Rise and Development of Drama
Drama was introduced to Britain from Europe by the Romans.
Religious period of Drama
The origin of the drama is deep-rooted in the religion.As most of the Bible was written into Latin, common people could not understand its meanings. That’s why the clergy tried to find out some new methods of teaching and expounding the teachings of Bible to the common people. For this purpose, they developed a new method, wherein the stories of the Gospel were explained through the living pictures. The performers acted out the story in a dumb show.
Medieval period:
Mystery plays were stories taken from the Bible. Each play had four or five different scenes or acts. The priests and monks were the actors. Each scene or act was preformed at a different place in town and the people moved from one stage to the next to watch the play. The play usually ended outside the church so that the people would go to church and hear a sermon after watching the play.
The Miracle play was about the life or actions of a saint, usually about the actions that made that person a saint. One popular Miracle play was about Saint George and the dragon.
Morality plays were designed to teach people a lesson in how to live their life according to the rules of the church.
Sometimes these plays had elaborate sets, sometimes no sets at all. It didn't seem to matter.
The people attended these plays. They didn't have to, but it was a break from their normal daily lives.
Interlude:
Interlude, in theatre, early form of English dramatic entertainment, sometimes considered to be the transition between medieval morality plays and Tudor dramas. Interludes were performed at court or at “great houses” by professional minstrels or amateurs at intervals between some other entertainment, such as a banquet, or preceding or following a play, or between acts.
Although most interludes were sketches of a nonreligious nature, some plays were called interludes that are today classed as morality plays. John Heywood, one of the most famous interlude writers, brought the genre to perfection in his The Play of the Wether (1533) and The Playe Called the Foure P.P. (c. 1544). The earl of Essex is known to have had a company of interlude players in 1468; the first royal company was apparently established in 1493.
Renaissance Drama:
The English Renaissance, a cultural and artistic movement in England from 16th to early 17th century. It paved the way for the dominance of drama in the country. Queen Elizabeth I ruled during the period Great poetry and drama were produced. The renowned playwrights of this time include William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and John Webster.
The dramatists wrote plays based on themes like history, comedy and tragedy. Shakespeare emerged as an artist who produced plays based on all the three themes. Drama had previously been performed in temporary spaces. In 1567 the first public theater, the Red Lion Theatre in White chapel, was built. With the establishment of public theaters and acting companies the demand for plays was met by a group of highly educated men who were deeply educated in classical literature.
Things to know:
First Tragedy: The Tragedie of Gorboduc, also titled Ferrex and Porrex, is an English play from 1561. It was first performed at the Christmas celebration given by the Inner Temple in 1561, and performed at Whitehall before Queen Elizabeth I. Gorboduc, play was written by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville that takes as its subject Gorboduc, a mythical king of ancient Britain.
First Comedy: Ralph Roister Doister is a sixteenth-century play by Nicholas Udall, which was once regarded as the first comedy to be written in the English language.
Seneca Lucius Anaeus junior : He was a Roman philosopher, poet and politician. He was born about 4 B. C. in Hispanic Cordoba. Seneca was a son of rhetorician and writer. He died by suicide in year 65 in Rome.
Lucius Seneca shaped the genre of revenge tragedy with his ten plays: Hercules Furens, Troades, Phoenissae, Medea, Phaedra, Oedipus, Agamemnon, Thyestes, Hercules
Oetaeus, and Octavia.
Key facts of Revenge Tragedy: a) Revenge is the central theme b)play within a play c) presence of supernatural elements( ghost as vindictive character),d) insanity and mad scene, e) murder scene and violence
English Revenge tragedy:
Hamlet and Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd
The Revenger's Tragedy by Thomas Middleton
The three Unities/ Dramatic Unities:
Aristotle's Poetics mentioned the three unities of drama. The Three Unities are:
1. Unity of Time: the action of the play should take place in a short internal chronology, ideally, no more than 24 hours.
2. Unity of Place: the action should take place in a minimal number of locations–ideally, just one. A public square or palace courtyard would usually serve this purpose well.
3. Unity of Action: The action of the play should be as succinct as possible. Accomplish the emotional beats and relevant plot points in few, efficient steps. Avoid subplots. Quality trumps quantity. (If Aristotle had known what non-linear storytelling was, he probably would’ve advised against that, as well.)
He also mentioned that mixing of tragic and comic element should be avoided. Except Ben Jonson and John Dryden, almost every dramatists of Renaissance and Elizabethan periods violated these classical rules.
