Thesis: Shakespeare made an impact on the world through his performances, the Globe Theater, and the Elizabethan Theater.

Performances:

Quote #1: "Romeo and Juliet was probably among the early plays that Shakespeare wrote, between 1594 and 1596. By 1612, when he returned to Stratford to live the life of a prosperous retired gentleman, Shakespeare had written thirty-seven plays, including such masterpieces as Julius Ceasar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth" (Anderson).

Commentary: In Shakespeare's life Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven different plays and many of them we know. Such as Hamlet, Julius Ceaser, Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. All of these plays were loved and are still loved by many people.

Quote #2: "Royal Shakespeare Company is an English theater organization dedicated to presenting the plays of William Shakespeare and other playwrights of his time, modern classical dramas, and new works" (Lander).

Commentary: Shakespeare had a company that would help him set up the plays and get people to come to them. This company would also present his plays of his time, modern dramas, and his newer works. Also, the company would be in charge of how many plays they would play. They even chose which play they would show in the theaters.

Quote #3: "Shakespeare was unusual among Elizabethan playwrights. He not only wrote exclusively for his own company but also served as an actor and sharer in it. The close association between Shakespeare, his fellow actors, and the conditions of production had enormous influence on his dramas. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays with a particular theater building in mind and for performers whom he knew well. Each major actor in the company specialized in a certain type of role. For example, one played the leading tragic characters, and another the main comic characters. Still another actor played old men. Shakespeare wrote his plays to suit the talents of specific performers. He knew when he created a Hamlet, Othello, or King Lear that the character would be interpreted by Richard Burbage, the company’s leading tragic actor" (Lander).

Commentary: Unlike other playwrights, Shakespeare was an actor in his own plays and a sharer in it. He also had to write the plays for his company. In the Elizabethan Theater, each major actor specialized in a certain type of role and Shakespeare wrote most of his plays for a theater building in mind and for performers that he knew very well. Shakespeare alo wrote plays to fit the talents of specific performers.

Globe Theater:

Quote #4: "First the part of the stage that projected into the yard grew narrower, and the small curtained inner stage grew larger, until there developed what is called the proscenium stage. Here there is no outer stage; there is only the inner stage , and a large curtain separates it from the audience. The effect is like looking inside a window or inside a picture frame" (Anderson).

Commentary: The Globe Theater's stage projected into the yard and the inner stage grew larger while the main stage grew narrower. This is called the proscenium stage. In the Globe Theater there wasn’t an outer stage only an inner one. The effect of the proscenium stage makes it to where it looks like your looking through window or even inside of a picture frame.

Quote #5: "The plays were performed in the afternoon. Since the stage was open to the sky, there was no need for stage lighting. There were very few sets (scenery, furniture, and so on). The stage was "set" by the language. A whole forest scene was created in one play when a character announced, "Well, this is the forest of Arden." But costumes were often elaborate, and the stage might have been hung with colorful banners and trappings" (Anderson).

Commentary: In the Globe Theater, all of the plays were showed in the afternoon so that there was no need for lighting. There were very few sets and the stage was always set by the language of the actors performing the play. The actors in the play wore very elaborate costumes and sometimes the stage would be hung with flamboyant banners and trappings.

Quote #6: "Plays were originally performed by the all-male medieval trade guilds, so all women's parts were played by boys. it would be many years before women appeared onstage in the professional English theater" (Anderson).

Commentary: In the Globe Theater, there were only actors acting in the plays there weren't going to be any actresses until many years later. So for girl/woman characters a boy/man would act as the woman/girl. For example, In Romeo and Juliet and guy would act as Juliet not a girl.

Quote #7: "The theater may have held as many as 3,000 spectators. Its stage occupied the open-air space, with a pit in front for standing viewers. The stage was surrounded by several levels of seating. In 1613, the Globe burned down. It was rebuilt on the same foundation and reopened in 1614" (Seidel).

Commentary: The Globe Theater could fit about 3,000 people. The stage of the theater was built to where there were several levels for the spectators to sit. But sadly, in 1613 the Globe Theater burned down. But fortunately, it was rebuilt in the same area and it was reopened the following year.

Elizabethan Theater:

Quote #8: "Public theaters were larger than private ones and held at least 2,500 people. They were built around a courtyard that had no roof. Public theaters gave performances only during daylight hours because they had no artificial lights. Private theaters were smaller, roofed structures. They had candlelight for evening performances. Private theaters charged higher prices and were designed to attract a higher-class audience" (Lander).

Commentary: In the late 1500's, the Elizabethan plays were being performed in two separate types of buildings called public and private theaters. In public theaters were larger than private ones they fit about 2,500 people. They were built in courtyards that had no roofs and only gave performances during the day because they had no lights. On the other hand private theaters cost more to go to and were designed to attract more higher-class people.

Quote #9: "The stage of a public theater was a large platform that projected into the pit. This arrangement allowed the audience to watch from the front and sides. The performers, nearly surrounded by spectators, thus had close contact with most of their audience" (Lander).

Commentary: The stage of the theater was a huge platform that projected into the pit. With this set-up, the audience could watch from the front and sides but the performers were very close to the audience.

Quote #10: "Unlike most modern dramas, Elizabethan plays did not depend on scenery to indicate the setting (place) of the action. Generally, the setting was unknown to the audience until the characters identified it with a few lines of dialogue. In addition, the main stage had no curtain. One scene could follow another quickly because there was no curtain to close and open and no scenery to change. The lack of scenery also allowed the action to flow freely from place to place, as in modern motion pictures" (Lander).

Commentary: In the Elizabethan Theater the plays didn't depend on scenery like all the other plays did. And generally the audience didn't know what the setting was until the actors identified in dialogue. And the performances would go way quicker than having a scenery. Also, without the scenery the play would flow more like a modern motion picture.

Works Cited

Anderson, Robert. “Shakespeare and His Theater; A Perfect Match.” Holt Literature & Language Arts: Mastering the California Standards: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, by G. Kylene Beers et al., Austin, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2003, pp. 778-80.

Beers, G. Kylene, et al. Holt Literature & Language Arts: Mastering the California Standards: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking. Austin, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2003.

Lander, Jesse M. “Shakespeare, William.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2016. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

“Royal Shakespeare Company.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2016. Web. 7 Dec. 2016.

Seidel, Michael. “Globe Theatre.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2016. Web. 7 Dec. 2016.