Renaissance Drama - The human condition and Elizabethan theatre

The Human Condition

During this period the Drama changed completely and the human nature was explored through the heroes and heroines. Marlowe and Shakespeare were important dramatists and Faustus an allegory of the humanist revolution. Faustus made a pact with the devil because he wanted unlimited power and knowledge and this can be a metaphore for the humanist idea of man breaking free of God’s control and for England’s break with the catholic Church.
Faustus indipendently chose is own fate. The greatest dramatist of the period but also of the modern period is Shakespeare. His plays explore every aspect of human life and he is the first writer to consider the great problems of existence without using accepted models. He asks questions that have no answers and that people still ask. He creates characters that can contemplate themselves objectively. Man becomes a spectator of his own actions.

Elizabethan Theatre

At first there were professional actors who travelled around and gave public performances on movable platforms in town squares or inn jards. Then there came court interludes and then the first theatre was built. James Burbage erected it in 1576 in Shoreditch. The theatres were circular or polygonal and around the walls there were three rows of galleries. The rich people sat in the expensive seats in the galleries and the poor people stood in the yard. The stage was an apron or thrust stage and came out into the audience. There was no roof but the stage was half covered. The most famous theatre was the Globe theatre which was built in London in 1599.