somewhat gored or flared pieces gathered or pleated to a girdle. For more information on half-slips, visit this page on Elizabethan Petticoats

Put on your farthingale/hoop skirt. The Spanish farthingale, worn from about 1540-1580, was a conic petticoat stiffened with willow osiers or other stuffs. The design for this farthingale was imported from Spain ; hence the name. It was this undergarment which created the signature early Elizabethan A-line skirt. As the century waned, it bit by bit gave manner to the Gallic Farthingale, which had a different expression wholly. For more info on the farthingale and its development throughout the Elizabethan epoch, expression at the subdivisions on the History of the Farthingale and Making Elizabethan Farthingales.

The corset/pair of organic structures. This was a snug stiffened garment, normally with a wooden busk down the forepart to do it flatter and stiffer. The brace of organic structures, or some comparative type of stiffening, is indispensable for all in-between category and upper category Elizabethan gowns ; even if you have a beautiful bodice and arms, the period consequence will be ruined by the trunk & # 8217 ; s natural balls and bumps if you go without a girdle, unless the bodice itself is to a great extent boned ( in which instance it is itself called a brace of organic structures & # 8211 ; you have to love period nomenclature ) . Look at the subdivisions on the History of the Elizabethan Corset, Corset Materials, Corset Patterns and Sewing a Corset Together to happen out more about this garment.

Put on your bumroll. The bumroll, worn by about all Elizabethan adult females of any agencies, was a unit of ammunition, semilunar tablet that makes the skirt stick out like it should. Look at Making an Elizabethan Bumroll for more information.

If you have a partlet, this goes on now. The partlet was a funny point of vesture worn by Tudor and Elizabethan adult females which covered merely the forepart and back thorax and tied under the weaponries. Originally it was worn over a frock, but by the mid sixteenth century it was, for the most portion, worn over the girdle and under the bodice.

The petticoat/forepart/kirtle now goes on. This piece of dressing evolved from a separate frock under the gown, known as a kirtle in Tudor times. Although kirtles continued to be worn under frocks throughout Elizabeth & # 8217 ; s reign, the term & # 8211 ; and the kirtle itself & # 8211 ; bit by bit came to mean a separate petticoat or half-slip, frequently intricately decorated, every bit good as a frock full. In clip, the front subdivision of the kirtle entirely would be decorated ; known as the front, this triangular subdivision at the forepart of the petticoat/kirtle, which was sometimes detachable and frequently decorated to fit the bodice or arms. Sometimes merely the front was decorated, and the remainder of the half-slip left field. Check out this article on Elizabethan Petticoats.

The gown. The gown consisted of a skirt attached to a bodice, with arms sewn on or tied on with points. Some bodices had low, square necklines, while others covered the trunk all the manner up to the cervix. most images and lasting points of vesture show them laced together or closed with maulerss and eyes. Alternately, a adult female could have on a doublet over her skirts. During the 1570s the skirt was frequently split in the forepart to demo the cosmetic front underneath. bodices attached to front-split skirts fastened together at the forepart, and sometimes had a cosmetic stomacher pinned over the front fastener. Look at the bibliography for some good mentions on Elizabethan vesture.

Religion

Everyone has one. We were all brought up to be Christians of one kind or another.

The functionary established province faith is the Church of England. It is referred to as the new faith or the established church, but non yet as & # 8220 ; C of E & # 8221 ; . ( Do non give in to the modern disposition to acronyms. )

Puritanism is non a separate faith, but a Calvinist attitude within the Anglican church. Puritans do non yet look like Pilgrims ( see Comparative Religion ) .

Bing a Roman Catholic is non a offense, but there is a all right for non conforming to the established faith ; that is, for non traveling to Protestant services.

Paying the mulct does non let you to hold a priest or pattern the Catholic religion. There is no legal manner for Catholics to pattern their religion.

It is illegal to be a Catholic priest in England. It is really illegal to be a Jesuit.

A non-conforming Catholic is called a nonconformist ( rec-YOU-zant ) and is guilty of recusancy.

Everyone is required to go to an Anglican service one time a month. The service is referred to as the Prayer Service, or the Prayer Book Service, and sometimes as Common Prayer, Holy Eucharist, or the Lord & # 8217 ; s Supper.

Mass is a Catholic service merely. It is illegal to keep or go to one at any clip in the reign, though punishment varies. Peoples of high rank are less likely to acquire in problem.

Older people may still mention to the service as a Mass, but it is politically huffy. Reformers refer to the abhorrent outrageousnesss of the & # 8220 ; Mass priests & # 8221 ; .

The prayer beads is period in several signifiers, including the modern one, and used merely by Catholics. The rosary cross normally does non include a principal, or figure of Christ.

The figure may still be on the rood in the Anglican Church but non in any Puritan, Calvinist, etc. , fold.

The Protestants sometimes refer to Roman Catholics as Romanists. Catholics do non mention to themselves as Papists.

The term Puritan is common in period, although sometimes the word Precisionist is used.

The Pope published a writ ( 1570 ) shriving English Catholics from commitment to the Queen, since she is ( he says ) a heretic. Anyone who kills her is pre-absolved from the wickedness of slaying.

You can use the term atheist to anyone who disagrees with you in faith. In use, it does non wholly intend you believe that there is no God, but that you don & # 8217 ; t believe in my God. Any heretic can be called

an atheist. So can a Jew.

Comparative Religion: The Catholics

This is a choice merely of the chief properties of the Roman Catholic religion as understood in period. It is by no agencies complete, but in general screens the points on which the Lutherans and other Protestants disagree with Rome.

Salvation is gained through religion in God, the supplications of the Church, the grace of the sacraments, and making good plants. Good plants include both Acts of the Apostless of clemency and major church edifice undertakings.

Merely the Church, through its priests, can construe God & # 8217 ; s will to Man. The temporalty do non read the Bible for themselves.

The beginning of the Church & # 8217 ; s authorization is Scripture, the divinely divine Hagiographas of the Church Fathers, and an formless thing called Sacred Tradition.

The seven sacraments are: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Grace is conferred by a sacrament merely from your engagement in it, and your religion in its power.

The Pope, as the rightful inheritor of St. Peter, is the caput of the Church. He is considered to be infallible in affairs of religion and ethical motives, although this is non yet tenet.

There is a half-way point between Heaven and Hell called Purgatory, where a individual & # 8217 ; s wickednesss are purged to do him worthy of Heaven. The supplications of the life can shorten a psyche & # 8217 ; s stay in Purgatory, so it is good to pray for the dead.

The saints were more virtuous than they needed to be to acquire into Heaven, so there is this modesty of left over grace available. Drafts on this modesty are called indulgences, and they are for sale.

Worship is directed to God but supplications are frequently addressed to one of the saints. The saints are Mankind & # 8217 ; s advocators before God the Father.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the most august holy personage who is non really divine. The Mother of God is thought to be more compassionate than the sternly merely Father.

All rites, simple or elaborate, are carried out in Latin. Priests can non get married, and are required to stay celibate.

Comparative Religion: The Church of England

Most of these fundamentally Lutheran dogmas apply to all Protestants. The Calvinist ( & # 8221 ; puritan & # 8221 ; ) polishs are presented farther along.

Man & # 8217 ; s evil is so great that no sum of good plants could trust to expiate for our wickedness. God, being all good, would non necessitate something of us that is impossible. Therefore, the lone thing necessary for redemption is believing in His Name ( & # 8221 ; justification by religion & # 8221 ; ) .

The Church exists to steer but is non necessary for redemption. There is no demand for priests to construe God & # 8217 ; s will. Supporting the Church, or denying the flesh, does non convey you closer to God. If you are united with Him at all, it is wholly and perfectly.

The Roman church has corrupted the original philosophies and instructions of Christ and His Apostles for its ain intent, and no longer represents the true religion of Christ. The lone beginning of spiritual authorization is Scripture.

The two sacraments are Baptism and Holy Eucharist ( Communion ) . The other alleged sacraments are worthy but non Scripturally justified.

No sacrament is efficacious without understanding and religion.

There is no rule of Papal authorization: the Pope ( or Antichrist ) is merely a adult male and capable to mistake. He is non the leader of the true church.

The philosophy of Purgatory is denied as being un-Scriptural. You go directly to Heaven or Hell, harmonizing to God & # 8217 ; s judgement. Thus supplications for the dead, including Multitudes and purchased indulgences, are of no value.

The merchandising of indulgences is a peculiar frailty because a ) it is non in Scripture and B ) it encourages wickedness. The Church can non set Godhead forgiveness up for sale.

Your relation to God is non mediated by priests or saints, but is a personal credence of the message of Scripture. The Virgin Mary about disappears from Protestant consciousness, and the function of the saints is greatly diminished.

All rites are performed in the slang. Rituals are less luxuriant, although tapers and bells are still in usage.

Curates can get married, although the Queen would prefer they did non.

More Comparative Religion: Genevans

( Puritans, Huguenots, Presbyterians, etc. )

Refer to the Lutherans, so add & # 8230 ;

Every one is predestined, harmonizing to God & # 8217 ; s program, to be saved or damned. No action on any one & # 8217 ; s portion can alter this.

Those who already saved are called the Elect. Good plants are an facet of the behavior expected of the Elect, but are non required for redemption. They are non Saved because they are virtuous ; they are virtuous because they are Saved.

The supplications of priests are no more perfect, and no more of import to God than others.

Testifying, or prophesying and interpreting Bible, is encouraged and expected of both curates and the fold.

The supplications of Lords are no more valuable to God, either. Every adult male is equal in the sight of God. This is perilously radical thought.

The rites of the English church are still excessively Roman to accommodate the Puritans. They would prefer that tapers, bells, saints and vestments of any sort be removed.

Certain evangelical sermonizers are even more extremist. They besides maintain:

? Bible is non the lone beginning of God & # 8217 ; s truth.

? It is still possible for the Holy Spirit to talk through an person. A adult male ( or more seldom, a adult female ) can hold personal disclosures non merely of the nature of God but about affairs of day-to-day life.

? While disclosure is an intensely personal experience, the individual so visited has an duty to pass on his vision with the remainder of the Christian community.

Masters & A ; Servants

Footings

Grooms are generic family functioning work forces ; grooms of the stable, chamber, etc. Females of the same order are called amahs or functioning amahs: of the kitchen, chamber, still room, etc.

Most of the retainers in any family are work forces.

Personal attender is a descriptive term, non a occupation rubric. In general, it separates everyone else & # 8217 ; s personal retainers ( of all ranks ) from family grooms and amahs. ( Never introduce anyone as & # 8220 ; my P.A. & # 8221 ; )

The term gentleman is in usage in English every bit early as 1567. Harmonizing to the OED, a gentleman is & # 8220 ; a man-servant acting responsibilities chiefly associating to the individual of his maestro ; a gentleman & # 8217 ; s personal attendant. & # 8221 ;

From & # 8216 ; rogue & # 8217 ; : the British pronunciation is ( and about surely was ) & # 8220 ; VAL-ett & # 8221 ; . Valet ( val-AY ) is a small excessively Gallic, wear & # 8217 ; t y & # 8217 ; believe?

The most common term for the occupation is gentleman, manservant, or merely adult male. For illustration, in Romeo and Juliet, Benvolio refers to Romeo & # 8217 ; s of all time present retainer as & # 8220 ; his adult male & # 8221 ; , as in & # 8220 ; Romeo came non place tonight. I spoke with his man. & # 8221 ;

Female equivalents are waiting dame or amah, depending on the rank of the relevant parties. A lady might mention to her dame or her amah. ( Merely the Queen has Ladies in Waiting. )

As a verb, say that you serve, or delay upon, or attend ( but non & # 8220 ; work for & # 8221 ; ) person. Or that you are waited on or attended to by person.

General Attitudes

Recognition, or repute, has to make with one & # 8217 ; s personal self-respect or award. Frances Countess of Sussex one time said ( 1588 ) & # 8220 ; My recognition is more to me than my life. & # 8221 ;

A retainer and maestro strive to make each other recognition. As a baronial, it is unbecoming to your self-respect to transport your ain shopping basket. As a baronial & # 8217 ; s servant, it is unbecoming to your self-respect to allow her.

As a baronial, it befits your self-respect to dress yourself and your retainers good. As a retainer, you do your maestro recognition by looking and acting good. Sir Thomas Smith said, & # 8220 ; A gentleman should travel like a gentleman. & # 8221 ; Peoples do non dress their retainers in shred. ( See Livery. )

Servants are non democrats. In general, they approve of the societal order, merely like their Masterss. And they intend to take advantage of it.

A retainer in a all right house expects ( if he is clever ) to lift in the universe, better his lucks, and create an even better topographic point for his kids. A stable groom might draw a bead on to go pantryman or steward in the same or a greater house. The pot male child might trust one twenty-four hours to be main cook.

Servants take money from anyone. They will accept a vail ( tip ) for any service rendered. ( & # 8221 ; Here & # 8217 ; s a penny to imbibe my health. & # 8221 ; ) Or a douceur ( sweetening ) for favours requested. They expect to be vailed for presenting a gift or message. Their Masterss are cognizant of this, and do it themselves to other people & # 8217 ; s retainers.

It is non considered dishonest unless truenesss become baffled and compromised.

The good retainer, like a good server, is attentive. The best retainer is a small spot psychic. He is at that place when you need him but ne’er hovers. He finds some virtuous business when you disappear. He is neither obscene nor conceited, but maintains a respectable visage, to the recognition of his maestro. He is modest but ne’er craven, low but ne’er base, candid but non impudent.

The good maestro is proud but ne’er despotic. He is patient, regulating his family with fatherlike attention. He does non writhe your sincere desire to function into a sincere desire to plug him out. He lets you make your occupation. He maintains his superior station, as God has given it him, by honest behaviour, non by statement.

Ranks and Files

The ordinary ranking of the English Court, ignoring assorted offices, parents, patents, or orders of knighthood is as follows:

Work forces Womans

Duke Duchess

Marquis ( MAR-kwis ) Marchioness ( MAR-shon-ess )

Earl Countess

Viscount ( vEYE-count ) Viscountess ( vEYE-count-ess )

Baron Baroness

Knight Knight & # 8217 ; s lady

Royalty refers merely to the sovereign and his/her immediate household.

Nobility refers to equals and their households.

The equals are barons and above, and sit by right in the House of Lords.

Gentry refers to anyone gentle but ignoble, normally descended from aristocracy.

Knights are non baronial. They are knightly. Knights and equals & # 8217 ; boies may sit, by election or assignment, in the House of Commons.

An ordinary, uniform knight is a Knight Bachelor.

Knight Banneret is an honor conferred on a adult male who distinguished himself on the battleground in forepart of his sovereign. It is a battleground publicity which permits him to cut the dress suits off his pennant ( doing it a streamer ) and permits/requires him to take a company of his ain work forces under it. In Elizabeth & # 8217 ; s reign, there are merely three, including Sir Ralph Sadler.

Knights of the Garter outrank all the other knights.

Note: The rank of Baronet ( an familial knighthood ) does non be until James I invents it as a money doing strategy.

In 1558, there were no more than approximately 600 knights in the state.

Minor leagues and adult females keeping rank in their ain right may non sit in the House of Lords. Minor leagues must wait till they are old plenty. A adult female may direct her eldest boy & # 8220 ; in her right, & # 8221 ; when he comes of age.

Certain ecclesiastical rubrics are besides ranked with the equals. Bishops have a rank equal to that of an Earl. Archbishops rank with the Dukes, and are addressed as Your Grace.

The Queen has small usage for Churchmen, nevertheless, and rarely invites them & # 8217 ; unit of ammunition to dine.

Servicess and Occupations

You get & # 8230 ; From the & # 8230 ;

Books Stationer or bookseller

Cloth Mercer

Hats Milliner or Hatter

Suit of Clothes Tailor

Shirts/Smocks Seamstress

Ready made apparels Draper

Arrows Fletcher

Bows Bowyer

Quoitss Farrier

Other Fe work Blacksmith

Armor Armorer

A Portrait Limner

Legal Service Lawyer

Drugs etc. Apothecary

Dentistry Barber Surgeon

In town & # 8230 ;

A Stapler Buys and sells natural wool ; besides silk and linen.

A Draper Deals in fabric ( sweeping ) , plus some ready-made garments and dry goods.

A Mercer Is the cloth retail merchant: the local cloth shop is a mercer & # 8217 ; s store. One may be a silk mercer or a wool mercer, for illustration.

On your ain staff, your & # 8230 ;

Man of Business Is your comptroller, looks after your investings

Steward Oversees the running of your estates.

Factor Does concern for you in London, or in another state.

Nurse Takes attention of babies and immature kids.

Wet Nurse Breast feeds the babe ( possibly every bit long as the first 2 old ages. )

Tutor Educates your kids