Shakespeare's Globe

Paper Summary:

This paper contends that William Shakespeare's theatre, the epic Globe, mirrors the stories of the early, bustling London and ever-morphing England of the 16th and 17th century, from plank and dirt to flame and fame. The paper presents a technical overview of the theatre structure, highlighting the symbolism between the material poverty of the building to that of the society. The paper contends that the social commentary Shakespeare spouted was given a stage by the Globe, which represented, in its own short life, the compendium of Elizabethan life as a whole.

From the Paper:

"William Shakespeare was born into a world of words that took him from cold, stone castles in Scotland to the bustling cities of Italy and the high seas of colonial change. An emblem of the Renaissance, the Bard of Avon was not only the conqueror of his own mind and pen, but also of the language of his own social, political, and religious reality. His theatre, the epic Globe, mirrors the stories of the early, bustling London and ever-morphing England in the duration of its own life, from plank and dirt to flame and fame. By 1598, Richard Burbage was the practicing don of the London theatre world, extending his fingertips for production all over the lively center of British commerce and governance. His players, a collection of all-male actors, were widely recognized throughout the theatre world, one of the only sources of popular entertainment. Burbage produced the works of a variety of writers, including William Shakespeare, in his own space called "The Theatre." That year, however, Burbage ordered his company to pull down The Theatre and remove its timber to Bankside. "

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• Research Paper # 28429 : "On Shakespeare and Artistic License"

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