英国十六世纪戏剧.ppt

1、Sixteenth-Century Drama,I. Origin of Drama,1. Definition Greek meaning of drama: “things done” Aristotle: drama “imitated human action.” Manly: Drama is a story told in action by actors who impersonate the characters of the story.,Drama is “a composition in prose or verse, adapted to be acted upon a

2、 stage, in which a story is related by means of dialogue and action, and is represented with accompanying gesture, costume, and scenery, as in real life.”,2. Drama arose from ancient rituals. (1) Primitive rituals Celebrating the death and rebirth of vegetarian (or fertility) god Crops like rice and

3、 wheat were regarded as gods sacrificing their lives for the survival of man (2) Egyptian rituals Celebrating the death and rebirth of Osiris （丰饶之神） Performed at Abydos, Egypt, between 2500 BC and about 550 BC,(3) Greek rituals Celebrating the death and rebirth of Dionysus 3. Greek drama Greek drama

4、 arose from those phases of the Dionysian rites, dealing with life and death One character and the chorus (more characters added later),Dionysus,Dionysus (or Bacchus, as the Romans called him) was the god of wine and fertility. Every year the Greeks held a number of festivals in his honor. On these

5、occasions, the worship of Dionysus took the form of a combination of dance and song, accompanied by music and wine.,Chorus,Aeschylus,In the fifth century BC, the Greek playwright Aeschylus added a second actor, and drama as we know it was born.,Arena Stages,In classical times, dramas were performed

6、in open-air amphitheatres, or arena stages.,4. The rise of Christian drama Medieval drama arose out of rites celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ Miracles and Mysteries (plays about the stories from the Genesis and the birth of Jesus Christ),II. The Development of Drama,1. Religiou

7、s Period (1) Mystery plays presented stories from the Old and New Testament of the Bible. Creation of the World, the Fall, the Great Flood, Redemption, Final Judgment, etc. The birth of the Christchild symbolized hope in the darkness of winter; Christs resurrection accorded with the earths renewal i

8、n spring, and the promise of harvest at midsummer.,The Birth of Jesus Christ,Noahs Ark,The Death of Jesus Christ,(2) Miracle plays Dramatizing the lives and miracles of saints, or divine intervention in human affairs, that is, stories from the lives of saints. Often focused on blessed virgin Mary,Ab

9、rahams sacrifice,Moses,(3) Morality plays Presenting stories containing abstract virtues and vices as characters. They were plays which had a moral message: Good and Evil fight for domination of the human soul. Everyman, the best example, is the story of a character representing mankind.,2. Artistic

10、 Period The first Comedy, Ralph Roister Doister written by the schoolmaster, Nicholas Udall between 1550 and 1553 The first English tragedy, Gorboduc written in 1561 by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton,III. Elements of drama,1. Plot The structure of a plays action, the order of the incidents, thei

11、r arrangement and form 2. Character The vital center of a play How they look, what they say and in what manners they say; what they do and how their actions reveal who they are and what they represent The human qualities are the most engaging feature.,3. Dialogue Drama is described as “persons movin

12、g about on stage using words.” Major functions of Dialogue: to advance the plot, to establish setting, and to reveal character.,4. Staging Things like positions of actors, nonverbal gestures and movements, scenic background, props and costumes, lighting and sound effects 5. Theme It is the central i

13、dea of the play.,Early Theater,Global Theater,6. Some Key Dramatic Terms Script A script is the written work from which a drama is produced. It contains stage directions and dialogue. Stage Directions Notes provided by the playwright to describe how something should be presented or performed on stag

14、e.,Spectacle Stage directions often describe elements of the spectacle: lighting, music, sound effects, costumes, properties, and set designs. Monologue A monologue is a long speech given by an actor. Soliloquy A soliloquy is a speech given by a character who is alone (or thinks he is alone) on stag

15、e.,Aside A statement intended to be heard by the audience or by a single other character but not by all the other characters on stage is an aside. Act An act is a major division of a drama.,Scene A scene is a division of an act. A scene typically begins with the entrance of one or more characters an

16、d ends with the exit of one or more characters. Set The set is everything placed upon the stage to give the impression of a particular setting.,Three Unities Time: One day24 hours Place: One setting Action: One plot: no comic relief or sub-plot Dramatic Irony Playwrights use dramatic irony when they

17、 allow the audience to know more than the characters do about a specific situation or incident.,IV. Shakespeares Predecessors,1. The University Wits Thomas Kyd, Thomas Nashe, Thomas Lodge, John Lyly, George Peele, Robert Greene, and Christopher Marlowe 2. The Spanish Tragedy (ca. 1588) by Thomas Kyd

18、,V. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593),1. Life and career,2. Major Works Tamburlaine the Great , Parts I ,A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair-lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold;A belt of straw and ivy-buds, With coral clasps and amber-studs

19、: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me, and be my love.,The shepherds swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love.,The Passionate Shepherd to His Love To idealize country life To sing the beaut

20、y of nature To show love of the young people,THE NYMPHS REPLY TO THE SHEPHERDWalter Raleigh (1552-1618),IF all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherds tongue, These pretty pleasures might me moveTo live with thee and be thy love. Time drives the flocks from field to fold,When riv

21、ers rage and rocks grow cold;And Philomel becometh dumb; The rest complains of cares to come.,The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward winter reckoning yields: A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancys spring, but sorrows fall. The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, Thy cap, thy kirtle,

22、and thy posies Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten, In folly ripe, in reason rotten.,Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, Thy coral clasps and amber studs, All these in me no means can move To come to thee and be thy love. But could youth last and love still breed, Had joys no date nor age no need, T

23、hen these delights my mind might move To live with thee and be thy love.,THE BAITJohn Donne,Come live with me, and be my love, And we will some new pleasures prove Of golden sands, and crystal brooks, With silken lines, and silver hooks.,Song (1935)C.D. Lewis,Come live with me and be my love, And we

24、 will all the pleasures prove Of peace and plenty, bed and board That chance employment may afford.,I. Ben Jonson (1572-1637),1. Life and career Actor, playwright, poet, critic The first poet laureate in 1616 Four times into prison A sharp contrast of Shakespeare: the poet of art vs. the poet of nat

25、ure Sons of Ben (Cavalier poets) Epitaph: “O rare Ben Jonson”,2. Major Works Every Man in His Humour (1598) (人各随其癖) Volpone (1606) Alchemist (1610): And satire which focus on gulling. The comedy of humors “癖性喜剧” Choler (胆汁) Blood Melancholia (忧郁症) Phlegm (粘液),3. Dramatic Features He had a boisterous

26、 and Volpone himself has built his fortune on cons such as the one he is playing now.,The setting It is Renaissance Italy, accepted by the English imagination of the time as the proper home of vice, but the satire is deeply misanthropic. In the extravagance of imagery with which Volpone Or leave a k

27、iss but in the cup, And Ill not look for wine. The thirst that from the soul doth rise Doth ask a drink divine; But might I of Joves nectar sup, I would not change for thine.,I sent thee late a rosy wreath, Not so much honouring thee As giving it a hope, that there It could not withered be. But thou

28、 thereon didst only breathe, And sendst it back to me; Since when it grows, and smells, I swear, Not of itself, but thee.,Philostraus: Epistles,(33) So set the cups down and leave them alone, especially for fear of their fragility; and drink to me only with your eyes, t was such a draught that Zeus too drankand took to himself a lovely boy to bear his cup. And, if it please you, do not squander the wine, but pour i