Concetti Chiave
- Elizabethan theatres were circular or octagonal structures with a central yard, where the stage was elevated and surrounded by the audience.
- Performances lacked formal beginnings or endings, allowing audiences to come and go, with actors performing prominently on the apron stage.
- Scenery was symbolic, emphasizing dialogue over objects, while costumes were elaborate to enhance visual appeal.
- Actors performed monologues and soliloquies to convey emotions, with male actors playing female roles due to women being prohibited from acting.
- Elizabethan theatre drew heavily from classical works, incorporating elements from Latin comedies and Greek tragedies.
Elizabethan theatre - features
At the beginning of the fifteenth century (renaissance) some buildings - where performances were supposed to take place - were similar to inns, structures with inner yards, rooms and sheds. The first theatres were built outside the cities because actors were considered unreliable and actors' companies had to be supported by nobles (Shakespeare's company was supported by the king himself).These buildings were circular or octagonal and had a central yard. The only covered places were some galleries for the richer. People who paid less (groundlings) stood in the yard and couldn't sit. The stage was placed higher than the floor in the middle of the yard. There were no divisions between audience and actors.
Since during Middle Age the performances took place in pageants, performances didn't have a beginning nor an end and the audience could leave at any time.
The prominent part of the stage was called apron stage and most part of the performance took place there. In the middle of the apron stage there was a trap for special effects.
Behind the apron stage there were two doors used by actors to enter and go out, or represented the entrance to a house. Between them there was a small part of the stage called inner stage, closed by a curtain and used as a dressing room (since actors often played multiple characters), or a part of the house (bedroom, bureau) or also like a hideout.
English drama had a symbolic scenography. What mattered are dialogues, not objects. That allowed actors to always change the set. On the other hand, costumes were flashy and complex.
When actors stood on the apron stage, they were in the middle of it and were seen all-round by the audience and acted with their whole bodies. Monologues and soliloquies were used by the actors to express their ideas and their emotions. Upon the inner stage there was the upper stage, like a balcony that was used to play scenes from above and special effects (music, noises).Performances only took place at daytime because there was no lighting, and the entire theatre (except for galleries and upper stage) was open. Women were not allowed to act, so female characters were played by young boys, but women could see the performances.
Shakespeare copies Romeo and Juliet from an Italian novel, which was very famous. Other famous Italian novels were "Il cavaliere", "Il principe" and "Galateo".
Shakespeare was considered to be homosexual or bisexual because of some sonnets that he wrote for a dark lady and a man.
Classic works strongly influenced Elizabethan theatre. They were based on Latin comedies (as for complex plots, phantasms, violence) and on Greek tragedies (as for the division in five acts, which give rhythm to the play, the chorus and cathartic effects).
Domande da interrogazione
- Quali erano le caratteristiche principali dei teatri elisabettiani?
- Come venivano gestite le scenografie e i costumi nel teatro elisabettiano?
- Qual era il ruolo delle donne nel teatro elisabettiano?
- In che modo le opere classiche influenzarono il teatro elisabettiano?
I teatri elisabettiani erano edifici circolari o ottagonali con un cortile centrale. Le gallerie coperte erano riservate ai più ricchi, mentre i "groundlings" stavano in piedi nel cortile. Il palco era rialzato e non c'erano divisioni tra pubblico e attori.
La scenografia era simbolica e i dialoghi erano più importanti degli oggetti, permettendo cambiamenti frequenti del set. I costumi, invece, erano appariscenti e complessi.
Le donne non potevano recitare, quindi i personaggi femminili erano interpretati da ragazzi giovani. Tuttavia, le donne potevano assistere alle rappresentazioni.
Le opere classiche influenzarono il teatro elisabettiano attraverso le commedie latine e le tragedie greche, che ispirarono trame complesse, divisioni in cinque atti e l'uso del coro e degli effetti catartici.
Accedi a tutti gli appunti
Tutor AI: studia meglio e in meno tempo
