During this time in history, only royalty and some aristocratic people knew how to read and write, and had a strong understanding of the English language. Clergymen were also a part of this elite group of people. Because of a lack of knowledge, many people were not able to read the bible and understand its lessons. The Catholic Church took it upon itself to educate the masses with the stories from the bible. They decided to accomplish this feat through theatrical representations, which included moral lessons.

This type of drama was presented exclusively in the churches b

Janson, Anthony, and H.W. Janson. History of Art. 5th ed. New York: Harry N.

Theaters brought men and women together in an informal mood in which they could enjoy the opportunity to mingle with each other while enjoying the performing arts. Along with mingling, people reported that many crimes took place within the walls. If one were to really compare our manners today during a performance to the manners of Londoners back then, it appears that they were not well behaved at all. There were acts of stealing and a few recorded stabbings, but on the whole, it was safe. The audience of Elizabethan time survived better than would any modern audience under the same conditions. By conditions, I mean the close

Now that I finally veered off course, I would just like to close by saying that a visit to the local playhouse has proven to be a rousing, life-enhancing experience for playgoers throughout time

Adams, Joseph Q. Shakespearean Playhouses. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917.

the playhouses aged, holes in the wood appeared and some peasants would peek through it.

"To leave the yard and enter the galleries, the Elizabethan playgoer had to double his investment. The additional penny dropped in the gatherer's box was a considerable portion of a day's pay" (Harbage 32).

The aristocrats of the time sat in the upper tiers of the galleries. To sit up there, a person of nobility was required to pay a little more, according to their monetary status. The commoners, would sit further down in one of the lower tiers, if not on the floor, called the yard or the pit. Any peasants who could afford to attend a performance would also stand in the pit. As some of

The magic of the theaters was that the aristocrats down to the lowly peasants were able to see a play together. It appears to be a fairly uncommon event, in that all of the social classes would be gathered within one social setting at this time in history. The only other event that I can think of where this combining of classes might happen is in the church, had most people attended as regularly as the playhouse. Although the classes were still apart from each other physically, they were still socially bound within the walls of the church and playhouse. There seems to me to be a connection here in that people revered plays as much as they did religion and God.

Despite the evidence of Greek and Roman theaters, there were no specially designed buildings for presenting plays until the last quarter of the sixteenth century. At this point, after the success of the inn yards, a permanent public playhouse was erected within the city. However, it would soon see its own demise as a result of organized religion lashing out at the vulgarity that accompanied the playhouse.

Here is where we hop into the time machine and come into the latter part of the si

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Approximate Word count = 1924
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)