This document provides an overview of the roots and history of drama. It discusses how drama originated from ancient Greek spring fertility festivals and tragedies. It then covers how Greek and Roman plays influenced Renaissance works by Shakespeare and others in Europe after the Crusades. Finally, it gives details on Elizabethan drama in England, the Globe Theater that Shakespeare's company performed at, and characteristics of comedies from that era.

1. Intro to Drama

2. roots
• Sympathetic magic
• Early religions
• Greek Civilization produces the first “plays” that we would recognize as
plays.
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Spring fertility festivals: the goat
Tragos: ‘goatsong’
Tragedy
Playwright competitions
Golden Age of Greece: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripdes

3. Roots
• After the Crusades, slowly the Greek and Roman plays and poets
become known again in Europe.
• In England Shakespeare and others are profoundly influenced by the
Classical plays.
• Their Renaissance dramas are part of the creation of the modern
world. That’s part of why Shakespeare makes sense to us.

4. Elizabethan Drama
• Drama becomes hugely popular in cities. It’s analogous to blockbuster
movies today.
• Plays can be loosely grouped into comedies and tragedies.
• Shakespeare’s first play is a hit comedy. He is best known for
tragedies.

5. Comedies
• Love is often a central theme.
• Complicated, even improbable plots.
• Mistaken identity.
• A sad or philosophical undercurrent.
• Stock characters (many of which we see today, inherited from Greek
plays and from medieval folks types: the pedant, the braggart, the
clever clown, the dreamy lover, the fool).
• Shelley: tragedies end in death; comedies in marriage.

6. The Globe

7. The Globe

8. The Globe

9. The Globe
• Built in 1597-98 after the lease on The Theatre expires.
• Also a site for gambling and other notorious activities like bearbaiting.
• Shakespeare himself owned stock in the company and staged and
acted in plays there. The “all the world’s a stage” speech is based on a
pun…world/globe.
• Poorer theatre goers sat on the ground I front of the stage
(groundlings); wealthy folks sat in the galleries.
• The plays were aimed at both audiences.