1. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Minds-On
I want you to watch this video. I’m not expecting you to become experts; however, I want you to get the sense of how the English language developed.
Questions to Consider:
Think of this question, why do we study Shakespeare?
2. Were there any surprising pieces of information from the video that you didn’t know before?
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Theme; Elizabethan Theatre

2. What is Shakespearean Tragedy?
To know what Elizabethan theatre is.
To understand how a tragedy is performed and structured in Elizabethan theatre.
To be able to reflect on how the tragedy of Othello would have been staged in Elizabethan theatre.
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Theme; Elizabethan Theatre

3. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
The Elizabethan Era
Queen Elizabeth I embodied power and beauty
It was an extravagant and brutal age
The first theaters in England appeared
William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson.
(roughly)
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4. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Drama in the Elizabethan Age
- After defeating the Spanish
Armada, England became intensely
Interested in the past.
Playwrights were practical men
bent on making a living
Once a playwright sold his manuscript, he had no personal
right to it
Plays were written to be acted ,
not read
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5. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Playhouses
Private – small, roofed buildings for the wealthy people
Public – usually the backyards of inns
Famous theaters – the Rose, the Swan, the Globe (which was Shakespere’s), and the Fortune
Theatres were loud places filled with alcohol, prostitutes and fights. Audience participation occurred. Does that make sense to you? How do you see theatres today? How have things changed?
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6. The Globe – I’ve been there!

7. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
The Globe Theater
Built in 1599 by Cuthbert Burbage
Shakespeare put on most of his plays in there and acted in some of them
In 1642 the theater was completely destroyed
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11. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Dialogue
The playwright used poetic dialogue
to:
paint a picture of the scene
establish the time and the place of
the action
familiarize the audience both with
the characters’ identities and their
physical appearances
Soliloquies and asides were also
used to compensate for the absence
of an elaborate stage.
A lot of sexual innuendos and puns were used. A sword wasn’t only a sword!
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12. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Costumes
Elaborate and colorful costumes
Communicate the message of the character, show his/her social status, profession
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14. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Acting Companies
Before the theaters were built performances were put on by traveling troupes
They had the reputation of being vagabonds
Many people gathered and sometimes behaved disorderly
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15. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
The typical Elizabethan acting company comprised of:
shareholders
salaried actors
apprentices
Actors were expected to be able to:
sing
clown
fence
perform acrobatic feats
dance
Actors
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17. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
To be able to reflect on how the tragedy of Othello would have been staged in Elizabethan theatre.
First:
Look at the characters list and play map.
Which characters do you think would have the most soliloquys?
Which characters do you think would wear the most elaborate costumes?
Describe the actors. Who would play the male characters and female characters?
Second:
Answer the questions regarding the play and the main ideas of the play.
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19. BACKGROUND TO OTHELLO:
Othello was written during Shakespeare’s great tragic period, which also included Hamlet (1600), King Lear (1604–5), Macbeth (1606), and Antony and Cleopatra (1606–7).
Othello is set against the backdrop of the wars between Venice and Turkey that raged in the latter part of the sixteenth century.
Cyprus, which is the setting for most of the action, was a Venetian outpost attacked by the Turks in 1570 and conquered the following year.
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20. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
OTHELLO THE MOOR
The word Moor now refers to the Islamic Arabic inhabitants of North Africa who conquered Spain in the 8th century, but the term was used rather broadly in the period and was sometimes applied to Africans from other regions.
Othello’s darkness or blackness is referred to many times in the play, but people who were brunette or darker than average Europeans were often described as black.
The idea of race and racism can also be analyzed in the play.
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21. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Black and White Motif
The opposition of black and white imagery that runs throughout Othello certainly shows the difference between Othello and his European peers.
However, some academics say that the difference is not as linked to race as a modern reader might imagine it to be. It is debated.
In terms of a Westernized concept, what is the symbolism of the colour white? What is the symbolism of the colour black?
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22. Theme; Elizabethan Theatre
Homework
Read and highlight the handouts on Aristotle’s Ideas About Tragedy.
There are important keywords that you must learn on the handout.
Only highlight and underline important words or phrases on each handout.
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23. Sources http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-age.htm

24. Thank you for your attention!
Presenters:
Dessislava Georgieva
Aneliya Stoyanova