Shakespeare and the Globe

A detailed Summary of Shakespeare and the Globe

Well lets start this off with a little bit of technical thinking. The dimensions of the original Globe (based on John Orrell's The Quest for Shakespeare's Globe) are as follows:

· Diameter: 100 ft surface to surface / 99 ft centre to centre

· Yard: 70 ft between post centres / 69 ft surface to surface

· Gallery Depth: 15 ft 6 inches overall / 15 ft 6 inches between post centres

· Overall heights from floor to floor: 15 ft. 6 in., 11 ft. 3 in. and 9 ft. 9 in. to the plates.

· Balcony floor: 18 ft. 6 in. above the yard, 13 ft 6 in. above stage

· Heavens ceiling height: 26 ft 9 inches (to the height of the upper gallery floor)

These exact dimensions, no matter how precise, however cannot give an idea of how it must have felt to perform or even watch a show in this environment. The audience that attended the Globe was in one of two places; either standing in the yard or sitting on one of the balcony floors. Either way the audience was most likely crammed in on larger venues, and due to the theater being one of the major forms of entertainment of the day most venues were probably packed.

Obviously with a three level stage certain things could be done that normally couldn't be done in a modern playing area. The Balcony scene from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is an obvious example of this. The second floor was also very useful in creating many illusions such as the separation of two simultaneous scenes. The Dynamics of Shakespeare's writing was most likely not hindered by the Globe's acting area, rather it could be emphasized by it. A powerful speech delivered from the second floor stage with a crowd of actors watching on the lower stage probably created a very strong and responsive scene. I also imagine that the audience was very responsive and reactive to the performances.

This personal close up acting style was utilized by Shakespeare in his writing. Certain characters and monologues of Shakespeare's plays have the possibility to interact very closely with the audience. A main example of this would be the character Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck has a lot of parts in the play were his lines aren't really directed to the character's on stage but rather to the members of the audience. Many of Shakespeare's tragic characters such as King Lear or Hamlet have had long speeches that are a means of communicating directly with the audience.

Along with the view of the common people, his highly religious family also heavily influenced Shakespeare. His father was nominally protestant but once he stopped gaining from his life in the protestant nature he no longer identified with the church of the state. His mother was from a devout Catholic family who held positions in the Catholic Church until its demise in England. Due to his roots in Catholicism he was well read in the scripture and also read understood in the ways of the Catholic Church. At the very least, Shakespeare grew up with a Catholic understanding of Christianity from his parents and school.

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Approximate Word count = 1285
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts