Moral condemnation The writers of our time are so led away with vainglory, that their only endeavour is to pleasure the humour of men; and rather with vanity to content their minds, than to profit them with good ensample. The notablest liar is become the best poet; he that can make the most notorious lie, and disguise falsehood in such sort that he may pass unperceived, is held the best writer. For the strangest comedy brings greatest delectation and pleasure. Our nature is led away with vanity, which the author perceiving frames himself with novelties and strange trifles to content the vain humours of his rude auditors, feigning countries never heard of; monsters and prodigious creatures that are not, as of the Arimaspi, of the Grips, the Pigmies, the Cranes, and other such notorious lies. And if they write of histories that are known, as the life of Pompey, the martial affairs of Caesar and other worthies, they give them a new face, and turn them out like counterfeits to show themselves on the stage. It was therefore aptly applied of him who likened the writers of our days unto tailors, who having their shears in their hand, can alter the fashion of anything into another form; and with a new face make that seem new which is old. The shreds of whose curiosity our historians have now stolen from them, being by practice become as cunning as the tailor to set a new upper body to an old coat, and a patch of their own to a piece of another. A second and third blast of retrait from plaies and Theatres 1580 The argument of tragedies is wrath, cruelty, incest, injury, murder, either violent by sword or voluntary by poison; the persons, gods, goddesses, furies, fiends, kings, queens and mighty men. The ground-work of comedies, is love, cozenage, flattery, bawdry, sly conveyance of whoredom; the persons, cooks, queans, knaves, bawds, parasites, courtezans, lecherous old men, amorous young men. Therefore Plautus in his prologue before the comedy of The Captives, desiring to curry favour with his auditors, exhorteth them earnestly to mark that play, because it shall cast no such stench of impurity into their noses as others do. There is in it (saith he) neither forsworn bawd, nor harlot, nor bragging soldier. Why could he not give this commendation to all the rest? Because it was the practice of the devil, to weave in a thread of his own spinning. Why is this rather purged of filthiness than the rest? Because it is the juggling of the devil, to turn himself sometimes to an angel of light, to deceive us the sooner. The best play you can pick out, is but a mixture of good and evil, how can it be then the schoolmistress of life? The beholding of troubles and miserable slaughters that are in tragedies drive us to immoderate sorrow, heaviness, womanish weeping and mourning, whereby we become lovers of dumps and lamentation, both enemies to fortitude. Comedies so tickle our senses with a pleasanter vein, that they make us lovers of laughter and pleasure, without any mean, both foes to temperance. What schooling is this? Sometime you shall see nothing but the adventures of an amorous knight, passing from country to country for the love of his lady, encountering many a terrible monster made of brown paper, and at his return is so wonderfully changed, that he cannot be known but by some posy in his tablet, or by a broken ring, or a handkercher, or a piece of a cockle shell. What learn you by that? When the soul of your plays is either mere trifles, or Italian bawdry, or wooing of gentlewomen, what are ye taught? Peradventure you will say, that by these kind of plays the authors instruct us how to love with. constancy, to sue with modesty, and to loath whatsoever is. contrary unto us. In my opinion, the discipline we get by plays is like to the justice that a certain schoolmaster taught in Persia, which taught his scholars to lie and not to lie, to deceive and not to deceive, with a distinction how they might do it to their friends, and how to their enemies; to their friends, for exercise; to their foes, in earnest. Wherein many of his scholars became so skilful by practise, by custom so bold, that their dearest friends paid more for their learning than their enemies. I would wish the players to beware of this kind of schooling, lest that whilst they teach youthful gentlemen how to love and not to love, how to woo and not to woo, their scholars grow as cunning as the Persians. STEPHEN GOSSON, Playes Confuied in five Actions 1582 § 2. Playhouses and Bear-gardens But pardon, gentles all, The flat unraised spirits that have dar'd Henry V., I. chorus, 8—14 The earliest London public theatres, erected 1575–1576 [Before this plays had mostly been performed in the inn-yards of the city.] This priory [of Holywell] was valued at the suppression to have lands two hundred and ninety-three pounds by the year, and was surrendered 1539, the 31st of Henry VIII. The church thereof being pulled down, many houses have been built for the lodgings of noblemen, of strangers born and others. And near thereunto, are builded two public houses for the acting and shew of comedies, tragedies and histories, for recreation. Whereof the one is called the Curtain, the other the Theater: both standing on the south-west side towards the field. JOHN STOW, A Survey of London 1598 A German describes English theatres and bear-gardens Without the city are some theatres, where English actors represent almost every day comedies and tragedies to very numerous audiences; these are concluded with variety of dances, accompanied by excellent music and the excessive applause of those that are present. Not far from one of these theatres, which are all built of wood, lies the royal barge, close to the river Thames. It has two splendid cabins, beautifully ornamented with glass windows, painting and gilding; it is kept upon dry ground, and sheltered from the weather. There is still another place, built in the form of a theatre, which serves for the baiting of bears and bulls. They are fastened behind, and then worried by those great English dogs and mastiffs, but not without great risk to the dogs from the teeth of the one and the horns of the other; and it sometimes happens they are killed upon the spot. Fresh ones are immediately supplied in the places of those that are wounded or tired. To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a blinded bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing in a circle with whips, which they exercise upon him without any mercy. Although he cannot escape from them because of his chain, he nevertheless defends himself, vigorously throwing down all who come within his reach and are not active enough to get out of it, and tearing the whips out of their hands and breaking them. At these spectacles and everywhere else, the English are constantly smoking the Nicotian weed which in America is called Tobaca-others call it Paetum-and generally in this manner: they have pipes on purpose made of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so dry that it may be rubbed into powder, and lighting it, they draw the smoke into their mouths, which they puff out again through their nostrils, like funnels, along with it plenty of phlegm and defluxion from the head. In these theatres, fruits, such as apples, pears and nuts, according to the season, are carried about to be sold, as well as wine and ale. PAUL HENTZNER, Travels in England 1598 [Rye] Structure of an Elizabethan playhouse [The Globe theatre, which is here taken as a model, was the playhouse in which Shakespeare acted.] ...The frame of the said house to be set square and to contain four score foot of lawful assize every way square without, and fifty-five foot of like assize square every way within, with a good, sure and strong foundation of piles, brick, lime and sand both without and within to be wrought one foot of assize at the least above the ground. And the said frame to contain three storeys in height, the first or lower storey to contain twelve foot of lawful assize in height, the second storey eleven foot of lawful assize in height, and the third or upper storey to contain nine foot of lawful assize in height. All which storeys shall contain twelve foot and a half of lawful assize in breadth throughout, besides a jutty forwards in either of the said two upper storeys of ten inches of lawful assize, with four convenient divisions for gentlemen's rooms and other sufficient and convenient divisions for two-penny rooms, with necessary seats to be placed and set as well in those rooms as throughout all the rest of the galleries of the said house and with such-like stairs, conveyances and divisions without and within as are made and contrived in and to the late erected playhouse on the Bank, in the said parish of St Saviour's, called the Globe; with a stage and tiring-house to be made, erected and set up within the said frame with a shadow or cover on the said stage... And which stage shall contain in length forty and three foot of lawful assize and in breadth to extend to the middle of the yard of the said house. The same stage to be paled in below with good, strong and sufficient new oaken boards, and likewise the lower storey of the said frame withinside; and the same lower storey to be also laid over and fenced with strong iron pikes. And the said stage to be in all other proportions contrived and fashioned like unto the stage of the said play-house called the Globe, with convenient windows and lights glazed to the said tiring-house, and the said frame, stage and staircases to be covered with tile and to have a sufficient gutter of lead to carry and convey the water from the covering of the said stage to fall backwards. And also all the said frame and the staircases thereof to be sufficiently enclosed without with lath, lime and hair, and the gentlemen's rooms and twopenny rooms to be sealed with lath, lime and hair, and all the floors of the said galleries, storeys and stage to be boarded with good and sufficient new deal boards of whole thickness where need shall be. And the said house, and other things beforementioned, to be made and done, to be in all other contrivitions, conveyances, fashions, thing and things effected, finished and done, according to the manner and fashion of the said house called the Globe, saving only that all the principal and main posts of the said frame and stage forward shall be square and wrought pilaster-wise with carved proportions called satyrs to be placed and set on the top of every of the same posts.... Contract for building the Fortune Theatre at the cost of £440 (dated Jan. 8, 1600) |