Shakespeare and Elizabethan Theater
Far too often critics have faulted Shakespeare's discrepancies when writing of philosophy, religion, or ideology. In A Midsummer Night's Dream he writes of young love as a burlesque of the kind of tragic love that he treats idealistically in Romeo and Juliet. In Troilus and Cressida he writes of the same tragic love cynically.
Philosophy and ideology aside, one must look at Shakespeare's strength — his characters. Within the pages of Shakespeare's plays lies an abundance of complex characters and their eloquent, vivid, and lyrical speech. These characters are vivid, they are alive, and they almost rise from the page, crying out to be heard. But Shakespeare declined to make them all good or all bad. Like Hamlet or Macbeth or King Lear, they are flawed, struggling with an inconsistent nature. Hamlet fascinates us because of his mental turmoil over whether or not to avenge his father's death. Because of this we wonder if he is truly mad. Even in a comic character such as boisterous and cowardly Falstaff, we ultimately find him moving.
One thing about the Elizabethan theater worth remembering is that it is far removed from the theater of today. There were no special effects, no extravagant set designs, no dazzling lighting effects, and no stereophonic sound. Yes, the costumes were lavishly rich and colorful, but the Elizabethan stage was bare. Other than a few props, such as swords and some simple scenic backgrounds (perhaps a balcony for Juliet), the audience relied on the actors' acting ability to make the play come alive.
This allowed the audience to focus on the play, not its equipment. Because of the design of the stage, the actors were in close contact with the playgoers, whose arms could rest on the “apron” that thrust into the audience. They could smell the sweat from an actor, feel the spittle from a dramatic speech. An Elizabethan player was in such close contact with the spectators, he could almost reach out and knight them with a sword. The actor played almost from the audience, not just to it from above. Today, this effect can somewhat be achieved by staging plays “in the round,” that is, with the audience sitting 360 degrees around the action of the play, not just viewing it from in front of a stage.
