Renaissance Theatre Research Paper

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Nicholei Hudson Renaissance Essay The Renaissance was a time of rebirth for many European countries between the years of 1300 and 1600: the 14th century and the 17th century. Italy, England, Spain, and France were all countries that were affected during the Renaissance. In the case of Italy, 3 new forms of drama popped up, the country was divided into city states, and Italian critics developed the neoclassical ideals. Italy was where the Renaissance started, and it is simply called the Italian Renaissance. Toward the end of the 1300, the 14th century, a handful …show more content…
The intermezzi consisted of short mythological pieces presented between acts of a play and they had some relation to whatever the main play was. This form of theatre was popular at first, in the 1500s, but then died about a century later. Pastorals were what the Italians called imitations of Greek satyr plays; the subject of a pastoral is romance, with bawdy script. The third form of theatre that was established was Opera. Opera is a mix between drama and music, and it is the only form, out of the three, that still survives. It can be defined as a drama set entirely to music. Italian Renaissance theatre was not popular for written drama, but a significant form of theatre originated here called commedia dell’arte: a comedy of professional artists. Commedia dell’arte was an improvisational theatre and is related comic forms today. During the Renaissance, commedia dell’arte performers would play the same type of characters their whole career, and were highly adaptable. They could perform anywhere they needed to, from performing in court to performing in the streets. Neoclassical ideals were rules created by Italian critics for dramas. Some main concerns neoclassicists …show more content…
Queen Elizabeth I ruled between the years of 1558 and 1603. The English were intrigued by language, and art and literature were the main focuses in the English Renaissance. Christopher Marlowe (1564 –1593) and William Shakespeare (1564-1616) were two of the most renowned playwrights of the era. Marlowe excelled at dramatic verse. In Marlowe’s hands, dramatic verse in iambic pentameter developed strength, subtlety, and suppleness, as well as great lyric beauty (Wilson and Goldfarb 306). Unfortunately, Marlowe died at the age of 29, cutting short his career as a dramatist. Following Marlowe’s entrance into theatre, William Shakespeare appeared in theatre as an actor in Lord Chaimberlain’s Men in 1590, which was London’s leading troupe. Soon after being employed as an actor, he emerged as a playwright. What made Shakespeare so successful was his ability to unite elements of Elizabethan drama into one of the most outstanding collection of dramatic plays ever. These elements that were established in the beginning of Elizabethan drama were: Senecan dramatic devices; platform stage; strong dramatic verse; source material from English and Roman history, and Italian Literature. Shakespeare wrote many plays and genres in his time. A lot of his plays are still famous today. Some tragedies he wrote were: “Romeo and Juliet” (1595), “Hamlet” (1601), “Macbeth” (1605-1606),