Elizabethan Era 4wh34

ELIZABETHAN ERA  a time associated with Queen Elizabeth´s reign (1558–1603)

 is often considered to be the golden age in English history  the height of the English Renaissance  the time of flowering as for English poetry, music and literature

the time during which Elizabethan theatre flourished  William Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke

free of England's past style of theatre

 It was an age of exploration and expansion abroad  the Protestant reformation became more acceptable to the people  It was also the end of the period when England was a separate realm

before its royal union with Scotland.

ELIZABETHAN ERA  The Elizabethan Age is viewed so highly because of

the periods before and after.  It was a brief period of internal peace between : - the English reformation (it was driven initially by the political necessities of Henry VIII – he decided to remove the Church of England from the authority of Rome. In 1534 Henry VIII was established the Supreme head of the Church of England.; there were battles between Protestants and Catholics …) - the battles between the Parliament and the monarchy in the 17th century.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, EXPLORATION  the Elizabethan era saw significant scientific progress in 

  

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astronomy, Substantial advancements were made in the fields of cartography and surveying /mapování/. Much of this scientific and technological progress related to the practical skill of navigation. Noteworthy achievements in exploration Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated /obeplul/ the globe between 1577 and 1581, and Martin Frobisher explored the Arctic. The first English settlement of North America occurred in this era—the „lost“ colony at Roanoke Island (established by Sir Walter Raleigh)

ELIZABETHAN THEATRE  Theatre was the focal point /ohnisko/ of the age – acting was a part of public life…  Theatre was also the most democratic cultural institution  Actors and playwrights often had the patronage of noblemen  The main topic of the plays were tensions and problems of the society

ELIZABETHAN THEATRE  The Elizabethan Theatres started in the courtyards of Inns - they

were called Inn-yards (The Bull Inn, The Bell Savage and others)



When London authorities banned plays (1572) as a measure against the plague and all players were formally expelled from the city first permanent open-air theatres were constructed outside the jurisdiction of London

 It was mainly the idea of James Burbage to construct the first

purpose-built theatre in 1576– it was simply called ‚The Theatre‘.  However, other theatres followed and the popularity of drama

increased (The Globe, the Hope, the Rose, the Swan, the Curtain, the Fortune)

TYPICAL ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

What were the open-air theatres like?  usually three stories high  built around an open space at the centre  Usually polygonal /mnohoúhelníkový/  The three levels of inward-facing galleries overlooked the

open center into which jutted /vybíhalo/ the stage  The stage was surrounded on three sides by the standing

audience  Usually built of timber – vulnerable to fire  Audience capacity: 1500 – 3000 people  The cost was usually 1-2 pennies

 Preformances in the afternoon

Indoor playhouses  However, profit dropped in the winter

as people would not come to the cold open arenas of these massive Elizabethan Theatres… Playhouses were therefore used for many winter productions - they were indoor Elizabethan Theatres.  The best known: The Blackfriars The Whitefriars The Coit  They were smaller in size  The capacity was up to 500 people

THEATRES IN LONDON

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare´s life  There are few facts known with certainty about William

Shakespeare's life and death



The best-documented facts:

 Shakespeare was baptized 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-

Avon, England

 He married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three

children (his son Hamnet died of black plague at the age of 11)



He was an actor, playwright and theatre enterpriser /provozovatel/ in London, owned property in both Stratford and London

 Shakespeare was part-owner of a playing company,

known as the Lord Chamberlain´s men — like others of the period, the company took its name from its aristocratic sponsor, in this case the Lord Chamberlain.  The group became popular enough that after the death

of Elizabeth and the coronation of James I (1603), the new monarch adopted the company and it became known as the King´s men, after the death of their previous sponsor.  Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52.

Shakespeare´s plays  Tragedies:  Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth

 Historical plays:  Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV, V, VI and VIII, King John,

Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra

 Comedies:  A midsummer´s Night´s Dream, The Merchant of Venice,

Twelfth Night, As you like it, The Commedy of Errors, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Troilus and Cressida

 Romances:  Pericles, The Winter´s tale

Watch Shakespeare in love  Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Zi2N1Q8Y&feature=related  The Merchant of Venice (part 1):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhN7sYlMtg s  Romeo and Juliet (part 1):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6zKB6_mo _M&feature=related

Other Playwrights  Christopher Marlowe  Tamburlain the Great

 The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus  Edward II  Ben Johnson  The Isle of Dogs  Every Man in His Humour  Every Man Out of His Humour

The era of miniature portraits and sonnets  In Elizabethan England there was a big fashion of miniature

portraits of one´s beloved worn as jewels  They were placed inside an ornamented metal case and

worn as pendants (přívěsky), hanging from chains or ribbons from the neck or the waist  They remained hidden in the cases not to be seen by

anyone else  The miniature-wearing fashion is parallel with the sonnet-

writing fashion  The sonnet was, like the miniature, a jewel – they were not

intended to be published at first – sonnets, like miniatures, belonged to intimacy…

Shakespeare´s sonnets  Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets – mainly in the 1590´s - during

the plague that closed theatres  The topic of most sonnets is love or a theme related to love  In the sonnets he often addresses a mysterious „dark lady“ or

a „young man“  Some interprets claim that his sonnets to the young man are

expressions of homosexual love  However, there is no evidence in the record of Shakespeare´s

life…

Sonnet 18  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngZY8coaWMg Shall I compare thee to a summer´s DAY?

A

Thou art more lovely and more temperATE

B

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of MAY

A

And summer´s lease hath all too short a DATE

B

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven SHINES

C

And often is his gold complexion DIMM´D

D

And every fair from fair sometime deCLINES

C

By chance or nature´s changing course unTRIMM´D

D

But thy eternal summer shall not FADE

E

Nor lose possession of that fair thou OWEST

F

Nor shall Death brag thou wander´st in his SHADE

E

When in eternal lines to time thou GROWEST:

F

So long as men can breathe or eyes can SEE

G

So long lives this and this gives life to THEE

G

Elizabethan Theatre – youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=361JGY-

CJbM (short version)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWpeCqSz M8&feature=related (extended version)

 Websites devoted to W.Shakespeare: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shakespeare/60secon dshakespeare/themes_index.shtml