Renaissance Theatre (1400 –

1600 )
GROUP 4
9-MOLAVE
 Renaissance theater arts were characterized by a return of Classical
Greek and Roman arts and culture.
 Morality plays (in which the protagonist was met by personifications of
moral attributes who try to choose a Godly life over the evil.
 University Drama were formed to recreate Athenian tragedy.
 Public theatre were developed like the Commedia dell’arte and the
elaborate masques.
 Commedia dell’arte > Italian comedy and a humorous
theatrical presentation performed by professional players
who travelled in troupes.
 Elaborate masques > a dramatic entertainment consisting of
pantomime, dancing, dialogue, and song and sometimes
players wore masks.
 Commedia dell’arte

• Commedia is a form of theatre characterized

by masked types which began in Italy in the
16th century and was responsible for the advent
of actresses ISABELLA ANDREINI
• Improvised performance based on sketches
or scenarios.
• A commedia, such as The Tooth Puller, is both
scripted and improvised.
• Characters' entrances and exits are scripted.
 Commedia dell’arte

• A special characteristic of commedia dell'arte are

the lazzi.
• A lazzo is a joke or "something foolish or witty", usually
well known to the performers and to some extent a
scripted routine.
• Another characteristic of commedia
dell'arte is pantomime, which is mostly used by the
character Arlecchino (Harlequin).
 knight Masque

Costume for a Knight, by Inigo Jones: the

plumed helmet, the "heroic torso" in armour
and other conventions were still employed
for opera seria in the 18th century.
 Queen Elizabeth I – one of the most prominent supporters of the theatre.
 The companies of actors were organized by aristocrats and performed seasonally in
many places. They were called professional players that performed on the Elizabethan
stage.
 Gorboduc (also known as Ferrex and Porrex) was an English play and first performed
at the Christmas celebration in 1561; and performed before Queen Eizabeth I on
January 18, 1562 by the Gentlemen of the Inner Temple (one of the four INNS of court
– professional associations for barrister and judges in London)
 Authors of the Gorboduc were Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville.
Gorboduc’s Synopsis

 Gorboduc recounts the legend of Gorboduc, King of Britain, who divided his
realm during his lifetime between his two sons, Ferrex and Porrox, against the
advice of his principal advisors. The elder son, Ferrex, aggrieved at being
denied half his inheritance and suspicious of his younger brother's ambitions,
set about raising soldiers to defend himself against Porrox. On hearing of
Ferrex's military preparations, Porrox sent his own troops against his elder
brother and had him killed. Queen Videna, to avenge the death of her favourite
elder son, brought about the murder of Porrox. The people, moved by these
cruel and unnatural deeds, rose in rebellion and slew both King and Queen.
Gorboduc’s Synopsis

 In the vacuum of power, the nobility united to destroy the rebels. However, since the
succession remained uncertain, the and fell into civil war, in which both they and most
of their offspring were destroyed, leaving the throne open to foreign claimants. At the
end of the tragedy, Eubulus, wise counsellor and former secretary to King Gorboduc,
predicted 'the woeful wrack and utter ruin of this noble realm' for want of an
established heir. Having drawn a bleak picture of murder, rape and pillage, Eubulus
brings the drama to an end on a more optimistic note: Of justice, yet must God restore
This noble crown unto the lawful heir: For right will always live, and rise at length, But
wrong can never take deep root to last. After all that has occurred, his optimism is
unconvincing.
 William Shakespeare – the famous actor and poet
who emerged in this period.
 baptized on April 26, 1564 and died on April 23,
1616.
 He was an English poet, playwright and actor and
regarded as the greatest writer and dramatist in
the whole world.
 as often called as the England’s national poet and
the “Bard of Avon”
William Shakespear

His works consists of 38 plays The four greatest works of Tragedies

 Romeo and Juliet  Hamlet

 Hamlet  Othello
 Midsummer Night’s Dream  King Lear
 Cleopatra  Macbeth
 Julius Caesar
 Much Ado about Nothing
Romeo and Juliet by William
Shakespear
Other Contemporary Playwrights

 Christopher Marlowe Greatest works:

 Dr. Faustus
 The Jew of Malta
Doctor faustus
Other Contemporary Playwrights

 Thomas Kyd
 was an English playwright, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one
of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama.
 Greatest works:
 The Spanish tragedy
 Cornelia
The Spanish tragedy
History plays - depicted English or
European history
 Shakespeare’s History plays:  Christopher Marlowe’s history
 Richard III plays:

 Henry V  Edward II
 Edward I
Comedies - dealt with life in
London Some of the comedy plays
 The Shoemaker’s Holiday by Thomas Dekker
 A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton
 Ballet was first performed in public.
 Is a formalized form of dance which originated from the
Italian Renaissance courts.
 It developed from Italy to France with the help of
Catherine de’ Medici (Queen of France)
 Le Paradis d’ Amour, the early example of Catherine’s
development of ballet.
 Is a piece of work presented at her daughter’s wedding,
Marguerite de Valois to Henri of Navarre.
 Ballet des Polonais in 1573
 the first formal “court ballet” ever recognized.
 was commissioned by Catherine de Medici to
honor the Polish Ambassadors who visited Paris
for the enthronement of King Henry in Poland.
Proscenium stage