Theatres Points History Essay

Question 1

Who were the oppostion to theatres?

Answer 1

• The London authorities
• Puritan Preachers

Question 2

Points against statement (London Authorities)

Answer 2

London Authorities did not like Theatres because:

• It Drew servants and apprentices away from their work
• It attracted the wrong sot of people including rogues, thieves and prostitutes
• The authorities wrote many ketters to the Privy Council asking for the closure of theatres
• In a letter from the Lord Mayor and the alderman of London to the Privy Council in July 1597 it says that the theatres caused ‘great damage to the trade and religion of this realm’

Question 3

Point against statement (Puritan)

Answer 3

Puritans did not like Theatres because:

• Puritan preachers didn’t like theatres.
• Theatre originated in ancient times so the Puritans associated plays with paganism
• Puirtans did not like theatres because they were also a reminder of the miracle plays which had flourished in Catholic England
• There were many other activities associated with theatre that led people into sinful behaviour, in particular sex before marriage
• In an extract from The Anatomy of Abuses, by the puritan preacher, Philip Stubbs, 1583 it says ‘Do they not maintain vulgarity foolishness and remind people of false religions? Do they not encourage prostitution and uncleanliness?’

Question 4

Point for statement (Privy Council)

Answer 4

• Elizabeth’s Privy Council generally ignored the protests of the authorities and the Puritans.
• The Queen and her councillors enjoyed watching plays at court, and protected London’s new theatre.
• Only during the plagues of 1581-82 1592-93 and 1603 did thy order the playhouses to close

Question 5

Point for statement (General people)

Answer 5

• Frrom the 1580s, the afternoon plays at the new theatres on Bankside attracted thousands of Londoners and visitors
• Elizabethans of all social groups loved the comdeis, tragedies and histories written by shakespere and other platwrights of the time
• Theatre was inclusive and attractive to the poor because Groundlings paid only a penny for a space on the ground floor
• There were also other activities associated with the theatre like the brothels and blood-sports that attracted lots of people