Quiz 2 Flashcards
Renaissance
King’s Company & Duke’s Company
The two companies formed early in the reign of Charles II
Drury Lane Theatre
A Restoration theatre from a patent that Charles II granted Thomas Killgrew in 1662
Black Death
1347-1350; the Bubonic Plague; took out half the population of Europe
Humanism
The belief that people, not religion, should be the focus of things. Big in the Italian Renaissance era
Guttenberg Printing Press
made in 1450, important because it allows us to reproduce and mass-distribute manuscripts
Teatro Olimpico
The oldest surviving theatre constructed during the Italian Renaissance
Andrea Palladio
influential Italian architect (1518-1580)
Nell Gwynn
Most famous actress of the Charles II era, and his mistress
Playhouse Creatures
1993 play by April DeAngelis about women on stage in the Restoration
Samuel Pepy
personal friend of Thomas Killigrew, manager of the King’s Company
- Had a diary that covers 1660-1669
- went to the theatre 351 times
John Dryden
1631-1700;
graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge
– Dominant literary figure of the Restoration; poet, translator, playwright, essaysist
– 1668 (Poet Laureate)
–All For Love (1678); a tragedy based on Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra
– Marriage a la Mode (1672) ; comedy
Comedies of Intrigue
Restoration Comedy with daring exploits of romance and adventure, and complicated plots.
– Aphra Behn (1640 - 1689)
Comedies of Manners
Restoration Comedy with focus on the fashions and foibles of the upper class
(influenced by Moiliere)
Rakes
Restoration Comedy trope:
- opportunistic young men, attractive to women and on the prowl;
- selfish, witty, used people
- initiated the action
Fops
Restoration Comedy trope:
- fools, would-be rakes, had a penchant for fashion and silliness
- source of humor, but oblivious to their own silliness
Aphra Behn
(1640-1689)
- First professional Female Playwright
- English
- The Rover (1681)
- The Emperor of the Moon
William Congreve
- Love for Love (1695) [biggest hit]
- - The Way of the World (1700) [considered quintessential Restoration Comedy]
4 Key Changes in Theatre in the Italian Renaissance
- Acting
- Dramatic criticism
- Theatre Architecture
- Scene Design
5 Key elements in the Development of Elizabethan Theatre
- Protestant Reformation
- Tudor Pageantry
- Medieval Stagecraft
- Renaissance Learning and Ideas
- Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)
Tudor Pageantry
A hyrbid of dramatic form of literature, ritual, and politics
- very spectacled
- composed by bright young men who wanted political office
Senex
Elizabethan Stock Character:
old man in authority
Miles Gloriosus
Elizabethan Stock Character:
braggart soldier
Shrew
Elizabethan Stock Character:
sharp-tongued woman
Machiavel
Elizabethan Stock Character:
political schemer
Caluminator believed
Elizabethan Stock Character:
a liar who is believed
Idiotes
Elizabethan Stock Character:
A malcontent
Pedant
Elizabethan Stock Character:
in love with the sound of his own didactic voice
Christopher Marlowe
1564-1593
- established blank verse as a dramatic medium
- MA from Cambridge
- part of “the Admiral’s Men”
- was killed in a brawl
Tragedies (need to know 2):
- Tamburlaine
- Dido Queen of Carthage
- Dr. Faustus
- Edward II
- Jew of Malta
Ben Johnson
1572 - 1637
- Educated at Westminster School
- no university but the most learned of the playwrights
Comedies of Horror (need to know 2):
- Every Man in His Humor
- Volpone
- The Alchemist
- Bartholomew Fair
Acting Companies in Elizabethan Renaissance
1590-1642: 20 companies of actors in london, but only 4 or 5 played at one time
Key members included:
- Shareholders
- Apprentices
- Hired Men
Lord Chamberlain’s Men
– Formed under Lord Strange, but he died in 1594, ,so took in Henry Carey, the Lord Chamberlain
- Performed at the Theatre and the Curtain
- 1599 Moved to the Globe; 1600 leading theatrical company in London
- 1603 became the King’s Men under royal patent from James I.
- Successful until Puritains closed the theatres in 1642
English Women Actors
– No women on ENGLISH stage in Shakespeare’s day so all the parts were played by boys
William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564 - April 23, 1616
- Born in Stratford-upon-Avon
- Married Anne Hathaway in 1582 at age 18
- 3 children: Susana, Hamnet, and Judith
- 1595 record of membership in Lord Chamberlain’s Men
– Name 5 of his plays
First Folio
1623:
- -The first collection of Shakespeare’s plays.
- 36 plays, 18 of which had never been published before.
The Theatre
- Britain’s first playhouse (1576)
- - built by Leicester’s Men in Finsbury Fields.
The Globe
- Build in 1598 for the Lord Chamberalin’s Men
- AKA The “Wooden O”
- Burned Down in 1613 during a production of Henry VIII
- Rebuilt 1614
- had “groundlings” sit on the floor
Key Elements of Jacobean Tragedy
- A sense of defeat
- A Mood of spiritual despair
- Theme of insanity, of man pressed beyond the limit of endurance
- Moral confusion that threatens to unbalance the heroes
– Came to a climax in 1605, in part a consequence of anxiety surrounding death of Queen Elizabeth I and accession of James I
– Elizabethans affirmed life, the Jacobeans were posessed by death
2 Childrens Acting companies
- -Children of the Chapel Royal
- - St. Paul’s boys
Lope de Vega
Spanish Dramatist (1562 - 1635) -- distinctive episodic structure
Need to know at least 1:
- The Dog in the Manger,
- The Knight from Olmedo
- The Foolish woman
- The Flowers of Don Juan
- Punishment without Revenge
Pedro Caledron de la Barca
Spanish Dramatist (1600 - 1681) -- Many plays translated and influenced neoclassical France, Restoration England, and German Romantics
– wrote Life is a Dream (among many others)
Zarzuela
Court entertainment influenced by Italian Opera and intermezzi
– stylized musical drama with a story based on mythology and ornate scenic effects
5 Key elements of Stage and Costumes in the Comedias
- Proscenium arch introduced only at court
- Zarzuela
- Contemporary (or in some circumstances, lavish) clothing
- Historical and mythical figures dressed more elaborately
- Moors portrayed as villains and dressed in a distinctive way
Cardinal Richelieu
heavy influence over what became the neoclassical ideal
- French stage needed drastic reform
- Looked to Italy for guidance
- Advocated adoption of the proscenium stage and perspective scenery
- drama should adhere to theoretical principles from Italy during the 16th century
The Neoclassical Ideal
There are only two legitimate forms of drama: tragedy and comedy
- -Tragedy deals with affairs of state
- -Comedy deals with love
- -NEVER MIX THE TWO
- 5 acts
- Unity of time, place, and action
- poetic justice must triumph
- Heavily draws on Aristotle and Horace
Neoclassicists
Believe the purpose of drama is to teach and to please
Comedie-Francaise
The french National Theatre
- had a horseshoe-shape construction
- known today as the House of Moliere
Gender in French Theatre
- before 1630, ‘honest women’ did not go to the theatre
- Unlike England, France had no restrictions for women performing
- BUT, acting was seen as morally wrong by the Catholic church and other religious groups
- so, actors had fantastical stage names
Pierre Corneille
1606-1684
- w/ Racine, the greatest classical tragic drmatist
- Educated by Jesuits
- founder of French tragedy
- wrote The Cid
- the subject of a tragedy should be remote and improbable, with as many striking and extraordinary situations as were compatible with unity of action
- Conflict usually ends not in death and destruction, but rather in moral growth and an abiding sense of duty
- protagonists realize that they must have the moral strength to do what is right, regardless of personal cost
The Cid
1636, Pierre Corneille
- most popular play in France at the time
- did not obey all the neoclassical rules; French Academy praised it but criticized the deviations; controversy legitimized the neoclassical view
- influenced by Spanish tales of a famous 11th century warrior of the same name
- Conflict between claims of society and personal choice
- in the end love must subordinate to a higher sense of purpose
Jean Racine
1639-1699
- fused the Greek idea of fate with Jansenist belief in human helplessness to roduce unique tragedies of will vs. passions
- wrote Phaedra
Corneille vs. Racine
– Corneille characters are moral giants with indomitable will; Racine’s are human
(Swack: think Sophocles v. Euripides)
Moliere
aka Jean Baptist Poquelin
(1622 - 1673)
– Direct and acted in his plays, wrote the best stuff for himself
– 12 best satires of all times
– affirmed the potency of comedy as a serious, flexible art form
– credit for modern form of “Comedy of manners” and “comedy of character”
– dope comic dramatist
– leading french comic actor
Need to know 3 of:
(1 or 2 act plays)
- The Jealous Husband
- The Flying Doctor
- Sganarelle
- The Rehearsal at Versailles
- The Forced Marriage
(3-5 act plays) -- The School for Husbands -- The School for wives -- Tartuffe -- Don Juan -- The Misanthrope .. many others
alexandre
a relaxed dialogue that imitated conversational speech
Tartuffe
- Written 1664 and immediately banned
- - Repeated appeals to the King and re-writes to get it lifted; approved 1669
Moliere’s Death
Collapsed onstage Feb. 17, 1673; performing The Imaginary Invalid, and died that evening
– Church officials refused to officiate or formally bury him
lazzi
physical comedy utilized in commediea del arte that includes comedic tropes like slapstick
Il Vecchi
Commedia stock character:
- literally “the old ones”
- includes Panatolne and Il Dottore
Pantalone
Commedia stock character:
- literally “Mr. big pants”
- a greedy, wealthy, lecherous, miserly character (think Mr. Burns)
- wears baggy red pants
Il Dottore
Commedia stock character:
a smug know-it-all professor who is actually a fool
– usually dressed in university garb
Capitani
Commedia stock character:
– literally “the soliders”
full of bravery, but not great at what they do
– includes Milos Gloriosus
Il Capitano
Commedia stock character:
- literally “the captain”
- leader of the Capitani
- usually runs away when confronted by real danger
Il Zanni
Commedia stock character:
- the servants (think zany)
- bottom of the food chain
Arlechino (sometimes, Harlequin)
Commedia stock character:
- nimble, acrobatic, tricky servant
- not always bright, but usually wins anyway
Truffledino
Commedia stock character:
–subset of arlechino; always HUNGRY
Columbina
Commedia stock character:
- the sassy maid (think Maria from 12th night?)
- brainy too
- knows how to use her sexuality
Brighella
Commedia stock character:
- the inkeeper, bartender
- usually the knuckles of the operation (maybe like Thenardier)
Gli Inamorada
Commedia stock characterr:
- The lovers
- usually do NOT wear masks
