Francisco – I think I hear them. Stand ho! Who is there?
Horatio – Friends to this ground.
Marcellus – And liegemen to the Dane.
Francisco – Give you good night.
This is taken from the first scene of Hamlet. Even though the actors were only metres apart in the daylight, these lines put forward the idea that it is impossible to see each other. Therefore, the audience gets the idea that this particular scene takes place at night. Also, Francisco finishes with “give you good night”, which backs up the setting of the scene. Also where Barnardo says, “who’s there?” once again puts across that it is night time and impossible to make out who it is. This is effective because some people who were sitting behind the stage or had someone in their way would not have been able to see but would still know what was going on.
This scene also shows that Francisco, Horatio and Marcellus are soldiers through the words ‘liegemen to the Dane’ as lack of props may not have been able to show this. This again would be a benefit for those who could not see what was going on because of the most expensive seats being behind the stage and the crowded yard.
Another factor which Shakespeare’s players would have had to contend with would have been having very little time to rehearse. This is because the population of London was much smaller then, so people would have got bored of the play quickly; so new plays took place frequently. They couldn’t spend a vast amount of time rehearsing them. Therefore Shakespeare would have implanted stage directions into the script to cue the actors’ actions. An example of this is seen in Act 1 Scene 1 of Hamlet:
Horatio – Well sit we down, and let us hear Barnardo speak of this.
This quote shows that Shakespeare included internal stage directions to help the actors with what they were supposed to be doing on stage. The actors now know they have to sit down and listen to Barnardo speak about the ghost they had seen. The actor playing Barnardo would now know that he had to sit down and talk to the others about the sighting of the ghost. This is effective because of the little time to rehearse; actors may have forgotten their stage directions. So these prompts by Shakespeare helped the actors because they now know what action they have got to perform and who is speaking next. The scripts at the time only had the individual actors lines and the final line of the character before them. This was because the rival theatres would try to copy the play and without all the lines this was nearly impossible.
Another trial Shakespeare had to face was how to get the characters thoughts and emotions across without many of the audience being able to see. He achieved this by placing their emotions into the script. An example of this is seen in Hamlet Act 1 Scene1:
Horatio – Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder.
This shows that Horatio is scared yet excited by the fact he as seen the dead king’s ghost. This technique was effective because some people would not have been able to see he actors’ facial expressions because of their limited view.
One more element of the Elizabethan theatrical context was that there was very little scenery or props because since the plays would only be on for a short while, the props would have been wasted on just one play. Basic props that could be used on many plays would have been bought, but the theatre company would want to make as much money as possible. Because of this, actors would have had to describe the action that was taking place on stage. An example of this is in Hamlet where the night watchmen see the ghost:
Marcellus – Peace, break the off. Look where it comes again.
Barnardo – In the same figure like the King that’s dead.
This quote shows when the King’s ghost appears and could have been portrayed in many ways. The actors could have looked into part of the theatre and pointed, they could have had a man walk onto the stage covered in a white sheet, or they could have had someone sitting in the audience with their face painted white. The language of this quote is effective because again, if people could not see the stage, the actors’ lines would inform of what was happening.
It is clear that Othello is also a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context because internal stage directions were planted in the script. An example of this is in Act 5, Scene 1 when Iago and Roderigo are about to attack Cassio:
Iago: Here, stand behind this bulk, straight will he come: Quick, quick, fear nothing; I’ll be at thy elbow, it makes us, or it mars us, think of that, and fix most firm thy resolution.
Roderigo: Be near at hand, I may miscarry in’t.
This relates to the Elizabethan theatrical context because plays were not on for a long time then, the population of London was much smaller so people would want new things all of the time. Because of this, actors didn’t have a lot of time to rehearse, so little things like internal stage directions were put in the script to help them. This part would have been performed by Roderigo and Iago hiding behind one of the pillars on the stage of the Globe theatre because they had very little props at the time and Cassio would have walked past them. Iago would be standing close to Roderigo, but both of them would have been in the eye of the audience, otherwise the audience wouldn’t have been able to hear them properly. This aspect is effective because if the two had just hid behind the pillar, the audience, if they could not see or were not paying attention would not know what was going on. So telling the audience what they were about to do also got their attention. Internal stage directions helped not only the actors, but the audience as well.
Another aspect that shows Othello was a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context is when the actors describe their thoughts, actions and feelings to the audience. In Act 2, Scene 1, Iago discusses his plot with the audience on how he is going to turn Othello against Cassio and Desdemona. This is a fragment of his soliloquy:
Iago: That Cassio loves her, I do well believe’t: that she loves, ....... but partly led to diet my revenge, for that I do suspect the lusty Moore has leap’d into my seat.
In this quote, Iago is saying that he has made himself believe that Cassio loves Desdemona, but he also has believed it so it will work well in his plan. He also says that he suspects Othello already believes that Cassio loves Desdemona. He wants revenge on Othello and Cassio because Cassio has taken his position in the army, which Othello gave to him.
This relates to the Elizabethan theatrical context because in the Globe theatre it was round and also some people might not have been able to see because of the pillars, so actors facial expressions may not have been seen by a large sum of the audience. Because of this, Shakespeare placed the characters thoughts, feelings and actions in the script. This particular part of the scene, Iago would have most definitely been alone on stage, the focus was on Iago and his soliloquy. He spoke it to the audience like he was having a conversation with them. As I have already stated, this would help the audience a lot to catch up with information and without it a lot of people wouldn’t have known what was going on. This is effective because some people came to the Globe just to listen to the performance and also listening to the characters feelings and emotions would have been interesting.
Also, actors in Othello would give verbal description of the setting; this also supports the idea that Othello was a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context. This is shown at the beginning of Act 5, Scene 1. In this scene, Iago and Lodovico are waiting for Cassio to arrive so they can kill him. They would have had to hide otherwise they would have been seen.
Lodovico – Two or three groan. ‘tis heavy night: these may be counterfeits let’s think ’t unsafe to come into the cry, without more help.
This part would have been portrayed to the audience by Lodovico and Gratiano. They would have pretending they can not see each other been whilst searching for Roderigo who has been stabbed, so it would portray a night scene. If the actors did not describe the setting, those just listening would not have known what it would have looked like.
Another point, which supports the statement Othello, was a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context is the verbal description of actions on stage. For example, the destruction on the Turkish fleet, in Act 2 Scene1:
Montano- if the Turkish fleet / be not enshelter’d, and embay’d, they are drowned.
Gentlemen 3- the desperate tempest hath so bang’d the Turks.
This relates to the Elizabethan theatrical context because the destruction of a whole Turkish fleet would have been impossible and without having ships being blown up on stage, Shakespeare would have had his characters to describe it to the audience. This is effective because if Shakespeare had decided to actually destroy the ships on stage, it would have been a vast waste amount of money, since it wasn’t going to be used in other plays. Also, if Shakespeare hadn’t placed the description of the defeat in the characters lines, the audience would not have known what was going on.
Another point which agrees with the statement ‘Othello was a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context’, is that young boys would have had to take the women’s place in the plays; a scene where this would have been put to the test is Act 2, Scene1:
Cassio – most fortunately: he hath achieve’d a Maid, that paragons description, and wild flame: one that excels the quirk of blazoning pens, and in th’ essential vesture or creation, does tire the ingeniver.
This relates to the Elizabethan theatrical context because women were not allowed to perform in plays, instead like I have said young boys would take their place because they had unbroken voices and looked more like women, then men. Acting was considered dishonourable for women and women did not appear on the stage in England until the seventeenth century, men were seen as the sex to work for money and women were to work at the home. This section would have been performed by Cassio looking out on to the audience whilst others listened to the description. Because it was a boy playing Desdemona, they had to give a very detailed description, as the audience might not have caught on. Cassio describes Desdemona’s beauty so magnificently and over the top. The last line that is in bold even suggests that God himself was tired after making such a beauty. This particular aspect would be effective because since women were not allowed to perform, it would have been very hard to believe that a 30-year-old man with a beard was a woman. So using boys would have made it easier to believe.
Special effects in the Shakespearian time, would have been kept to a minimum, if even it was used at all. Instead, i.e.: if an eye was pulled out; the actor would drop a grape onto the floor. In Act 5 Scene 2, it shows a fight scene, which something similar to my example above would have been used:
Othello - ...I took by th’ throat the circumcised dog, and smote him, thus.
He stabs himself
This relates to the Shakespearian era because firstly it would have been very expensive to use special effects and since plays were rotated a lot, they wouldn’t have been used, so it would have been a waste of money. Also, the Globe as a whole realised that grand scale special effects led to disastrous results, like when they used a real canon, it set light to the thatched roof. Also, if the actor playing Othello decided to have a dramatic death he may have thrown the animal organs into the crowd, or squirt them with the fake blood. This would have made the death seem even more real which the audience would have loved this part because at this point in time they would have probably been drunk.
Another property which supports that Othello was a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context is the use of trap doors. One would have been placed on the stage and the other in the heavens. A scene in which one of these may have been used is Act 4, Scene 1. In this scene Iago tells Othello that Desdemona is sleeping with Cassio and tricks Othello to make it sound like Cassio is talking about Desdemona, when in fact he speaks about Bianca. Othello is hiding at this point.
Iago – That’s not amiss, but yet keeps time in all: will you withdraw?
[Othello hides himself]
This relates to the Elizabethan theatrical context because even though they did not use special effects a lot, these trap doors would have been cheap, yet very effective. The trap door on the stage would have been used for special appearances and for people to escape from other actors; the trap door in the heavens would have been used for things such as angel or ghost appearances, the actor would have been lowered down via a pulley system and flying animals.
So, “to what extent are Shakespeare’s plays a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed?” I have analysed and now finally concluding that Shakespeare’s plays were very much a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context. I have seen firstly, that the theatres as a whole effected the plays a lot, because of the lighting, seating and staging set up. The people that went to see the plays performed or even to listen to them, would have been affected by the plays because, you never knew what they would do next. If it was throwing something at one of the actors’ heads or joining them on stage and you have to adapt it, for royalty to listen to it. The era in which it was set would affect it as well because of the clothing, the Queen of the time and the laws of the time. It has now been brought to my attention that everything around the actors and Shakespeare himself affected the plays very much, and because of these influences, the Elizabethan theatrical context was very much made and very unique because theatres changed, people changed, and time changed.
