Shakespeare Revival

This page is my Social Studies project 4 with all my details on:

1. Elizabethan society
2. The Globe Theatre
3. King Chamberlain’s Men
4. My Group play (overview)
5. Tragedies, comedies and histories of Shakespeare’s plays
6. Relevance of Shakespeare to the 21st century
7. Typical features of all Shakespeare’s plays

Manikkam Iyer

 

Elizabethan Society:

Elizabethan society revolved a lot round what background or status you came from. The rich never mixed with poor while the poor never mixed with the rich. Also due to being the time of the Renaissance, there was a lot of change. This was not only mathematical or scientific change, but a change in the communities. Education, religion, the monarchy, careers, enjoyment and wars were pivotal matters of the time and greatly affected life. Women during this period were considered miles behind men and were made dependent on a male of the family. This was less prominent in the poorer society as the women often had to work and were leading a much more free life. This is also a time where women made a mark for themselves by entering into various things like politics, ownerships of assets and the right to vote. This was possible due to enormous amounts of work put in by those from poorer backgrounds and lot of money from the richer women. A very important and significant event in Elizabethan society was a marriage. This was because they brought families together from their busy and tiresome routines.

The Globe Theatre

Built in 1599 the Globe Theatre is one of the most famous sites of the Shakespearean era. This is because many of his lays were hosted in it. The Globe Theatre was built by Shakespeare’s company, famously known as “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men”. This was located on Park Street in the Borough of Southwark, London. The approximate capacity of this theatre was about 3000 (including those standing). Shakespeare originally held a 12 and a half percent stake in this property but that went down with time as more shareholders joined in. Even though the exact dimensions of the theatre are unknown, decades of work has given us an idea that the theatre was 3 storeys high with a diameter of around 100 feet. It was also open air, which meant it would be a mess in wild weather. The pit was the area where the poorer people used to stand whereas the 3 storeys of seating were reserved for those who could afford it. The roof was painted blue as the sky and with clouds to symbolise the “heavens”. A trap door in the roof allowed people playing angels to descend from above.

Unfortunately the historic theatre burned down in the year 1613 when a cannon was fired during the performance of Henry the Eighth. After being rebuilt a year later, it was closed down in 1644 to make room for housing.

King Chamberlain’s Men:

The company, in which Shakespeare spent most of his career, came under this name in 1603 and for a long period of time remained the top name in the theatrical industry of the time. Originally, the company was known as Lord Chamberlain’s Men but after the death of Lord Strange in 1594, the new patron was James I. Therefore they later became known as the King’s Men. The Chamberlain’s Men consisted of about 6-8 main members who shared profits and losses. There were also some hired men and a few boys who were generally with a mentor.

Famous plays made by this group include:

• Love’s Labours Lost
• Romeo & Juliet
• The Merchant of Venice
• Titus Andronicus
• Henry VI, Part 1-3

 

My group’s play:

The play my group and I chose to perform was the Merchant of Venice. This is an intense play about how people love, hate and betray each other. Important themes such as greed, selfishness, hatred, betrayal, love and stress are emphasised on are yet relevant today. 

The main characters involved in this play are:

• Antonio
• Bassanio
• Shylock
• Portia

There are other characters such as Lance and Prince Moracco who play secondary roles.

The movie is set in Venice where 2 good friends, Antonio and Bassanio meet. The play takes off with Bassanio in desperate need of money to travel to and impress the woman he loves, Portia. Antonio being a good friend takes gets a loan for him despite great personal risk. The money lender is Shylock, a shrewd and selfish Jew who is a cold businessman. The agreement states that if Bassanio and Antonio are unable to pay back the sum of $ 10,000 Shylock will be entitled to a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The story goes on with Antonio failing to pay the debt and get captured by Shylock. Meanwhile, Portia comes disguised as a lawyer and instructs Shylock to take his pound of flesh without causing Antonio to bleed. This confuses Shylock and he accepts double payment. However Portia says that Shylock has been unable to fulfil the contract and as agreed must convert to Christianity and hand over half his property to Antonio. Everything works out for the better and Antonio, Bassanio and Portia live a happy life.

The modernised version of this play contains the same names, themes, story, but the difference is that changes such as dialogue, costumes and technological gadgets have been introduced. This takes out the old element from the play so it can be enjoyed by a modern audience. Some changes made can be the use of laptops and also the use of modern English with slang in some cases.

Tragedies, Comedies & Histories:

Shakespeare has a variety of plays with various themes and morals. Some plays end up with sad endings; these can be called the tragedies. Some tragic plays of Shakespeare are:

1. Romeo & Juliet
2. Julius Caesar
3. Troilus & Cressida
4. Othello
5. King Lear
6. Macbeth
7. Antony & Cleopatra
8. Richard III

The comedies are the comic plays of Shakespeare which generally are presented with a comic approach but have serious meaning in them. Some of Shakespeare’s comedies are:

1. As You Like It
2. Twelfth Night
3. The Comedy of Errors
4. Love’s Labours Lost
5. Taming of the Shrew
6. The Two Gentlemen of Verona
7. The Winter’s Tale
8. All’s Well That Ends Well

The histories are the plays that depict great individuals or events during Shakespeare’s era. Some of the histories are:

1. Henry VIII
2. Richard II
3. King John
4. Henry V
5. Henry IV- Part 1,2
6. Henry VI- Part 1,2,3
7. Richard III

Relevance of Shakespeare in the 21st Century:

Shakespeare has some things that are relevant and other that are not. Irrelevant things are the style of things during that time and the English that was spoken.

The relevant things are the themes and morals he expresses in his plays. Themes like love, hatred, greed, betrayal and trust are expressed. Also the use and abuse of things are expressed. Those themes are yet relevant in today’s world because such things are yet happening and these themes are yet being expressed in today’s movies. Morals like not to be greedy used to be expressed commonly in Shakespeare’s plays and the causes of it. Such things happen in real life today and are yet portrayed in movies and television programs. This is why Shakespeare cannot be called totally irrelevant to today’s world.

Typical Features in Shakespearean Plays:

There are a few basic things that have to be there in Shakespeare’s plays depending on the type of play it is. It is a kind of formula used to string together characters and a story for a play. Majority of plays have the following features:

• A hero
• A villain
• A comedian
• A girlfriend
• An assistant

A moral and meaning