The emergence of drama as a literary art - Mindy Ploeckelmann
TLDRIn the 11th and 12th centuries, to educate the illiterate populace about the Bible, the clergy created mystery and miracle plays. These evolved into cycles of stories performed on movable pageants, engaging audiences across town squares. As guilds took over acting duties, plays began to deviate from their religious origins, leading to the emergence of morality plays by the 14th century. These allegorical dramas featured personified virtues and vices, entertaining but encouraging vice. By the mid-15th century, the church banned such performances, leading to the construction of theaters outside city walls, where Renaissance playwrights like Shakespeare were inspired, marking the birth of drama as a literary art form.
Takeaways
- 📜 In the 11th and 12th centuries, English commoners were mostly illiterate, leading to the creation of mystery and miracle plays to convey Bible stories and saintly tales.
- 🎭 Clergy initially performed these plays on cathedral steps, which later moved to the streets and town squares due to popular demand.
- 🚂 The introduction of pageants, movable carts used as stages, allowed for a cycle of stories from Genesis to Revelation to be performed sequentially.
- 🏰 Pageants were two-story structures with a curtained bottom for costume changes and a top platform for acting.
- 🤝 By the 13th century, guilds took over the responsibility of acting out different parts of the cycle, with assignments reflecting their professions.
- 🔄 The plays began to deviate from their original Bible stories, leading to the evolution of morality plays by the 14th century.
- 👹 Morality plays featured personified virtues and vices, with audiences interacting with the actors, even to the point of throwing rotten food.
- 😈 The character of the devil would engage with the audience, creating a more immersive and sometimes chaotic experience.
- 🎭 The church eventually outlawed these performances by the mid-15th century, leading to the construction of theaters outside city walls.
- 🌐 The first theaters resembled larger versions of pageants, with tiered seating around a central stage area.
- 🎭 William Shakespeare honed his skills in these theaters, which contributed to the Renaissance and the development of drama as a literary art form.
Q & A
Why were mystery plays created in the 11th and 12th centuries?
-Mystery plays were created because most English commoners were illiterate and had no way to learn the Bible. The clergy devised this method to reveal the mystery of God's word through plays.
What were miracle plays?
-Miracle plays were plays developed by the clergy about the saints of the church, similar to mystery plays but focused on the lives and deeds of saints.
Where did the clergy initially perform the Bible stories?
-Initially, the clergy performed Bible stories on the steps outside the cathedral.
What is the significance of the term 'pageant' in the context of these plays?
-A pageant referred to the movable carts used for performances, which were like huge boxes on wheels, with a stage on top and space for costumes and props below.
How did the structure of pageants contribute to the storytelling of the Bible?
-Pageants allowed for the staging of cycles of stories, taking viewers from Genesis to Revelation, by moving around the town square in a sequence.
Why were guilds involved in performing the plays by the 13th century?
-Guilds were involved because the plays required more actors than the clergy could supply, and the guilds' assignments were meant to reflect their professions.
What was the significance of the guilds' professions in the stories they performed?
-The guilds' professions influenced the stories they performed, such as the carpenter's guild performing the story of Noah's Ark, which related to their skill in building.
How did the plays evolve from their original Bible stories?
-The plays evolved into morality plays by the end of the 14th century, with characters representing virtues and vices battling for the control of the soul.
Why did audiences love the immoral characters in morality plays?
-Audiences loved the immoral characters because they were often more entertaining and relatable, and the plays encouraged interaction with the actors.
What was ironic about the intention of the clergy in creating morality plays?
-It was ironic that the clergy intended to teach against immorality, but the morality plays actually made vices more popular than virtues.
How did the church respond to the changes in the plays by the mid-15th century?
-The church started to outlaw these performances and required that any theater be built outside the city wall.
What is the connection between medieval morality plays and the works of William Shakespeare?
-Medieval morality plays led to the Renaissance playwrights, including Shakespeare, who was inspired by the inner struggles and the conscience of man, developing his craft at a theater that became The Globe.
Outlines
📜 The Origin of Mystery and Miracle Plays
In the 11th and 12th centuries, the majority of English commoners were illiterate, which led the clergy to devise a creative method for conveying the Bible's teachings. They initiated the tradition of mystery and miracle plays, which were theatrical performances based on biblical and saintly narratives, respectively. Initially, clergy performed these plays outside the cathedral, but their popularity necessitated a move to public spaces and the use of movable carts called pageants. These carts served as stages and changing areas, and the performances evolved into a cycle of stories from the Bible, engaging spectators throughout the town.
🎭 The Evolution of Medieval Drama and Guild Participation
As the demand for actors grew, guilds were enlisted to perform different parts of the biblical cycle, with each guild's assignment reflecting their trade. This led to a divergence from the original biblical stories, as the guilds added their own interpretations. By the end of the 14th century, a new form of drama, the morality play, emerged, featuring personified virtues and vices in allegorical battles for the soul. These plays became interactive and sometimes unruly, with audiences engaging directly with the performances, even to the point of violence and the use of the devil character to pull spectators into a depicted hell.
🎭 The Transformation of Morality Plays and the Birth of Renaissance Drama
The clergy's original intention to teach against immorality was ironically subverted by the popularity of the vices in the morality plays. By the mid-15th century, the church began to ban these performances, requiring theaters to be built outside city walls. This led to the construction of the first theaters, which were larger versions of pageants with tiered seating around a central stage. It was in such a setting that William Shakespeare honed his craft, and the medieval morality play laid the groundwork for Renaissance playwrights who were inspired by the exploration of human conscience and inner struggles, ultimately leading to the emergence of drama as a literary art form.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mystery Plays
💡Miracle Plays
💡Pageants
💡Guilds
💡Morality Plays
💡Allegory
💡Vices
💡Renaissance
💡The Globe
💡William Shakespeare
💡Literary Art Form
Highlights
In the 11th and 12th centuries, most English commoners were illiterate and unable to read the Bible.
The clergy created mystery plays to reveal the mystery of God's word to illiterate people.
Miracle plays were also developed about the saints of the church.
Clergy initially acted out Bible stories on cathedral steps, then moved to the town square.
Movable carts called pageants were used for performances, with costumes and props in the bottom story.
Pageants were two stories tall, with the top platform serving as the stage.
Pageants would move around the town in a cycle, allowing villagers to see the entire series of stories.
By the 13th century, different guilds were asked to act out different parts of the cycle, reflecting their professions.
For example, the carpenter's guild might perform the story of Noah's Ark, while the baker's guild might do The Last Supper.
Plays began changing from their true Bible stories, leading to the development of morality plays by the end of the 14th century.
Morality plays featured characters representing virtues like faith, truth, charity, and good deeds, battling vices.
Audiences loved the immoral characters and were encouraged to interact with the actors, sometimes leading to chaos.
The devil character would roam through crowds, pulling people into a hell depicted as a dragon's mouth.
Morality plays became crude and comic, ironically encouraging vices over virtues despite the clergy's intentions.
By the mid-15th century, the church started outlawing these performances and requiring theaters to be built outside city walls.
One of the first theaters was built like a larger version of a pageant, with gallery seating around a grassy area.
William Shakespeare developed his craft at this theater, which became known as The Globe.
Medieval morality plays led to the emergence of Renaissance playwrights, who were inspired by the inner struggles and conscience of man.
Drama emerged as a literary art form through this evolution from morality plays.
Transcripts
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