Medieval versus Modern - Essay Example

College Medieval Versus Modern I will begin the essay by focusing on the cultural differences between the medieval drama and modern drama. I will do this by comparing the medieval drama the “crucifixion” (Greenblatt 407) with the early modern drama “King Lear” (Greenblatt 1200). As the years go by, a lot of changes occur to the general way that drama is set and acted. The role of drama in the society also changes. Any comparison between medieval plays and modern plays leads to the realization of significant changes in the field of drama over time. There are lots of cultural differences that exist between medieval and the early modern drama and this is our main concern in this essay. This paper contains an analysis of the medieval drama and the modern drama. The cultural differences are manifested through the different settings of the plays as well as the target population that each play is meant for. There are lots of different things that can be seen from the two plays; however my main agenda is to show how the culture of the medieval people influenced their way of life and how the life of the early modern people influenced their way of life. The purpose and cultural status of drama in medieval era After the fall of the Roman Empire, drama was banned by the church (Greenblatt 407). They outlawed any form of acting that was performed before the fall of the Roman Empire. However due to the cultural practices that existed among the people, the church wanted a way that it could pass on the salvation message to the general population. This led to the introduction of drama to the cities. Most of the medieval plays were based on Christianity and taught about salvation through Jesus Christ. This was due to the need of the church to establish itself to the community which did not believe most of its teachings. Drama was the only way that they could communicate to the illiterate community (Greenblatt 409). The main purpose of drama therefore was to spread the message of the church about salvation (Greenblatt 400). This can be seen from the play Crucifixion which is one of the medieval plays. The play educates people on the sufferings that Jesus underwent and the way that these sufferings are beneficial to the entire human race. Drama was used by the church to tell the people that their culture of worship that they had been following for a long time was bad and that the only way that they could be saved was through Christianity (Greenblatt 399). Drama was also used by the church to stage biblical events to the common people. They were mainly done during important celebrations such as the last supper. Most off their theme was based on the importance of keeping away from paganism and the general ways and culture that people should follow in order to be considered good in the society. The plays were also meant to warn people against wicked deeds in the society (Greenblatt 406). The purpose and cultural status of drama in early modern era During the early modern era, drama was considered a form of entertainment (Greenblatt 1289). Most people simply took part in watching or acting due to its entertainment nature. Therefore most plays that are created at this time have a lot of humor. The plays are also meant to educate and if one studies them you get a lot of themes from them. Another relevant purpose of plays during the early modern era was to send a message to the people about the importance of something. In the play “King Lear”, there are many themes, one of the themes that are of importance to both leaders and the common man is the theme of how wealth should be inherited (Greenblatt 1289). The theme is brought out clearly from the play to teach people on how to make a judgment when it comes to inheritance. This play also serves its purpose by the various incidences when humor is created an example being when the two sisters; Regan and Goneril describe their love to their father (Greenblatt 1189). They use charming words to describe their love for him which is funny considering the fact that the crowd already knows that they do not love their father. During the early modern era, plays were mainly done in public places to everyone. Most plays contained a lot of cultural themes that were brought out by the plays. The people’s way of life was totally expressed in plays. Plays therefore had a cultural responsibility to educate and to bring out the important messages to the people. In the play “King Lear”, cultural status of the play can be seen by the way that the themes of the book are brought out. The book contains a lot of themes which are supposed to be passed to the general public. It is important to know that during this era, most people had the opportunity to watch the plays and therefore get the themes. How drama was staged in the medieval era Depending on the area where the performance was to take place, most plays were performed in the middle of the street. This was in wagons in the middle of most cities. The small stage was very inconvenient for the actors since it made movement almost impossible. Some plays were also staged in halls of nobility while others were staged in amphitheaters. All the stages were temporary and were removed immediately after the performance was over. Actors would move around to give the impression of change of scenes (Greenblatt 408). Most of the drama remained religious and were performed by priests who made sure that every performance was based on Christianity. The priest wore long robes and they performed in broad day light and it was easy to find two or more performances in the same area this is because the stages were made in different heights (Greenblatt 408). How drama was staged in early modern era In the early modern days, drama was performed in theatres. One example of the theatre is the well known theatre of England where Shakespeare dramas were performed. The theatre was round and all the performances done on the stage which was at the centre of the room. The theatre was made at the lowest point of the room and the height of the seats of the audiences increased as one moved towards the end of the room. The theatre was wooden and polygonal. The main stage was exposed to the sky and had large spectators who were seated under a roof and not exposed to the sky. Most of the performances were done during the day because of the presence of sunlight (Greenblatt 1227). The number of actors in each play depended on the type of play and the sponsors who were able to perform the given play. From the play “King Lear”, all the performances are seen to be performed in the theatre called the globe. This is part of an example of the early modern era stage that was. Historical and cultural events that led to the drastic changes The historical events that led to the drastic changes in the way that plays are set and acted, is civilization(Greenblatt 408) During the time between the medieval era and the modern era, a lot of civilization occurred that made people to stop their concentration on power rather to invest in education and strong economic growth. This led to the invention of good stages where plays could be performed. It also led to the actors moving to accommodate the middle class since they wanted to make extra money and they realized that not only the royal families could help them make profit. 3+There are a lot of changes that can be seen from the setting of the two plays that are seen here. The crucifixion is done in a stage that is not well equipped and the props that they use are of high quality. There is no lighting and they mainly depend on the sun light for the presentation. However, in the new play, there are a lot of advanced props as well as good lighting. The stage is also set in a way that can accommodate everyone and let them watch comfortably. This is unlike the medieval era when the royal family had a better view while the other people did not have a very good view. Another important event that led to these changes is the rise of democracy. During this time many people realized that they were also able to enjoy plays the same way that the rich people did. This led to an increase in the number of people who watched plays as well as the people who took part in the acting process. This increase led to the growth of the acting industry as many people noticed that it was an easy way to make money. The changes also occur due to the rise of the love for performing plays (Greenblatt 511). Many people started paying for plays and this helped to attract many people to join the acting field because of the way that the actors were treated. However the styles used in the plays between these two times is the same. The themes also do not change but the physical environment at which the themes are brought out has greatly changed between the two eras. However it is important to note that there are also some similarities between the two plays. The most important thing that does not change is the way that the actors dress. The actors put on attire depending on the nature of their position and the themes that they are trying to bring out. In the first play the roman soldiers dress in a way that suggests that the roman soldiers used to wear. The other thing that does not change is the way that the stage is arranged. Apart from the way that light is provided to the stage, other parts of the stage remains the same. The general arrangement is the same and in both the stage is round and has a backstage from where actors prepare before they come on stage (Greenblatt 410). To answer our main question, I would like to point that there are lots of changes that are seen between medieval plays and modern plays. These changes come due to the changes in culture as well as the major historical changes that occur hence making people to start loving plays a lot. Changes are seen in many ways. First is the general attitude of people concerning plays, in the past people thought that plays were for the rich while the other class of people could not enjoy watching any play? We also get the difference in the way that the stage is located and the manner in which light is provided on stage. The light is due to technological advancement over the years and the way that people have evolved. In conclusion, it is evident that there are lots of differences that can be seen from the medieval dramas and the early modern era drama. All these can be seen from the two plays that were written and acted at different times. One written and acted during the medieval era while the other written and acted during the early modern era. A lot of differences are seen in terms of cultural difference and also on political and the general way that the plays were staged. Work cited Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors. New York: Norton, 2006. Print. Read More