Page 11 - FEN1(2)C01 LITERATURES IN ENGLISH PAPER I: From Chaucer to the Present

In the Elizabethan theatres stage was large jutting for into the
pit and was without scenery but the most meagre
presentation. Hence, it made no difference that people stood
at the side of the stage as well as in front. The scenery was
created in the imagination of the audience by the words of the
Characters on the play. In the absence of the curtains, the end
of a scene was frequently shown by rhyming lines. Just as the
scenery had to be put into the play, so had entrances and
exists to be arranged as part of the play. The stage floor was
generally equipped a trap door for the sudden appearance and
disappearance of the ghost and spirits. At the back of the stage
was a recess and this was curtained and would be shut off
when desired. Above the recess was balcony which served for
castle walls and upper room and other such scenes. It appears
that this too could be curtained off.