History of Theatre - Research Paper Example

Aristotle described six elements of drama, stating them in an order from most important to least important. With modern techniques, the priority and importance of these elements have been changed, but the basic elements remain the same. These elements as prioritized by Aristotle are plot, character, thought, diction, music and spectacle. [Ele12]The plot is basically what the play is all about, the general story of the play. Character refers to the people in the story, the way they conduct themselves and react. The element of thought entails the emotions invoked in an individual watching the play and diction refers to the overall dialogues of the play. Spectacle is the inclusion of effects such as costumes, scenery and everything else to do with the fact that a play has a visual element and is watched and not just heard. (Bryson)One often contemplates what is it about music that it is considered to be a basic element of drama along with the other five. Aristotle quells such questions and explains that music creates and enhances the mood that compliments the emotion being depicted by the characters in the play. Music’s major function in a play is to reinforce the emotional content (Aaron). Music has been forever championed as an effective mode of communication. [Sco04]Even when played in the background when at many times one doesn’t even notice that a melody is being played, music is still effective in setting the mood and creating an environment that compliments the theme of the play. Music at times has also been called the ‘fourth dimension’ that magnifies the impact of a particular scene or setting within the play [Dra12]. The famous novelist Victor Hugo stated that music can be used to put across thoughts and emotions which need to be expressed but there are no words to describe them. Also mentionable is the fact that audiences once they leave the theatre do not remember the dialogues but can definitely recall the songs and re-live the entire play through the songs and melody recollection in their minds [Mac06]. All evidence supports Aristotle views that ‘music is a form of imitation’ and that different types and tones of music can easily help and illicit different types of responses from individuals. It has been suggested that theatre and drama fell into total crumble during the early 17th century. In the late 16th century, renaissance drama evolved during the period of Queen Elizabeth 1. During this time, neoclassicism was almost completely ignored. The drama focused more on forms that were popular with the audiences. The changing political and economic condition in England gave birth to unreserved drama. The classical act and scene formation, verse mixed with prose, an amalgamation of comedy, tragedy and pastoral and a mixture of several plots, were the basic characteristics of drama in that period. The plays were a depiction of the upper class mixing with the lower class and showed to a great degree violence, battles and blood. Music, spectacle and dance were all integrated into the plays of that era. The tragic plays portrayed history to make a contemporary point and the mythical aspect of history was ignored. The comedy plays involved the rudiments of magic.[col12] However, after the demise of Queen Elizabeth 1, the style of the drama took a complete turn. The dramas now began to mirror the once again changing social-political environment. The themes of the plays became more somber. The comedies which once included the element of magic now became mocking and skeptical. [col12] When the civil war broke out in 1642, all the theaters were closed down. During the war, most of the theatre buildings ruined taking along with them the evidence of English Renaissance drama. So herein lays the reason why theatre declined during that period[col12]. The fact that drama wasn’t thriving in this era is probably the cause of why music got lost. Shakespeare has immensely contributed towards the revival of the music in theatre. He was a true believer in music and that it had an important role to play on the stage. According to sources, there was said to be a special musician’s gallery above the stage which used to play music within the scenes of the play. On the stage, music played a very important role. It contributed to the atmosphere and set the mood in many of Shakespeare’s plays. Apart from the on the stage music, there was an under staged setup of music as well which was played on special occasions in the play to enhance the effect of the scene and to create an eerie effect amongst the audiences. The music in his plays also went according to the scenes and affected emotions of the audience. The comedies were full of song and the gentle twanging of the lute, while ceremonial sounds of trumpets and drums were the hallmarks of tragedies. For example, if a king entered the stage, the trumpets and the drums would make sound so that everyone would know that the king has entered. Shakespeare used music in his plays for several reasons and all of them are equally important. To start with, music was very popular amongst people in those days. Hence, it affected how people used to perceive a play and had an impact on the enjoyment level.. Shakespeare had a variety of audience which not only used to enjoy watching his plays but also the music that accompanied his plays. Secondly, music is understood practically universally, so it allowed majority of Shakespeare’s audience to understand his plays and relate to them more easily. If people could not understand the language, they could grasp and follow the story from the music being played in the background.  The variety of songs, music and sound effects not only represented emotions and mood of the people but they could relate it to themselves. Shakespeare, being a poet, used to write his own songs for his plays and has hundreds of compositions under his name. He used his time and energy to influence the society to benefit the structure of his plays. He noticed that the society he lived in is influenced by music and so, he used it as a major tool to make his plays different from the others and give them a unique outlook. He realized that music was part of the society and he incorporated music in his plays. The concept obviously worked as his plays are still remembered. . The ballet originated in the in the 15th and 16th century during Renaissance in Italy. The French court was responsible for its further development. Although closely related to opera, ballet soon emerged as an independent form of art and development of different institutes furthered the cause of ballet and helped it to spread around the world. Music made a comeback to theatre with ballet. The ballet performances were a mixture of dialogues, music and dance. The basic form of expression was dancing whereby the performers danced to the musical tunes in elaborate costumes [VA12]. Music and dance composition went side by side especially during the near the beginning of ballet. It is true that during the early years, the role of music was secondary in ballet. The major focus was on dancing while music was just a combination of danceable tunes. In fact, there was little difference between ballet and ballroom music. Till the 19th century, special music for the ballet was not developed and composers only worked on danceable pieces. What however cannot be denied is the fact that there can be no ballet without music. Whether they are random danceable tunes to which ballet moves are choreographed or specifically designed ballet music, music is as important a part of ballet as the dancing itself. Certain choreography is done to silence, but even in that case, the importance of music cannot be denied for even imagining an entire performance without music is indescribable. Bibliography Ele12: , (Elements of Drama), Sco04: , (Lipscomb and Tolchinsky), Dra12: , (Drama Music), Mac06: , (Mackintosh), col12: , (colorado.edu), col12: , (colorado.edu), VA12: , (V&A), Copland, Aaron . "The Aims of Music for Films." The Newyork Times 10 Mar. 1940: n. pag. NY times. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Read More