Renaissance English Theatre as a Political Propaganda Instrument of the English Monarchy

Öz

Influenced from the sociocultural, religious and political changes that happened in England in the sixteenth century, English Theatre started to desert its medieval characteristics by the ascendance of Elizabeth I to the English throne in 1558. The influence of Protestantism in England was extremely high and as such, medieval plays having religious characteristics started to lose their popularity. In lieu of these plays, various kinds of classical plays, comedies, tragedies and history plays were staged in newly erected permanent theatre houses, and there emerged one of the best theatres of all times. Those newly built theatre houses were not only used for amusement, but also were used with a purpose of the political propaganda of Queen Elizabeth. So as to monitor the theatre, the most effective mass communication instrument of Renaissance England, a governmental body called the Master of the Revels maintained the duties such as licencing and censoring for play companies. This research has studied the general characteristics of the Renaissance English Theatre and the way Queen Elizabeth I employed the theatre as an instrument of her political propaganda. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Elizabethan Drama,Renaissance English Theatre,Political Propaganda,Mass Communication

İngiltere Monarşisinin Siyasi Propaganda Aracı olarak Rönesans İngiliz Tiyatrosu

Öz

16. yüzyılda İngiltere’de meydana gelen sosyo-kültürel, dini ve siyasi değişimlerden etkilenen İngiliz Tiyatrosu Kraliçe I. Elizabeth’in 1558 yılında tahta çıkmasıyla beraber orta çağa özgü özelliklerini terk etmeye başlamıştır. Ülkeye hakim olan Protestanlığın da etkisiyle birlikte, kilise tarafından sahnelenen dini içerikli oyunlar gözden düşmeye başlamıştır. Bunun yerine, oyun şirketleri tarafından yazılan her türlü klasik, komedi, trajedi ve tarihi oyunların sahnelendiği büyük tiyatro binaları kurulmuş ve tüm zamanların en önemli tiyatrolarından birisi ortaya çıkmıştır. Kurulan bu büyük tiyatro binaları, sadece eğlence amacıyla değil, aynı zamanda Kraliçe Elizabeth’in siyasi propagandasını yapmak amacıyla da kullanılmıştır. Dönemin en etkili kitle iletişim aracı olan tiyatroyu denetlemek için Kraliçe’ye bağlı olarak görev yapan Eğlence İşleri Sorumlusu (the Master of the Revels) oyun şirketlerine lisans verme ve oyunları sansürleme görevlerini yürütmüştür. Bu çalışmada, Rönesans İngiliz Tiyatrosu’nun genel özellikleri anlatılmış ve Kraliçe I. Elizabeth’in siyasi propaganda aracı olarak tiyatroyu nasıl kullandığı araştırılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Elizabeth Tiyatrosu,Rönesans İngiliz Tiyatrosu,Siyasi Propaganda,Kitle İletişim

Kaynakça

1. Adams, R.P. (1979). Despotism, Censorship, and Mirrors of Power Politics in Late Elizabethan Times, The Sixteenth Century Journal, 10(3), 5–16.
2. Brockett, O.G. (1970). History of the Theatre. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
3. Cauthen, I.B. Jr. (1962). Gorboduc, Ferrex and Porrex: The First Two Quartos, Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia, 15, 231-233.
4. Hoppe, H.R. (1955). English Acting Companies at the Court of Brussels in the Seventeenth Century, The Review of English Studies, 6(21), 26-33.
5. Greenfield, P.H. (2004). Drama Outside London after 1640. In Milling J. & Thomson P. (Eds.), The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Vol. 1 Origins to 1660 (pp. 178-199). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
6. Grendler, P.F. (ed. in chief). (2004). The Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students (Vol. 2). The United States of America: Frank Menchaca.
7. Kellner, D. (2004). The Persian Gulf TV War Revisited. In Stuart A. & Zelizer B. (Eds.), Reporting War: Journalism in Wartime (pp. 136-154). New York: Routledge.
8. Milling, J. (2004). The Development of a Professional Theatre, 1540-1660. In Milling J. & Thomson P. (Eds.), The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Vol. 1 Origins to 1660 (pp. 139-177). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

9. Montrose, L.A. (1996). The Purpose of Playing: Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of the Elizabethan Theatre. The United States of America: The University of Chicago Press.
10. Moseley, C.W.R.D. (2007). English Renaissance Drama: an Introduction to Theatre and Theatres in Shakespeare’s Time. United Kingdom: Humanities-Ebooks.co.uk.
11. Murphy, C. (2012). God’s Jury: the Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World. The United States of America: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.
12. Ostovich, H., Syme, H.S. & Griffin, A. (2009). Locating the Queen’s Men, 1583-1603: Material Practices and Conditions of Playing. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
13. Westfall, S. (2004). ‘An Example of Courtesy and Liberality’: Great Households and Performance. . In Milling J. & Thomson P. (Eds.), The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Vol. 1 Origins to 1660 (pp. 200-223). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
14. White, P.W. (2004). The Bible as play in Reformation England. In Milling J. & Thomson P. (Eds.), The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Vol. 1 Origins to 1660 (pp. 87-115). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
15. Womack, P. (2006). English Renaissance Drama. USA: Blackwell Publishing.