This is an interesting question, because though the
playwrights of both time periods certainly considered their religious views and those of
thier audiences to be common source material for creating their plays, the actual
experiences of attending the theatre were probably very
different.
To begin with, both types of theatre (Greek and
Elizabethan) came out of events created to support each era's religious practices. In
Ancient Greece the first theatrical performances were in honor of Dionysus and in
medieval England (just before the Elizabethan era), plays were presented by the Catholic
church as a way to teach an illiterate congregation the lessons of good Christian
behavior.
Both theatrical legacies grew from their early
days. Greek theatre developed into the first examples of Western Drama, setting the
standards we still refer to for Comedy and Tragedy. Yet, the performances of plays
maintained some of their connection to religion. Every year in Athens a contest was
held, still in honor of Dionysus, at it was at these event that the famous playwrights
of Ancient Greece competed and offered their newest
works.
In Elizabethan England, on the other hand, the
theatre that grew out of the Miracle and Mystery plays of medieval days moved off the
streets and into playhouses. And, with this move, they became wholly secular events. A
day at the theater could be a bawdy affair, and, though women could attend performances,
they could not perform as actors. This was considered a lewd profession. Bear baiting,
gambling and other less than pious activities often accompanied Elizabethan theatrical
performances. The stricter sects of Christianity (Puritans) protested the unseemly
world of the theatre and had theaters closed for a time in
1642.
So, though Ancient Greek and Elizabethan theatres
both began as outgrowths of the religious observations of their day, the Greek theatre
maintained its connection, while Elizabethan theatre became a wholly secular
affair.
No comments:
Post a Comment