THEA 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: English Renaissance Theatre, Elizabethan Era
Document Summary
Prior to this, males played the female roles. Best known plays of the period were comedies: 1. Poked fun at social conventions of the upper class and satirized the preoccupation of english aristocrats with reputation: most upper class characters are portrayed as disreputable. Plays were preoccupied with sexual intrigues and innuendoes; adopted an amoral attitude toward behaviors. Audience generally composed of the very people the playwrights were satirizing: the aristocracy and nobility. Bunbury = when going away to a different place far away, more free to act the way you want because no longer restricted by social judgements, etc: 2. When one trait overshadows others: 3. 19th century english theatre: oscar wilde (1854-1900) = known for his quick wit and his love of wine. Jailed for indecency (homosexuality) for two years hard labor. In prison he wrote his famous poem the ballad of reading gaol. Plays: the importance of being earnest, an ideal husband, lady windermere"s.
