Renaissance Theatre Performance Content Analysis

Jacobean Theatre James I was crowned as king of England in 1603, succeeding the successful era of Elizabeth, following her death. However, while theatre was experiencing a renaissance in England, the people were fearful about the shift in power from Elizabeth to James. England was losing money constantly because of war with the Spanish, religious tensions were still extremely high, and therefore civil war could have erupted as many feared at the time. Therefore, James continued the policies of Elizabeth, but he had his own ideas about the ruler having complete power, which the English parliament opposed. James was not the most beloved leader in England, but under his rule some of the most famous plays were published from Shakespeare and Ben Jonson during this era.

King James I was the nephew of Elizabeth, son of Mary, queen of Scotland. He became ruler of Scotland in 1567, and since Elizabeth had no children, he was the heir to her throne. He united the two kingdoms after his crowning in 1603. James grew up well educated like most of the nobility. Similar to Elizabeth, he admired literature and theatre. In fact, he published his own books where he expressed his ideas about an absolute monarch rule. After uniting Scotland and England he stopped the war with Spain and prohibited plays to be performed on Sundays. This was a minor relief in religious tensions for the puritans. James didn’t enforce personal beliefs on his citizens in a religious sense, which meant that playwrights were free to write plays however they wanted. This was not the case when he was first crowned, however. James Stuart was a mysterious figure for the people of England because he was renowned for hunting and being an enthusiastic drinker, while also being an intellectual publishing books on theology and kingship. For playwrights and actors, the question about him was if he enjoyed theatre or not. Therefore, many theatre enthusiasts were concerned about the future of plays and playhouses; whether they would be shut down completely or returned to strict religious themes, theatre would suffer. The concern soon turned into relief 10 days after James took the throne. He announced that the immensely successful theatre company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men (where Shakespeare was working), was going to be renamed as the King’s Men with King James sponsoring their performances. There were a few requirements that the King’s Men and all dramatists had to meet (public performances had to be performed in London and Westminster), but overall it made theatre even bigger at the time.

Furthermore, all the people in the company were now viewed as gentlemen and had a steady wage regardless of their audience. Essentially, James I established the theatre industry, recognizing that actors and playwrights should get consistent salaries for their entertainment. While these rights were mostly positive, there is speculation that he wasn’t as fond of theatre as his actions suggest. He didn’t regularly watch performances; his wife Anna and son Henry were regularly at theatres, though. Many believe that James used the increasing power of theatre to enforce personal beliefs about the divine power of a monarch. In King Lear, there is reference to the influence of the King’s Men in act 3 scene 4 when Gloucester asks Lear if he has no better company which is referring to the King’s Men and that there is no better company than them.

The king’s influence is shown by the themes of chaotic rulers present in plays and how uniting a nation would eliminate struggles. Some critics view the theme of unification as a tool of Shakespeare to confront James on the issues between Scotland and England, but others view it as a tool of James to warn theatregoers about the danger when a country isn’t unified. Theatre grew immensely during James’s reign, but his use of it is an argument that critics still have to this day. Not too many playhouses were built during the Jacobean era, but many were renovated and rebuilt due to safety issues. The ones that were newly built were “The Hope” and “The Cockpit” which became a theatre in 1616, first functioning as an arena for cock-fighting. The playhouses that were rebuilt included famous theatres such as The Globe theatre and The Fortune with The Red Bull getting renovated in 1625. The basic structure of playhouses remained unchanged during the reign of James I other than some minor changes for safety measures. The Globe theatre was burned down because of a misuse of a prop cannon, which ignited the roof made of wood. Trying to stop it from happening again, The Globe was rebuilt with a tiled roof. Until the Puritans shut down and destroyed The Globe, it stood for 30 years. Actors and costumes remained unchanged in style from the Elizabethan era. Costumes still represented social class, however, with the increase in wealth for theater companies, costumes were more affordable than ever. A minor change between Elizabethan and Jacobean actors was the gradual decline in use of child actors in plays. Plays were subsidized, so younger, “more affordable”, actors did not have to be used to save money.

The most influential playwrights of the Jacobean era were William Shakespeare who continued his works from the Elizabethan era, and Ben Jonson who was arguably more influential than Shakespeare at the time. The two playwrights were friends and worked together on some plays; Ben Jonson also working and changing theatre after Shakespeare’s death. Ben Jonson was born in the summer of 1572 in London, where he was well educated and became a poet. After a brief stint in the army in the Netherlands, he returned to London. In London he became a playwright, one of two who wrote plays during all three eras of Renaissance theatre. After James I ascended to the throne, Jonson and his special type of plays became a favorite of the king. Masques, as they were called, were allegorical plays that involved dancing, pantomime, and dialogue, written in prose. These plays were private and often interactive with the audience in dancing and dialogue scenes.

Jonson is also known for his comedies and tragedies, but mostly his comedies. Volpone, The Alchemist, and The Silent Woman are his most studied works, all of which are comedies. The Alchemist was the most amusing play of the time since it explores the relevant thoughts that the public had at the time. Many were wondering about alchemy and the stars, so Ben Jonson incorporated characters that investigate these topics in a comical fashion. Similar to Marlowe, Jonson used emotion to portray a message behind his plays in his masques, comedies, and tragedies. Shakespeare continued his work from the Elizabethan era to the Jacobean era, working with the King’s Men to write his most successful tragedies as well as some tragicomedies. The famous tragedies Shakespeare wrote or performed during this time include Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and Hamlet. While all of these plays are well regarded as influential works of drama, Hamlet is considered one of the best works of theatre of all-time, ranking 1st on TimeOut’s “The 50 best plays of all time” and ranking #10 on The Guardian’s “Michael Billington’s 101 greatest plays”.

Hamlet was written around the time James rose to power, and explores key elements of tragedies such as betrayal, retribution and moral failure. Hamlet is centered around the son of King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet, and his struggles after his father’s ghost taunts him. King Hamlet’s ghost tells him that his brother, now King, has killed him and that he wants his son to kill him for revenge. Eventually events unfold, and Hamlet accomplishes the killing of the King and the court councilors son (who fails to avenge the death of his father and sister). Shakespeare also wrote tragicomedies during the Jacobean era. These were sad stories that end with forgiveness and reconciliation instead of vulgar events. Tragicomedies were sometimes portrayed in masque style such as The Tempest, and some were using blank verse such as Cymbeline. Shakespeare died in 1616, with his tragedies, comedies, histories, and tragicomedies shaping theatre at the time as well as for times to come. Central themes of the Jacobean era revolved around romantic love and violence in addition to moral corruption, portrayed through comedies and tragedies. “Comedies were mostly harsh satires; tragedies were mostly about moral corruption and violent revenge. The most popular genres all had a pessimistic and cynical look at life. ”8 These themes evolved from the sensationalism that was a key component in Elizabethan theatre. Masques also gained popularity during this era through the work of Ben Jonson, which portrayed ethical messages through dance, pantomime, and short dialogue. The masques became the most popular genre in Caroline theatre; the last of the Rennaissance eras to come after the Jacobean era.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the central themes and styles of the Elizabethan and Jacobean plays revolutionized theatre from the Medieval Biblical plays to the sensationalistic comedies, tragedies, histories, and tragicomedies as well as the ethical messages behind these genres and masques. Renaissance theatre also provided modern theatre with multiple famous playwrights and their ideas which became popular in times to come. In addition to plays and playwrights, the rulers of the eras allowed actors to perform independently of guilds, forming theatre companies such as the Lord Chamberlain’s men. These theatre companies established playhouses that made performance drama popular at the time for all social classes. This made way for James I to make playwrights and actors have a steady wage, starting the theatre industry. The Elizabethan and Jacobean eras were the start of modern theatre, still studied to this day.

As a learner and theatre student, I have developed a vast understanding of the effect that the Renaissance era had on performance arts. This includes the comparison of the context that plays were produced in, such as the rule of Elizabeth and James. I have learned how to conduct research effectively using many sites. This is important in researching the Renaissance drama because many theatre experts have different views on the message behind plays. All in all, the work and research done for this essay has been successful in helping me become a better learner.