Sophia Kypriotis, Luke Mulligan, Becky Callaghan, Elli Brown, Kelly Corcoran<\/p>\n
Drawing on foreigners account of entertainment in Shakespeare’s London, we divulge how much truth can be extracted…<\/strong><\/p>\n Thomas Platter\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What sort of entertainment was Shakespeare and his theatre company having to compete with?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThus daily at two in the afternoon, London has two, sometimes three plays running in different places, competing with each other, and those which play best obtain most spectators.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Shakespeare and his theatre company were having to compete with multiple theatres, companies and plays, all of whom were attempting to draw in the largest crowd and offer plays that were intriguing and enjoyable enough to get the audience to come south of the river.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere is also in the city of London not far from the horse-market which occupies a large site, a house where cock-fights are held annually throughout three quarters of the year (for in the remaining quarter they told me it was impossible since the feathers are full of blood) and I saw the place which is built like a theatre (theatrum).\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cEvery Sunday and Wednesday in London there are bearbaitings on the other side of the water, and I ferried across on Sunday the 8th of September with the Earl of Benthem and my party, and saw the bear and bull- baiting.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Shakespeare had to compete with highly popular violent sports. In order to win the attention of the crowds, he had to match the blood lust that audiences gained from viewing cock fighting, which could explain why many of Shakespeare\u2019s plays depict acutely violent acts. Since cock fighting and bearbaiting didn\u2019t appear to occur as regularly as theatre performances, violent plays may have been introduced to satisfy the audience\u2019s cravings for brutality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How useful is it to have a foreign perspective on Shakespearean London?<\/b><\/p>\n This perspective offers a more objective account of Shakespearean London as the author is unfamiliar with it and therefore views the situation through a lense that doesn\u2019t normalise what they encounter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWith these and many more amusements the English pass their time, learning at the play what is happening abroad; indeed men and womenfolk visit such places without scruple, since the English for the most part do not travel much, but prefer to learn foreign matters and take their pleasures at home.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Due to Shakespeare\u2019s plays often being set abroad, it feeds the English interest in forgein matters without them having to travel to those countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It would be helpful and interesting to compare Platter\u2019s account with an Londoners\/Englishman\u2019s account of the same entertainment; one can assume they would pick up on and focus more closely on different elements, which in turn comments more broadly on their culture and customs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Platter\u2019s account is useful for gaining insight into Shakespeare\u2019s entertainment because he offers an alternative perspective on the experience of going to the theatre, however it is limited as he may not pick up on English nuances and thus can\u2019t offer a complete and cohesive account; which is only comparable to Swiss entertainment culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How similar or different is this world from our own?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThere are a great many inns, taverns, and beer-gardens scattered about the city, where much amusement may be had with eating, drinking, fiddling and the rest, as for instance in our hostelry, which was visited by players almost daily. And what is particularly curious is that the women as well as the men, in fact more often than they, will frequent the taverns or ale-houses for enjoyment.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Despite the extreme forms of entertainment on offer e.g. bearbaiting, this world is not entirely different from our own. The traveller and citizens of London are merely looking for a way to be entertained. The frequenting of beer-gardens by more than one gender is relatable to the present day.<\/span><\/p>\n Johann de Witt<\/span><\/p>\n What architectural information does this sketch and the text give us? Why are the theatres on the outskirts of the city?<\/b><\/p>\n What does the sketch and text tell us about the social history of a play? Where are the audience? What is the purpose of the flag and the man at the top of the building? What are the alternative entertainments on offer?<\/b><\/p>\n Quincey comments that \u201cThere are four amphitheatres in London of notable beauty\u201d, including \u201cthe Rose and the Swan\u201d, underlining the competition between theatres and companies, supporting Platter\u2019s account of entertainment in London. He goes onto mention that \u201cThere is also a fifth voted to the baiting of beasts, where are maintained in separate cages and enclosures many bears and dogs of stupendous size, which are kept for fighting, furnishing thereby a most delightful spectacle to men.\u201d. This may offer an understanding as to why Shakespeare\u2019s plays often contained so much violence; he was competing with bearbaiting to draw audiences in and therefore he reflected this violence in his own plays.<\/span><\/p>\n Both the text and the sketch are copies held in a notebook by de Witt\u2019s friend, Van Buchell: he used this notebook between 1592-1628 to keep copies of poems, quotations, and observations. How might this affect the reliability of this source?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Due to these being copies and not first hand evidence, there leaves room for human error; he may have mis-quoted, mis-seen the original sources, or they may have been damaged and thus cannot be authentically interpreted. Furthermore, he may have interpreted and amended the original sources to fit with his own understanding and hence cannot be seen as a completely reliable portray of Shakespeare\u2019s Show Business. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sophia Kypriotis, Luke Mulligan, Becky Callaghan, Elli Brown, Kelly Corcoran Drawing on foreigners account of entertainment in Shakespeare’s London, we divulge how much truth can be extracted… Thomas Platter\u00a0 What sort of entertainment was Shakespeare and his theatre company having to compete with?\u00a0 \u201cThus daily at two in the afternoon, London has two, sometimes three … Continue reading Platter on Playhouses and Sketchy Sketches: What was Shakespeare’s London?<\/span> \n
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