3. Drama and Theatre in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

What are miracle plays?

They focused on the lives, martyrdoms, and miracles of Christian saints, aiming to educate and entertain audiences about Christian morals.

What are mystery plays?

Dramatizations of biblical stories (from Creation to Last Judgment), organized into cycles (e.g., The York Cycle), often performed by trade guilds during the Corpus Christi festival.

What are morality plays?

Allegorical dramas about the moral life and salvation of the individual soul, featuring psychomachia (battle between personified virtues and vices for a character like "Everyman"). Everyman (c. 1500) is the most important example.

What is an interlude?

Developed from morality plays, shorter, more comic, and focused on secular issues, often performed in noble households.

What was renaissance drama influenced by?

Classical Roman plays, adopting the five-act structure and the three classical unities (time, place, action).

What was tragedy influenced by?

Senecan "tragedy of blood." Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex (1562) by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton was the first tragedy in English.

What was comedy influenced by?

Classical Roman comedies.

Nicholas Udall’s Ralph Roister Doisterby was the first comedy in English.

Who was the most prominent member of the University Wits (1580s-1590s)?

Christopher Marlowe.

(Known for Tamburlaine the Great, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta).

Who was a prominent, actor, playwright, and co-owner of the Globe Theatre?

William Shakespeare.

What are history plays?

Derived from historical chronicles (Holinshed), exploring themes of power, political duty vs. personal happiness, and national unity (e.g., Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Richard III).

What can comedies be characterized?

• Complex plots,

• Mistaken identities,

• Cross-dressing,

• Prominent female heroines,

• The Fool/clownish character,

• The theme of romantic love with obstacles (e.g., A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing).

What were tragedies about?

They focused on a hero of high degree experiencing an exceptional calamity and a fall from prosperity to misery, often due to a tragic flaw (hamartia) or internal conflict, evoking pity and fear (catharsis).

Key tragedies include Hamlet (a "tragedy of thought"), Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.