Elizabethan Drama: Characteristics and Special Conventions.

Theatre can be of two types: (1) realistic and illusory or (2) unrealistic and non-illusory.
Some special conventions belong to the non-illusory theatre: the SOLILOQUY, the ASIDE,
the PROLOGUE and the EPILOGUE; all these forms of communications do not exist in
everyday life.
The type of a theatre and of its stage are fundamental in determining the adoption of specific
dramatic techniques. The Elizabethan thaetre was open to the sky, except for part of the stage
and the galleries which were roofed. The stage -called APRON STAGE- projected out into the
Pit where common people stood. The better-off were seated in the Galleries. The stage was
therefore surrounded on three sides by the audience that could count up to two thousand
people. At the rear of the stage there was the TIRING HOUSE, where the actors changed
their costumes and waited for the moment of their entrance. There were TWO DOORS for
entrances and exits in the back part of the stage, and a BALCONY over them.
There was no scenery, no artificial lighting, so performances took place during the day; there
was no curtain to separate the audience from the actors before the show began. A TRAP
DOOR, in the front of the stage, was used for sudden apparitions of devils or supernatural
beings, or could be used for other special effects.
The theatre-goers of such theatres as the Shakespearean Globe included the
GROUNDLINGS, i.e. the common people who watched the play standing in the pit, the socalled PATRONS who paid a higher sum for seats in the galleries, and the NOBLES who
could even sit on the stage itself.
The actors were professionals but they needed the ptotection of a high personality in town, or
of the Queen or King, because no social status was accorded to them.
Finally women were not allowed to act on stage, therefore young boys played female roles.
The effects of this type of theatre were: a) the absence of scenery accounts for the numerous
and rich descriptions of place and time to be found in Elizabethan texts; b) beautiful costumes
compensated for the absence of women, and were also important to visualize differences in
social classes; c) the closeness of the audience to the actors encouraged the development of
special conventions (soliloquy, aside, etc.) which implied direct address from stage to
audience.
In conclusion the Elizabethan theatre had strong non-illusory features: it was a drama
referred to reality but it continually reminded the audience of the theatrical game to which
they were taking part.
The CHORUS and the PROLOGUE can be easily found in Elizabethan drama: the chorus
can be either an individual or a group, and it can give anticipations about, comment on, or
conclude a play. The prologue is the means to gain the favour of the audience, to provide
information, and, in this, it is the only reliable character. Its absence from modern drama can
be accounted for with the advent of the realistic or illusory theatre, because it belongs to a
theatre in which the spectator is aware he/she is watching actors and must accept strong
features of artificiality.
The SOLILOQUY is a typical convention of Elizabethan drama; it enabled the playright to let
the audience know the character's thoughts on a specific problem, or his plans for the future,
or his feelings and emotional reactions, or his philosophical meditations on issues as life,
death, etc.. The audience must accept the unusual behaviour of a man/woman speaking to
him/herself.
The Elizabethans used both verse and prose for their plays. The use of poetry with its
beautiful imagery, is usually the expression of a mind in full possession of its powers, while
prose can represent a moment of rage or mental chaos. Normally the hero or the nobles speak
in verse, differently from minor characters or lower classes.