Drama in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance + Dr Faustus

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Drama in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Dr Faustus

1

2

3

3

Moving wagons

Church

Theatres

Church yard

Changes in location

1. Started in church to make services more attractive and understandable
2. Plays became too wordly and entertaining --> moved to churchyard
3. Banned from church grounds --> plays were now performed on moving wagons
4. In the Renaissance the first official theatres were built:

1

2

3

Guilds

Actors

Clergy

Development of actors

1. In church performed by clergy
2. Guilds took over 
3. Acting became a profession
   Not for women though, boys played female parts:

1

2

3

Morality Play

Tragedy/Comedy/History

Mystery Play

Content

1. Mystery plays: about saints and characters from the Bible
2. Morality plays: allegorical, teach a moral lesson.
   Characters were personifications of abstract qualties.
3. For entertainment: comedies/tragedies/histories

English Drama

According to the classical tradition a play had to conform to three unities:

• Unity of action
• Unity of place
• Unity of time

English writers however, did not necessarily stick to this tradition

Discuss: What was the role of religion in the Renaissance?

What do you think is a Faustian bargain?

What are the Seven Deadly Sins?

This play contains the personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins: 

Lust

Gluttony

Greed

Sloth

Wrath

Envy

Pride

Chistopher Marlowe

Famous playwright

Shakespeare's contemporary

His play Dr. Faustus is a good reflection of the changes the country was going through

Themes in Doctor Faustus

• Temptation, Sin and Redemption
• The Bargain
• Renaissance Individual
• Fate vs Free Will
• Education, Knowledge and Power

Discussion Questions

• What elements of medieval and renaissance drama can you find in this work?
  
• What elements of the Renaissance period can you find in this play?
• What do you think is the message Chorus is trying to teach us at the end of the play?