RENAISSANCE THEATER: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS AND WORKS - ART - 2025

The Renaissance theater refers to the European drama from about the fifteenth century to the beginning of the XVII. In this period, the rediscovery and imitation of classical works laid the foundations of modern theater. In this sense, Renaissance was primarily concerned with classical culture and ideals.

The Renaissance drama of Italy, France, Spain, and England reflected an interest in and emulation of the Greek and Roman classics. One of the two directions that Renaissance theater took in Europe was based on the reenactment of the past, a movement called Neoclassicism: it followed the rules of the ancients as interpreted by the moderns.

The other direction of the theater was more focused on the words and settings of the Elizabethans and the Spanish. The theater of England was the most prolific in the works of Shakespeare, Johnson, Marlow, and others.

For its part, the Spanish theater resembled the Elizabethan theater in its presentation, but it was based more on the religious theme and medieval conventions than on altering the strong religious influence of the Church and the government.

Origin

Renaissance theater began in Italy, with scholars initially attempting to recreate the original Greek and Roman works, and later adapting them to contemporary dress and speech.

The new interest in classical drama began with the rediscovery of Euripides, Seneca, Plautus, and Terence. Aristotle's Poetics came to light in the 15th century; it defined the classic genres of tragedy and comedy.

Thus, the acting profession went from having a bad reputation to assuming a new dignity, and the first professional companies were formed.

Renaissance stage design also dates back to classical models, especially Vitruvius (1st century BC). His ideas influenced the construction of the first permanent theater houses in Italy and France.

For their part, the theaters of Great Britain and Spain adapted the characteristics of the courtyards of posadas where performances had previously been carried out.

Greco-Roman ideas influenced the architecture of Italian theaters. Classic devices such as the periaktoi, a rotating prismatic construction for rapid change of scenery, were incorporated.

New features were also introduced, such as the proscenium arch. This consists of a frame that separates the stage from the auditorium. Through this arch you can see the action of a play.

Renaissance tragedy

In the field of tragedy, the main influence on Renaissance writers was the work of Seneca. Already in 1315 Albertino Mussato (1261-1329) wrote a Latin tragedy, Ecerinis.

The first major tragedy of the Renaissance was Giangiorgio Trissino's Sofonisba, written in 1515.

In Renaissance theater solemn scenes of tragedy were often interspersed with interludes: songs and dances taken from Greco-Roman satirical plays.

These interludes eventually became the masquerade in England, the opera in Italy, and the ballet in France.

Comedy

The discovery of the Roman comedy, with its characteristic characters and intricate plots, inspired Renaissance playwrights to write similar works.

The first significant comedy written in Italian was Calandria (1506) by Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena (1470-1520).

In 16th century Italy, comedy authors began to combine aspects of Roman comedy and tragedy with elements of liturgical drama. One of the main writers of the scholarly comedy was Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533).

characteristics

- Unlike actors in medieval theater, Renaissance theater was made up of professional actors: some specialized in tragic roles and others in comic roles. As they were not members of a guild, they were placed under the patronage of royalty. In this way they were considered servants and were therefore allowed to act.

- They were all men. The youngest played the female roles. These used certain dramatic gestures consistently to signify specific audience emotions.

- It consisted of an intimate theater, since the actor was not more than twelve meters from his audience; and it was unified, inasmuch as it allowed the attendance of all social classes.

- At first the theaters were represented in taverns with tables put together as a stage. They were later built three stories high, around an open space in the center.

- Often, playwrights wrote plays for a particular company. They read the play to the actors and they gave their opinions. Therefore, plays used to be joint ventures between writer and actor.

- The interpretations of a work were very frequent; with the passage of time, this frequency decreased. After about a year and a half, the play stopped being performed.

Playwrights

In the Renaissance theater, playwrights of both the tragedy and comedy genres stood out in Italy, Spain, England and France.

Tragedy

Italy

Giangiorgio Trissino, Giambattista Giraldi Cinthio, Pietro Aretino, Giovanni Giraldi and Torquato Tasso.

Spain

Juan de la Cueva.

England

William Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd, and Christopher Marlowe.

France

Étienne Jodelle, Pierre Corneille, Thomas Corneille, Jean Racine and Jean Galbert de Campistron.

Comedy

Italy

Nicolás Machiavelli and Ludovico Ariosto.

Spain

Lope de Rueda and Bartolomé de Torres Naharro.

England

William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson.

France

Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), Jacques Grévin and Pierre de Larivey.

Representative works

The most representative works of the Renaissance theater belong to the English playwright William Shakespeare. Among his most famous productions are:

- Richard III (1592-93).

- The Taming of the Shrew (around 1594).

- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1596).

- The merchant of Venice (1596-97).

- Much ado about nothing (1598-99).

- Romeo and Juliet (1595-96).

- Julius Caesar (1599-1600).

- Hamlet (1600-01).

- Othello (1603-04).

- King Lear (1605-06).

- Macbeth (1606).

For his part, some of Christopher Marlowe's plays are:

- Tamerlane the Great (1587-88).

- Dr. Fausto (1588-89).

- The Maltese Jew (around 1590).

By the playwright Ben Jonson, the following works stand out:

- Every man out of his humor (1598).

- Cynthia's parties (1600).

- The poetstro (1601).

References

1. Law, J. (2013). The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theater. London: Bloomsbury.
2. Dublin Institute of Technology. (s / f). Renaissance: Theater and Dr. Faustus. Taken from comp.dit.ie.
3. Hochman, S. (1984). Encyclopedia of World Drama. New York: McGraw-Hill.
4. Westwood, M. (2012, May 24). What are main characteristics of Renaissance drama? Taken from enotes.com.
5. Galens, D. (2002). Literary Movements for Students. Farmington Hills: Gale.