Imagine that you are alive and in London during the Elizabethan age. You're at the Globe Theater to see a play. Describe it creatively. Refer to at least five of the details which you read about the Globe in the lesson above.

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The Globe
William Shakespeare, playwright, director, actor and poet, lived from 1564 to 1616. The greatest writer in the history of literature in the English language, he is known and his works are read in the original and in translation all over the world. Shakespeare is especially well-known for his plays--comedies, histories, and tragedies--which he produced in London during the last part of Queen Elisabeth I's reign and the first part of the reign of King James I. Because of Queen Elisabeth, Shakespeare's time is often called the Elisabethan Age.

Attending Shakepeare's theater was quite different from attending a theater today. Whereas the modern theater is usually thought of as very quiet, austere place, in Elizabethan England it was a noisy, popular gathering place for people of all ages and from all walks of life. Because the theaters were open to the sky, favorable weather was a necessity. A flag flown atop the theater served as a signal that a performance would be given on a specific day. Artisans, apprentices, gentlemen, and ladies would then assemble to see a play.

Elizabethan theaters were constructed in such a way that the lower classes would stand in the pit, the area surrounding the stage. Drinking and eating were permitted in this area, which sometimes became very noisy. If one of these spectators did not like a particular character or situation in the play, he or she would feel free to hiss or boo or throw anything he or she might have at hand.

It was possibly with this in mind that Shakespeare included the phrase "with patient ears attend" in the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet. He seemed to anticipate noise in the audience. The rowdy atmosphere of the pit also accounted for the exaggerated acting that was common at the time. To compensate for lines that the audience could not hear, the actors used exaggerated gestures and facial expressions, unlike the natural method of acting that is used today. The last line of the Prologue seems to indicate that the actors with "toil" (exaggerated acting) would try to compensate for "what here (a play on the word "hear" and "ear") shall miss." The nature of the crowd also contributed to the haste with which the lines were spoken. While a performance of a Shakespearean play today often takes three hours or more, the restless crowd caused the actors to rush through the lines, thereby completing a play in two hours or less--"the two hours' traffic of our stage."

The theater that the lady is standing in is a depiction of a particular Elizabethan theater called the Globe. This theater has become famous because it is the one where the majority of Shakespeare's plays were performed. He not only wrote, but also directed and acted in his plays at the Globe.

Along the sides, you can see the seating for the upper class which is called the galleries. The white building behind the lady is where the actors changed. In front of the white building is the stage on which the actors performed. The lady is currently standing in the pit where the lower class (groundlings) would stand and watch the play.

The Globe
Built in 1599, the Globe housed Shakespeare's troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The Globe was one of about ten playhouses in the London area during Shakespeare's time. The Globe was rounded, eight-sided shape with three levels and no roof. Like most theaters in Elizabethan times, the stage extended out into the audience. There were two doors onstage for entrances and exits, and also trapdoors and a recessed area used for eavesdropping scenes.

Sets were very simple--a banner or a simple cloth would be used to represent a certain place, basic furniture pieces were used for interior scenes, and a rock or tree would be set for outdoor scenes. Costumes were very simple--no matter what the time period of the play, the actors would wear Elizabethan clothing. There were specialized costumes for military, ghosts, faeries, and animals.

The audience consisted of merchants, nobility, and common people. Everyone paid the same price to get in, but people who wanted to sit down had to pay a second admission price to get into the galleries. The most expensive seats were in the Lord's rooms, reserved for people who paid a third admission. About half of the audience stood on the ground in front of the stage, earning the name the groundlings.
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