Some Principles of Elizabethan Staging: A Dissertation, Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Literature in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Englis - Hardcover

George F. Reynolds

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0331532719 ISBN 13: 9780331532715

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Explore the shaping ideas behind Elizabethan stagecraft and how it guided the plays you know today.

This study argues that the stage was a symbolic, crowd-pleasing environment, not a simple backdrop for action. It considers methods like scene-boards, multiple doors, and possible alcove rear stages to explain how plays felt coherent to their original audiences.

Tracing a path from the oldest performance practices to the nuanced options of late Elizabethan staging, the book weighs competing theories about how scenes moved, how properties appeared, and how audience sightlines shaped meaning. It argues that a symbolic stage made many plays more comprehensible, even when modern readers might see confusion on the page.
Readers will encounter concrete discussions of props, transitions, and the role of the audience in early productions. The work also compares different staging forms—simple early setups, classical models, alternation, and incongruity—to show how Elizabethan drama used stagecraft to tell a story.

• How scene structure and transitions shaped dramatic flow
• The role of properties, doors, and front versus rear stage use
• Why symbolic staging can unify seemingly chaotic plays
• How different staging forms interacted and influenced authors like Shakespeare

Ideal for readers of theater history, Shakespeare studies, and Elizabethan drama who want a clear view of how stage choices influenced the storytelling.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0331532719
• ISBN 13: 9780331532715
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 77