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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE BEGINNINGS OF TRAGEDY N this chapter the development of tragedy is to be traced from 1562, the year of the production of Gorboduc, to about 1587, the beginning of Marlowe's career. Our knowledge of the drama during this period is scanty, and there are few extant tragedies or plays resembling tragedy. Before examining these plays with the detail which their historical position demands, it will be necessary first to glance at the theatrical conditions. Reference has been made to some of the changes that had been working a transformation from the conditions of the popular performance of the religious drama in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Through these, the drama had already to a large extent passed from the control of the guilds to that of small companies of amateur or professional actors; from the open air into the halls of noblemen or of the schools; from the large stage with its fixed stations for the different actors or the procession of pageants, to the small and perhaps improvised platform. Long plays with hosts of actors had given place to short plays with few parts, or many parts divisible among few actors, and constructed with a clear distinction between on the stage and off the stage. Performances indoors, no specially prepared stage, few actors, and short plays represent the prevailing theatrical practice of the early sixteenth century. From 1562 on, however, theatrical conditions were various and shifting, and not always easily discernible by the modern student. While miracles were still performed after the old popular fashion, the traveling professional companies were growing in importance and tending to monopolize the acting of interludes. Amateur actors, however, at court, school, university, inns of court, or, indeed, a...
| ISBN-13 | 9780217904049 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0217904041 |
| Weight | 0.79 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 9.00 x 6.00 x 0.55 In |
| List Price | $19.99 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Pages | 240 pages |
| Publisher | |
| Published On | 2009-08-01 |
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