English Drama: From Origins to the Present Day

2.1. The Beginnings of English: Old and Middle English (600-1485)

a. Jugglers, Folk-Plays, Pageants

Decline of Roman Drama: With the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages, the corrupt Roman drama was proscribed by the Church and came to an unhonored end.
Jugglers and Minstrels: Roman actors merged with disreputable jugglers and inferior minstrels who wandered across Christendom.
- Their crude and often immoral performances continued for centuries, driven by the inherent human demand for dramatic spectacle.
Folk-Plays: This demand was also met by rude country folk-plays, which were survivals of primitive heathen ceremonials, performed during festivals like the harvest season.
- These flourished among country people long after their original meaning was forgotten.
- In England, folk-plays often took the form of energetic Morris dances (named due to confusion with Moorish performances).
- Some folk-plays also contained a slight thread of dramatic action amidst rough-and-tumble fighting and buffoonery.
- Conventional Characters: These plays developed a conventional set of characters, including popular figures like St. George, Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and the Green Dragon.
Mummings and Disguisings: These were collective names for various forms of processions, shows, and entertainments.
- Among the upper classes, they served as a precursor to the Elizabethan Mask, involving disguised persons attending formal dancing parties.
Secular Pageants: In the later Middle Ages, spectacular displays were given on occasions such as a king's formal entry into a town.
- These consisted of elaborate scenic backgrounds near city gates or on streets, featuring figures from allegorical or traditional history engaging in pantomime or declamation, but with very little or no dramatic dialogue.

b. Stages of Drama (Ancient Greece)

Amphitheatres: Plays in ancient Greece were staged in large amphitheaters, characterized by a round stage three-quarters surrounded by the audience.
- These venues were immense, accommodating up to $25,000$ people.
Acting Style: Due to the large size, actors were barely visible from a distance, necessitating:
- Loud, declamatory voices.
- Wearing masks and symbolical costumes.
- Using large, exaggerated gestures.
The Chorus: A vital component of ancient drama, the chorus commented on the play and offered warnings and advice to characters.
Scenery and Lighting: Stage scenery was neutral, with the real landscape surrounding the amphitheater serving as a backdrop.
- Plays were performed in broad daylight, making it impossible to create illusions of 'real life' for scenes set at night.

2.2. The Middle Ages

a. Tropes, Liturgical Plays, and Mystery Plays

Tropes: Before the Norman Conquest, a chanted Gospel dialogue between the angel and the three Marys at Christ's tomb, using choir responses, emerged.
Liturgical Plays: Other Biblical scenes and stories from Christian tradition (e.g., Antichrist, lives of saints) were enacted, forming part of the church service (liturgy).
- Common Play List: This typically included 'The Fall of Lucifer', 'The Creation of the World and the Fall of Adam', 'Noah and the Flood', 'Abraham and Isaac and the promise of Christ's coming', 'A Procession of the Prophets', main Gospel events, and 'The Day of Judgment'.
Mystery Plays: Attained greatest popularity in the $14^{th}$ and $15^{th}$ centuries.
- Their popularity gradually waned with the dawn of the Renaissance and modern spirit, though they continued in some places until the $17^{th}$ century.
- On the European Continent, they still survive in modernized forms such as the celebrated Passion Play of Oberammergau.
- By the end of the $15^{th}$ century in England, they were largely replaced by Morality Plays.

b. The Morality Plays

Origin: Arose partly from religious writers' desire to teach Christian living principles more directly and compactly than the Bible stories of the Mysteries allowed.
Form: In its strict form, it was a dramatized moral allegory.
Development from Mysteries: An offshoot where abstract allegorical figures (e.g., The Seven Deadly Sins, Contemplation, False Slander) appeared among actors.
Characters: Primarily abstract allegorical figures (Virtues and Vices), alongside supernatural beings like God and the Devil.
- The hero typically represented 'Mankind'.
Plot: Usually presents a brief glimpse of the hero's (every man's) entire life story.
- Shows yielding to temptation, living in sin, but eventually saved by Perseverance and Repentance, pardoned by God's mercy, and assured of salvation.
Literary Advantage: Allowed writers more independence in inventing the story.
- 'Everyman' (likely a Dutch translation) effectively demonstrated the genre's power.
Reformation Influence: In the early $16^{th}$ century, Moralities changed to become vehicles for religious argument, particularly for Protestants.

c. The Interludes

Successor to Morality Plays: Largely superseded Moralities in the early $16^{th}$ century.
Development: Evolved out of Moralities, with some plays explicitly termed 'Moral Interludes', blurring distinctions.
Realism: The realism of Moralities became more pronounced, often resulting in coarse farces devoid of religious or ethical meaning.
Etymology: The name 'Interlude' literally means 'a play between', but the precise context (between whom or what) is uncertain.
Performance Venues: Performed in halls of nobles and gentlemen (during banquets or festivals) or for broader audiences in town halls or on village greens.
Actors: Comprised strolling companies of players (minstrels or rustics) or retinners of great nobles, who practiced their dramatic skills on tours when not entertaining their masters.

d. The Later Influence of the Medieval Drama

Historical Importance: Dramatic forms from the $10^{th}$ to mid- $16^{th}$ century (folk-plays, mummings, disguisings, secular pageants, Mystery plays, Moralities, Interludes) hold primarily historical significance.
Enduring Influence: Beyond demonstrating the persistent popular demand for drama, they established stage traditions that significantly influenced Elizabethan drama and, to some extent, later periods.
- Disregard for Unity: Especially of time and place, and partly of action.
- Mingling of Genres: Comedy integrated even into intense tragic scenes.
- Minimal Scenery: Nearly complete lack of stage scenery fostered an audience's willingness for imaginative assumptions.
- Stock Figures: Inclusion of conventional characters, such as the clown.
- Gender Roles: Women's parts were performed by men and boys.
These traditions make medieval drama essential for understanding dramatic history.

e. Stages of Medieval Plays

Performance Context: Primarily staged during religious festivities (e.g., Mystery and Morality plays).
Wagon Stages: Performed on wagons that would stop in market places, allowing the audience to surround them entirely.
Close Actor-Audience Proximity: This proximity fostered an acting style that blended serious thematic renditions with stand-up comedy and humorous or bawdy scenes, catering to audience tastes.
Audience Interaction: Actors incorporated the everyday experiences of their viewers, leading to much greater interaction between audience and actors than is common today.
Lack of Realism: The absence of clear boundaries between the stage and the audience inherently hindered the creation of a realistic illusion, which was not the intended goal.

2.3. The Sixteenth Century. The Renaissance and the Reign of Elizabeth (The Drama from About 1550 to 1642)

a. The Influence of Classical Comedy and Tragedy

'Gorboduc' (1562): The first tragedy in English following classical lines, a direct imitation of Seneca.
- Written by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville, acted in $1562$ .
- Its story, like some of Shakespeare's later plays, traces back to Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'History'.
- Characteristics: Known for tedious moralizing and a noticeably