Beginning of Drama
#THE_BEGINNING_OF #DRAMA
The English drama was brought to England by the Romans.the drama was chosen to educate the masses about various religious happenings. The drama originated to depict biblical scenes as most people could not understand the bible which was written in Latin .So,plays ( without dialogues or costumes) were performed in churches on special occasions.
Drama or a play is an adaptation to entertain the crowd in Greek, Roman and Indian civilizations. Gradually, it spread to other parts of the world and has become a major genre in literature. Romans influence over the English is predominant, when it comes to the development and rise of English drama. The introduction of Christianity and Latin language made it necessary for people to understand the Bible in Latin. However, education of noble languages like Latin was confined only to the nobles and members of the Church.
This has led to the development of preliminary drama, which was in control of the Church than production units [as found today]. The first play ever recorded performed at Dunstable, England is St. Katherine [1110 A.D.]. It was performed in Latin but was aimed to enlighten the English audience about the life and martyrdom of Katherine. From the Church interpretations of the Bible and various religious stories, the rise of English drama was slow.
Gradually, this form of entertainment has divided based on the performances. The play became secular with the development of “Folk Celebrations”, where the English were entertained with various stories like Robin Hood during the festival season. However, these plays were considered as degenerate by the members of the Church and drama again came to its origins [Bible]. The Church at that time also banned Strolling Minstrels representing the Barbarians, who invaded England. Therefore, the primary progress of drama came back to the Church.
Liturgy Plays
It is also known as the religious drama, which used the texts of Christianity to perform either in or near the Church. However, they were not associated with the services of the Church. They were well spread in England during the 12th century and were not as sophisticated as the later plays. The liturgical drama used Latin and the dialogues were chanted in the form of melodies. There was also involvement of dance, music and tunes. As the audience expected more, there were a lot of advancements and additions in the liturgy play and it gradually gave rise to the formation of mystery plays and morality plays.
#Mystery_and_Morality_plays
The rise of English drama has its foundations on these two forms of plays. While mystery plays were based on the stories in the Bible and the life of saints, the morality plays were based on the allegories of virtues and sins. Between the origin of morality plays and the development of mystery plays, English drama found a new place of performance at the marketplace. It became secular and guilds started to perform the plays as a means of entertainment.
Miracle plays, Morality plays and Interludes – Medieval Drama
Medieval drama is so much different from the way world knows about drama today. The plays consisted of little entertainment and more didactic elements. However, the crowd used to flood in to watch the plays as they were the only form of entertainment that they were able to easily relate. There were three essential forms of plays found during the medieval period – Miracle, Morality and Interludes. Apart from the Interludes, the two are mainly based on religious beliefs.
#The_Miracle_Play_or_the_Mystery_Play
The term ‘miracle’ and ‘mystery’ are often interchanged and there lays a confusion when trying to know about them separately. However, it would be convenient to understand them together as both of the plays are based on the stories present in the Bible or based on the miraculous happenings in the lives of saints that led to their martyrdom.
The use of Biblical figures in plays was observed as early as 10th century and they were called as “tropes”. The tropes gradually evolved taking into consideration several popular elements of the audience and by the 14th century the evolution of the drama was considerable. During this time, York and Chester cities witnessed the performance of developed plays in the form of “cycles”. Fascinatingly, all the plays were written under anonymous authorship and the cycles were well-known based on the regions at which they were performed. Therefore, one would be familiar with Chester miracle plays, Wakefield miracle plays, etc. rather than knowing the playwright.
Some of the well-known and frequently used in miracle and mystery plays are Resurrection of Christ, Abraham and Isaac, Noah, Crucifixion, fall of man and the Last Judgement. Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas were the most desirable characters to show the greatness of Saints and martyrdom.
#The_Morality_Play
Morality plays of the medieval period revolved around the dramatization of allegories mainly based on the Christian life and the journey to seek salvation. Any drama of this kind would have a clash between virtues and vices. All of these characteristics were personified and the audience could actually see the virtues or vices trying to get better of each other.
This was a revolutionary improvement in the medieval drama and audience were liked the fresh ideas presented through these dramas. The most prevalent character seen is the personification of “vice” or the “devil”, which made the audience, fall into a state of wonder. The use of these personifications continued even in the Elizabethan drama as one can see in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.
The finest examples of the morality plays are The Castle of Perseverance, Everyman and Mankind. They exhibit every element expected of a morality play. Plays like these were considered as links between the medieval drama and the Elizabethan drama.
#The_Interlude
Interludes, as the name suggest came in between events to provide witty entertainment to the audience. Usually, they are very short and used the topics of politics or religious issues. But, this was done in a rather funny manner; therefore, they are considered as secular farces. They were performed by professional actors either between the acts of a long play or during a feast, where entertainment was required.
Thomas Heywood is the most prominent of the playwrights who contributed a great deal to the popularity of the Interludes. His works The Four Ps and Johan Johan the Husband, Tyb His Wife, and Sir John the Priest are considered as the best Interludes.
These major forms of drama during the medieval period influenced the later ages predominantly. Shakespeare, Marlowe, etc. were inspired by these plays and learnt to perfect the form of drama with their own ideas.
#The_influence_of_Seneca_and_the_Golden_period
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Italian, wrote his plays based on the philosophy of stoicism and revenge; there were no comic elements found in his plays. The English writers were much influenced by the “revenge tragedy” of Seneca. Thomas Sackville, Thomas Norton, Gascoigne, etc. were the first to adopt the elements of Seneca and it was expanded by many playwrights that followed. These plays were completely artistic and were not related to Church.
The increase in new kind of plays led to the formation of concrete theatres. The first theatre was built in the year 1576 by James Burbage and called “The Theatre”. Years later, in 1598, The Globe theatre was established and it went on to become the most famous theatre. The formation of theatres encouraged the growth of commercial playwrights, who made a living out of their works. The University wits helped the acceleration of the rise of English drama through their learned yet imaginative way of writing.
The Elizabethan age [1558-1603] witnessed a great evolution of the plays. The master playwrights like Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd, etc. completely found a new way of writing plays and were never in line with the Church. As a result, many genres of plays came forth and nourished during the era; therefore, the Elizabethan age is considered as the Golden age of English drama. The rise of English Drama was emphatic and glorious in the hands of Elizabethan playwrights and they have completely changed the course of drama from the early liturgies.
The English drama was brought to England by the Romans.the drama was chosen to educate the masses about various religious happenings. The drama originated to depict biblical scenes as most people could not understand the bible which was written in Latin .So,plays ( without dialogues or costumes) were performed in churches on special occasions.
Drama or a play is an adaptation to entertain the crowd in Greek, Roman and Indian civilizations. Gradually, it spread to other parts of the world and has become a major genre in literature. Romans influence over the English is predominant, when it comes to the development and rise of English drama. The introduction of Christianity and Latin language made it necessary for people to understand the Bible in Latin. However, education of noble languages like Latin was confined only to the nobles and members of the Church.
This has led to the development of preliminary drama, which was in control of the Church than production units [as found today]. The first play ever recorded performed at Dunstable, England is St. Katherine [1110 A.D.]. It was performed in Latin but was aimed to enlighten the English audience about the life and martyrdom of Katherine. From the Church interpretations of the Bible and various religious stories, the rise of English drama was slow.
Gradually, this form of entertainment has divided based on the performances. The play became secular with the development of “Folk Celebrations”, where the English were entertained with various stories like Robin Hood during the festival season. However, these plays were considered as degenerate by the members of the Church and drama again came to its origins [Bible]. The Church at that time also banned Strolling Minstrels representing the Barbarians, who invaded England. Therefore, the primary progress of drama came back to the Church.
Liturgy Plays
It is also known as the religious drama, which used the texts of Christianity to perform either in or near the Church. However, they were not associated with the services of the Church. They were well spread in England during the 12th century and were not as sophisticated as the later plays. The liturgical drama used Latin and the dialogues were chanted in the form of melodies. There was also involvement of dance, music and tunes. As the audience expected more, there were a lot of advancements and additions in the liturgy play and it gradually gave rise to the formation of mystery plays and morality plays.
#Mystery_and_Morality_plays
The rise of English drama has its foundations on these two forms of plays. While mystery plays were based on the stories in the Bible and the life of saints, the morality plays were based on the allegories of virtues and sins. Between the origin of morality plays and the development of mystery plays, English drama found a new place of performance at the marketplace. It became secular and guilds started to perform the plays as a means of entertainment.
Miracle plays, Morality plays and Interludes – Medieval Drama
Medieval drama is so much different from the way world knows about drama today. The plays consisted of little entertainment and more didactic elements. However, the crowd used to flood in to watch the plays as they were the only form of entertainment that they were able to easily relate. There were three essential forms of plays found during the medieval period – Miracle, Morality and Interludes. Apart from the Interludes, the two are mainly based on religious beliefs.
#The_Miracle_Play_or_the_Mystery_Play
The term ‘miracle’ and ‘mystery’ are often interchanged and there lays a confusion when trying to know about them separately. However, it would be convenient to understand them together as both of the plays are based on the stories present in the Bible or based on the miraculous happenings in the lives of saints that led to their martyrdom.
The use of Biblical figures in plays was observed as early as 10th century and they were called as “tropes”. The tropes gradually evolved taking into consideration several popular elements of the audience and by the 14th century the evolution of the drama was considerable. During this time, York and Chester cities witnessed the performance of developed plays in the form of “cycles”. Fascinatingly, all the plays were written under anonymous authorship and the cycles were well-known based on the regions at which they were performed. Therefore, one would be familiar with Chester miracle plays, Wakefield miracle plays, etc. rather than knowing the playwright.
Some of the well-known and frequently used in miracle and mystery plays are Resurrection of Christ, Abraham and Isaac, Noah, Crucifixion, fall of man and the Last Judgement. Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas were the most desirable characters to show the greatness of Saints and martyrdom.
#The_Morality_Play
Morality plays of the medieval period revolved around the dramatization of allegories mainly based on the Christian life and the journey to seek salvation. Any drama of this kind would have a clash between virtues and vices. All of these characteristics were personified and the audience could actually see the virtues or vices trying to get better of each other.
This was a revolutionary improvement in the medieval drama and audience were liked the fresh ideas presented through these dramas. The most prevalent character seen is the personification of “vice” or the “devil”, which made the audience, fall into a state of wonder. The use of these personifications continued even in the Elizabethan drama as one can see in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.
The finest examples of the morality plays are The Castle of Perseverance, Everyman and Mankind. They exhibit every element expected of a morality play. Plays like these were considered as links between the medieval drama and the Elizabethan drama.
#The_Interlude
Interludes, as the name suggest came in between events to provide witty entertainment to the audience. Usually, they are very short and used the topics of politics or religious issues. But, this was done in a rather funny manner; therefore, they are considered as secular farces. They were performed by professional actors either between the acts of a long play or during a feast, where entertainment was required.
Thomas Heywood is the most prominent of the playwrights who contributed a great deal to the popularity of the Interludes. His works The Four Ps and Johan Johan the Husband, Tyb His Wife, and Sir John the Priest are considered as the best Interludes.
These major forms of drama during the medieval period influenced the later ages predominantly. Shakespeare, Marlowe, etc. were inspired by these plays and learnt to perfect the form of drama with their own ideas.
#The_influence_of_Seneca_and_the_Golden_period
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Italian, wrote his plays based on the philosophy of stoicism and revenge; there were no comic elements found in his plays. The English writers were much influenced by the “revenge tragedy” of Seneca. Thomas Sackville, Thomas Norton, Gascoigne, etc. were the first to adopt the elements of Seneca and it was expanded by many playwrights that followed. These plays were completely artistic and were not related to Church.
The increase in new kind of plays led to the formation of concrete theatres. The first theatre was built in the year 1576 by James Burbage and called “The Theatre”. Years later, in 1598, The Globe theatre was established and it went on to become the most famous theatre. The formation of theatres encouraged the growth of commercial playwrights, who made a living out of their works. The University wits helped the acceleration of the rise of English drama through their learned yet imaginative way of writing.
The Elizabethan age [1558-1603] witnessed a great evolution of the plays. The master playwrights like Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd, etc. completely found a new way of writing plays and were never in line with the Church. As a result, many genres of plays came forth and nourished during the era; therefore, the Elizabethan age is considered as the Golden age of English drama. The rise of English Drama was emphatic and glorious in the hands of Elizabethan playwrights and they have completely changed the course of drama from the early liturgies.
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